Queensland Speaker Curtis Pitt will take leave to prioritise his mental health, he announced days after missing the start of a regional sitting of parliament in his home town.
Pitt, 46, became the subject of tabloid speculation last week when he slept in and missed the opening of the parliamentary sitting in Cairns.Chris Hyde
A Welcome to Country ceremony was delayed as attempts were made to locate Pitt, but eventually got under way without him. Pitt showed up about half an hour later. On Saturday, the Speaker and Member for Mulgrave revealed he was battling depression, along with other health issues that needed to be addressed.
“A number of issues have converged at this point in my life. I’m not doing as well emotionally as I’ve made out to anyone,” Pitt said. “A lengthy divorce after more than two decades of marriage, an underlying medical condition in ulcerative colitis, suffering from depression, and requiring ongoing medication for my back — for which I am scheduled to have surgery soon.”The Cairns-based MP has served five parliamentary terms, which have included ministerial stints overseeing treasury, sport, employment and industrial relations, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander partnerships.
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