Mr Watkins said that his family had increasingly been taking second place behind his political life and wanted to correct the balance between work and family.

"Politics is a rewarding career but it can be tough,'' he said when announcing his decision.

Mr Watkins has been approached by Alzheimer's Australia and said that he expected to finalise discussions with them about a role in the near future.

Planning Minister Frank Sartor is expected to be moved to health, and Energy Minister Ian Macdonald will take over planning. There is also speculation that Carmel Tebbutt will return to the front bench and replace Mr Watkins as deputy premier.

Albury Convention & Performing Arts Centre 1st-3rd March 2009 more»

The Aged Care Queensland Inc. State Conference is being held at Conrad Jupiters, Gold Coast from Wednesday 24 March to Friday 27 March 2009. Its theme is Aged Care: The Road to...? more»

The 2009 HammondCare Depression Conference will be held from 14-15 May at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney. It's theme is: 'Depression in the elderly: should we improve the assessment and management or just concentrate on being happy?' more»

Tunstall has released a new Property Exit Sensor which can activate an alarm call to the company's 24 hour response centre if a resident leaves their home at unusual times. more»

Anyone over 60 can now predict their individual risk of bone fracture with the aid of a simple web-based tool, developed by the Sydney-based Garvan Institute of Medical Research. more»

Word Cup, an online spelling and vocabulary contest are inviting people aged over 51 years to take a free trial. The contest is being hosted by a not for profit company, espindle and the largest prize sponsor is Oxford University Press. more»