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In the lead up to the [[2019 Australian federal election|2019 election]], Alexander was scrutinised for his comments in response to Fijian Prime Minister [[Frank Bainimarama]]. Bainimarama had asked the Australian Government to "please stop burning coal, you know the water level's just coming up and it's threatening our communities", to which Alexander responded "move to higher ground". Speaking at a community function in his electorate, Alexander elaborated: "It’s very much like your house is on fire, your children are in the house – should you call the fire brigade and get the children out of the house?" This statement was considered inflammatory by his [[Australian Labor Party|Labor]] opponent, [[Brian Owler]], who stated that "he [Alexander] says if the house is on fire to get out. Well, we don’t have a second house - or planet - to run to. It would be better if we didn’t start the fire in the first place."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/federal-election-2019/move-to-higher-ground-liberal-mp-s-climate-advice-to-fijians-20190503-p51jpo.html|title='Move to higher ground': Liberal MP's climate advice to Fijians|date=3 May 2019|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=24 December 2021}}</ref> Bainimarama replied to Alexander in a formal statement to Fiji press members, imploring that "Fiji is lucky we even have the higher ground to allow for relocation at all. I’m keen to hear what Alexander believes the people of Kiribati should do in the face of rising seas, where the highest point in their country sits at just 1.8 metres above sea level." Alexander later appeared on [[History of ABC Radio (Australia)|ABC Radio]], clarifying the nature of his remarks by saying that adaptation was "a priority [...] we must also act to prevent further damage to our planet".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/08/fiji-pm-frank-bainimarama-slaps-down-liberal-mp-john-alexanders-climate-advice|title=Fiji PM Frank Bainimarama slaps down Liberal MP John Alexander's climate advice|date=8 May 2019|website=The Guardian|access-date=24 December 2021}}</ref> Despite the controversy, Alexander comfortably retained Bennelong, albeit suffering a 2.8% swing away from him.
In November 2021, Alexander opted to not contest the next election, deciding to retire from politics.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/bennelong-race-thrown-open-after-john-alexander-decides-to-leave-politics-20211112-p598id.html|title=Bennelong race thrown open after John Alexander decides to leave politics|last1=Crowe|first1=David|date=12 November 2021|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> Shortly following his announcement, Alexander spoke with [[Paul Bongiorno]] of [[The Saturday Paper]], reflecting on his experiences and time in office. Alexander criticised Prime Minister [[Scott Morrison]], claiming that "people are tired of the way we engage with each other. All we do is bash each other." Bongiorno's opinion piece later writes that Alexander 'reserves his biggest salvos for the leadership of the Coalition government: Scott Morrison, Josh Frydenberg and Barnaby Joyce', and feels that 'if Labor’s Anthony Albanese wins the election, policies more fit to serve the national interest rather than narrow sectional interest might be served'.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2021/11/20/john-alexander-turns-scott-morrison/163732680012923#hrd|title=John Alexander turns on Scott Morrison|last1=Bongiorno|first1=Paul|date=20 November 2021|work=The Saturday Paper|access-date=24 December 2021}}</ref> This insight was deemed to be damaging for the [[Coalition (Australia)|Coalition]], with Bennelong named as a 'key seat' for the upcoming election by ABC election analyst [[Antony Green]]. Bennelong
==Tennis career finals==
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