“I addressed the leader in the party room last Tuesday saying the Australian people want stability and we shouldn’t go to an early election,” Mr Cobb (pictured) said.

He said he made up his mind 12 months ago this would be his last term in federal politics.

“Before the last election I wanted to go through to  the next election as minister for agriculture for three years before I called it quits,” Mr Cobb said.

However, that was not to be as he was usurped by fellow National Barnaby Joyce.

“Yes, I was unhappy at the time, but you just have to swallow your disappointment and get on with it,” Mr Cobb said.

Mr Cobb said the overwhelming feedback from his electorate was that people wanted more stability from their political leaders.

“They are telling me that in the last few years this country has been burnt with leadership and other party changes. They’ve had enough for the moment,” he said.

Mr Cobb made the announcement he was leaving politics during general business at a Nationals meeting in Lithgow on Saturday.

The meeting was the first under the new boundaries, which take in Mudgee and Wellington and dispense with Parkes and Forbes.

“It is a big thing to enter the Australian Federal Parliament, and it is also a big thing to leave it, but I feel honoured by the trust placed in me by the people in my electorate,” Mr Cobb said.

“It has been an incredible experience.”

Mr Cobb said he had been considering his political future for the last 12 months and had decided the time was right to announce his retirement.

“Obviously you do not make a decision like this overnight. If I have been somewhat reticent on the issue of retirement over the last 12 months it is because there was no need to speak about it until now as it affects other people, including my staff,” he said.

During his tenure the member for Calare says the decade-long drought will stay in his memory.

“I have to say though, through that time  [former] prime minister John Howard and Nationals leader John Anderson were generous in their visits to the area, and we always managed to gain concessions and advantages. It was great when we were finally able to come out of that drought,” Mr Cobb said.

Mr Cobb said he did not want to make the announcement earlier as it would contribute to premature speculation about the future of the seat, and he  would not be drawn on who would secure endorsement from the Nationals to replace him.

“The National Party is here to serve regional people and Australia, and I thank them for their trust and loyalty over my years of service,” he said.

Pre-selection for the seat of Calare is now open for 21 days and candidates must be nominated by a local branch.

The pre-selection vote will be held in Bathurst on Saturday, April 30, and only members who signed up before August 25, 2015 are eligible to vote.

janice.harris@fairfaxmedia.com.au