Ill Brogden quits politics

The former New South Wales opposition leader, John Brogden, has announced he is resigning from the New South Wales Parliament.

Mr Brogden says he needs to focus on continuing treatment, after his apparent suicide attempt late last month.

In a letter addressed to the Speaker of the Parliament, Mr Brogden says it is with great sadness that he has decided to resign as the Member for Pittwater, effective immediately.

He states that he has personal and health issues to address and is undergoing treatment that may continue for some time.

The ABC understands that Mr Brogden cut short an overseas trip and is back in a private hospital in Sydney receiving treatment.

The former Liberal leader was forced to resign as opposition leader late last month over several public indiscretions, including a racial slur he made against the wife of the former premier Bob Carr.

He then made his attempted suicide bid.

In his resignation letter, Mr Brogden says he regrets any distress his actions may have caused and he takes full responsibility for them.

He has also thanked those who have offered their support over recent weeks.

Unity

The New South Wales Opposition Leader, Peter Debnam, says Mr Brogden served in Parliament for nearly a decade and spent three-and-a-half years as opposition leader.

"I want to put on the record not only the thanks from the people of Pittwater, but also the people of New South Wales and the Liberal Party for what John did during all those years," he said

"He was totally committed to serving the community, but he also had a vision for the people of New South Wales and the delivery of services."

The party's deputy leader, Barry O'Farrell, has also paid tribute to his former leader.

"John was always quick to thank the Liberal Party for the opportunities that it'd given him," he said.

"I have to say that we now ought to be putting on record the fact that he delivered many benefits to our party, not the least being the sense of unity he brought to the party.

"Certainly it took seven years of my first 10 years in Parliament for that unity to arrive and he handed that unity on to Peter Debnam in a way that no leader since Greiner handed it on to John Fahey."