West Australian Labor senator Joe Bullock will quit politics just two years after being elected to the Senate.
Labor senator Joe Bullock has announced his retirement from federal politics two years after entering the Senate, in part due to his party's strong support of same-sex marriage.
Senator Bullock is the fourth WA federal Labor politician to quit ahead of this year's federal election, with Gary Gray, Alannah MacTiernan and Melissa Parke.
He opposes same-sex marriage and told the Senate on Tuesday his "troubles started" when the Labor Party voted to remove a conscience vote and force a yes vote on the policy in the future.
"How can I in good conscience recommend to people that they vote for a party which is determined to deny its party members a conscience vote on homosexual marriage?" he asked in the Senate on Tuesday.
"The simple answer is I can't."
He's expected to stay in the Senate to round out the next sitting week on March 17, saying his staff were not aware of his resignation until this week.
The senator toyed with the idea of becoming an independent but said he would only have done so if Labor expelled him or he had attracted enough personal votes to win his seat without the party's endorsement.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten thanked Senator Bullock for his service in parliament and for Australian workers, but admitted the pair did not agree on a number of issues, including same-sex marriage.
