Toowoomba-based federal MP John McVeigh has resigned from politics, effective immediately.
Key points: Federal LNP MP John McVeigh has resigned, effective immediately
Federal LNP MP John McVeigh has resigned, effective immediately Mr McVeigh has been the Member for Groom in Toowoomba since 2016
Mr McVeigh has been the Member for Groom in Toowoomba since 2016 He says he is stepping down to concentrate on caring for his wife
Mr McVeigh has been the LNP's Member for Groom since 2016.
He said he made the difficult decision to quit politics so he could concentrate on caring for his wife Anita, who has been suffering from a major illness.
"A further relapse earlier this year requiring hospitalisation in Sydney was a tremendous shock to our family," he said.
"This has been cause for significant reflection for all of us over recent months.
"I want to make it very clear that we are truly blessed as a family that her health is on the improve again and it is now my family's absolute priority … to keep it that way.
"Hence the need for me to step down from the demands and absences of being a Federal Member of Parliament."
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'I regret the short-term disruption'
Mr McVeigh said it had been a difficult decision to submit his resignation to the Speak of the House of Representatives.
"In accordance with house practice, this is automatically deemed to take effect immediately," he said.
"I certainly regret what will be a short-term disruption here in the electorate of Groom."
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said Mr McVeigh had been a hard working and passionate advocate for regional Australia.
Mr McVeigh also served on the Toowoomba City Council and was the State Member for Toowoomba South, before quitting to run for the seat of Groom.
He was appointed Minister for Regional Development, Territories and Local Government in 2017, but was left out of the Ministry when Scott Morrison became Prime Minister.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tony Smith, is now considering possible dates for the by-election for Groom.
Groom, highlighted in green, within the state of Queensland.
Portrait of Jephcott.
Voters in the Australian  of  are scheduled to go to the polls in a  this week following the resignation of  MP  for family reasons.

Groom is located in the state of Queensland, and is centred around the city of . At the last , the Liberal National Party, Queensland's dominant conservative party, won this seat by over 70% of the , and since the seat's creation in 1984, it has been held by conservative political parties. 

Some political analysts considered this a foregone conclusion, with analyst Kevin Bonham having declared it on his blog as "Australia's most boring by-election", however Bonham noted the size of the swing may have been indicative of the dominant centre left 's general performance in Queensland. There was a 4.2% swing against the Labor Party in the state of Queensland at the previous federal election.

''Wikinews'' spoke to one of the four candidates running in the by-election, Sandra Jephcott, who is running for the  party. Sustainable Australia describes itself as a "independent community movement from the political centre". According to the party's website, Jephcott is a  and farmer, who has completed a veterinary degree from the University of Queensland, as well as a  at  and a Master of Science at . With ''Wikinews'', Jephcott discussed climate change, COVID-19, water security, and foreign ownership.