Labor MP Linda Burney’s Son Has Been Found Dead
Burney will take a leave of absence from parliament.
Labor MP Linda Burney will take a leave of absence from federal parliament, after her 33-year-old son was found dead in their family home in Sydney on Tuesday night.
In a statement, Burney described her son as “a caring and loving man” who had struggled “with mental health and with addiction”. “He tried so hard to conquer his demons, as I and my family have tried so hard to support him in every way we could.”
“I don’t want to pre-empt a subsequent inquiry but we all thought we were getting somewhere. I don’t know what life will be like without him.”
Burney said that NSW Police were not treating her son’s death as suspicious, although the cause of death was yet to be confirmed.
“I understand I am a public figure but in this dire, grief-stricken time for me, I ask that you respect my and my family’s privacy in all respects,” Burney said. “When I can, I will speak about this.”
Opposition leader Bill Shorten sent his sympathies to Burney this morning. “I want to extend the condolences of the parliamentary Labor party and the Labor family to Linda Burney and her family,” he said. “I can’t imagine what it’s like as a parent to lose your child. I know how much her son loved Linda and how much Linda loved her son.”
Burney entered federal parliament in the 2016 election as the member for Barton in Sydney. She is the opposition’s human services spokeswoman, and the first Indigenous woman to serve in the House of Representatives.
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