NewsColony

NewsColony Labor MP Mike Kelly retires from politics for health reasons sparking a by-election   Federal Labor MP Mike Kelly is retiring from politics due to health issues, prompting a by-election in his ultra-marginal seat of of Eden-Monaro in southern New South Wales. The former army colonel, 60, has been battling kidney failure which required emergency surgery in October and a further nine procedures. He attributes his health struggles to severe dehydration suffered during military tours as a lawyer in Iraq, Somalia and East Timor.  The former army colonel, 60, has been battling kidney failure which saw him rushed to hospital for emergency surgery in October  Dr Kelly said the decision to stand down was ‘gut-wrenching’.  ‘I don’t believe I can continue to do the job to the extent – and with the commitment and the physical demand – that I would want to,’ he told the ABC on Thursday. ‘It breaks my heart to do this but it is necessary’.  The ...