Former Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull says he holds no bitterness towards his party, as his ambition of becoming prime minister today ends with his resignation from Parliament.

After losing the Liberal leadership last December during a party revolt on climate change policy, Mr Turnbull has announced he will quit politics at the next election.

Mr Turnbull says it is the right time to move on and he and his wife Lucy have decided to pursue other opportunities in business.

“Having become leader and then that having come to an end in some fairly trying circumstances, I think the best thing is to move on as a former leader,” he told Sky News.

His resignation will be a loss to the Liberals but also removes him as a future leadership threat to his successor, Tony Abbott.

Mr Turnbull was deposed last December amid mass frontbench resignations in protest against his decision to support an emissions trading scheme (ETS).

But he says he is not bitter his parliamentary career is over.

“It’s easy to get resentful and full of bitterness,” he said.

“I’m looking back on my time in Parliament positively. I’ve had some incredible opportunities.”

The Member for Wentworth named the work he did as environment minister on the Coalition’s Murray Darling rescue plan as one of his biggest achievements.

“It enabled me to undertake truly revolutionary reforms to the way water is managed in Australia,” he said.

Not surprisingly, Mr Turnbull described his failure to get the party to support his climate change policy as disappointing.

Mr Turnbull became leader after just four years in Parliament and today he said he never expected to take on the position so soon because he thought Peter Costello had it “sewn up” in the wake of the 2007 election loss.

And he said that after entering Parliament at 50 in 2004, he was never going to be in Parliament “for 20 years”.

Despite the fact Mr Abbott led the frontbench revolt against Mr Turnbull, the former leader was gracious in his comments towards Mr Abbott.

Mr Turnbull described Mr Abbott as “very bright” and “full of determination”.

When asked if he was prime ministerial material, Mr Turnbull replied: “Of course he is, absolutely.”

Mr Abbott says he is disappointed Mr Turnbull is leaving.

“While the Parliament will miss him I’m sure that he’ll continue to be a valuable contributor to our public life,” he said.

“I think Malcolm can look back on a relatively brief but remarkable time in the Parliament.”

Tributes flow

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has also paid tribute to his former opponent, saying he is sure Mr Turnbull will have a further contribution to make.

“Malcolm has made a big contribution to Australian public life, particularly his work as minister for the environment,” he said.

“I think what you see with Malcolm is someone who stood up for his principles on the question of policy on the environment and climate change rather than simply running after opinion polls.”

Former prime minister John Howard paid tribute to Mr Turnbull as a dedicated and innovative environment minister, who was never reluctant to express “strong views”.

“In his relatively brief parliamentary career he made a big impact,” he said.

“I particularly recall his constructive work with me late in 2006 when we put together the Murray Darling rescue plan.

“I am glad that he entered federal politics.”

It is unclear who will stand up for preselection to replace Mr Turnbull when nominations open this week but they will face a tough fight to retain the seat ahead of the next election.

Labor has not yet chosen a candidate for the seat.

Rise and fall

The former barrister and merchant banker was elected to Parliament for the blue-riband Sydney seat of Wentworth in 2004 and was promoted to the frontbench by Mr Howard in 2006 as his parliamentary secretary.

In January 2007 he became environment minister.

After the Coalition’s 2007 election loss Mr Turnbull became treasury spokesman under then-leader Brendan Nelson, but he did not hide his leadership ambitions and speculation of a challenge was never far away.

In September 2008 as Dr Nelson was floundering, Mr Turnbull took hold of the leadership.

But he fared little better in the polls and went backwards in the wake of the OzCar scandal that saw him take a hit over his political judgment.

Support for Mr Turnbull’s leadership began to fracture in the second half of last year as resistance grew to his decision to back an ETS.

Some in the Liberal party room complained about Mr Turnbull’s leadership style and he was criticised for not consulting enough with others over the Coalition’s climate change policy.

Finally in December, after only 11 months in the top job, he lost the leadership by just one vote to the more conservative and hardline Mr Abbott.

Before entering Parliament, Mr Turnbull was well-known for leading the campaign for a republic, which failed at a referendum in 1999.

Former Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull has announced he is quitting federal politics at the next election.

Mr Turnbull, who lost the Liberal leadership in December, ended the speculation about his future by announcing his decision in a statement on his website today.

“I thank the people of Wentworth for their support over the last five-and-a-half years,” he said.

“I have enjoyed serving and working with them enormously. There is truly no greater privilege than representing your own community in our national Parliament.”

Mr Turnbull said while he has received encouragement from his supporters to stay on, after careful reflection he had decided to resign and would now pursue opportunities with his wife Lucy in the private sector.

“A decision like this is a very personal and heartfelt one which can only be made by me and my family,” he said.

Mr Turnbull also thanked former prime minister John Howard for allowing him to serve as environment minister, but he did not resist taking a swipe at new leader Tony Abbott for ditching Liberal Party support for an emissions trading scheme.

“I regret that another important reform begun during that time, the establishment of an emissions trading scheme, is no longer Liberal Party policy,” he said.

But he has wished Mr Abbott “every success” in the run up to the election.

For his part, Mr Abbott said the Parliament was losing a “rare and remarkable” talent.

“In just two terms, Malcolm has scaled the commanding heights of Australian politics,” he said.

“It is a great honour and privilege to lead a major political party and Malcolm discharged that duty with integrity and intellectual honour.”

Mr Turnbull was replaced by Mr Abbott after Liberal MPs revolted against his stance on emissions trading.

He had indicated he was ready to return to the Opposition frontbench after the resignation of Senator Nick Minchin almost two weeks ago.

Mr Abbott rebuffed his offer, but said there would be a frontbench space for him after the next election and after Parliament had dealt with the ETS legislation

The former barrister and merchant banker was elected to Parliament for the blue ribbon Sydney seat of Wentworth in 2004 and was promoted to the frontbench by John Howard in 2006 as his parliamentary secretary.

In January 2007 he became environment minister.

After the Coalition’s 2007 election loss Mr Turnbull became treasury spokesman under then-leader Brendan Nelson, but he did not hide his leadership ambitions and speculation of a challenge was never far away.

In September 2008 as Dr Nelson was floundering, Mr Turnbull took hold of the leadership.

But he fared little better in the polls and went backwards in the wake of the OzCar scandal that saw him take a hit over his political judgment.

Support for Mr Turnbull’s leadership began to fracture in the second half of last year as resistance grew to his support for an emissions trading scheme.

Some in the Liberal partyroom complained of Mr Turnbull’s leadership style and he was criticised for not consulting enough with others over the Coalition’s climate change policy.

Finally in December, after only 11 months in the top job, he lost the leadership by just one vote to the more conservative and hardline Mr Abbott following the frontbench revolt.