FEDERAL Labor MP Linda Burney is taking leave from parliament following the sudden death of her son.

Binni Kirkbright-Burney, 33, was found dead last night at the Burney family home in Sydney.

“I returned to Sydney last night to be with him this one last time,” Ms Burney said in a statement, describing her son as a caring and loving man who struggled with mental health and with addiction.

media_camera Heartbreak ... Linda Burney with son Binni who she said had battled his demons. Picture: Nick Bloukos

“He tried so hard to conquer his demons as I and my family have tried so hard to support him in every way we could,” she said.

Ms Burney said police had told her there appeared to be no suspicious circumstances, but the cause of her son’s death was yet to be determined.

“I don’t want to pre-empt subsequent inquiry but we all thought we were getting somewhere. I don’t know what life will be like without him.”

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten led colleagues in messages of support and sympathy this morning.

“I want to extend the condolences of the parliamentary Labor Party and the Labor family to Linda Burney and her family,” Mr Shorten said.

“I can’t imagine what it’s like as a parent to lose your child. I know how much her son loved Linda and how much Linda loved her son.”

media_camera ‘I don’t know what life will be like without him’ ... Linda Burney said of her son today. Picture Gary Ramage

Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham also extended condolences to Ms Burney and her family.

“The hearts, prayers, sympathies, and thoughts of all members of the nation’s parliament will be with Linda Burney and her family today,” he told reporters in Canberra.

Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie in 2015 revealed her own son’s struggle with drug addiction.

During a debate about welfare payments, Lambie said her then 21-year-old son was addicted to ice, and she would be opposing the government’s social services legislation amendment bill which would have removed welfare payments for people in psychiatric institutions.

Burney was the first Aboriginal woman to enter the House of Representatives. She was also the first Aboriginal person to serve in the NSW Parliament.

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Since 2003, she has represented Canterbury in southwest Sydney and served as Deputy Leader of NSW Labor from 2011 to 2016.

She resigned from the Deputy Leadership after she was preselected as Labor’s candidate for the federal seat of Baron.

Readers seeking support and/or information about mental health can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.