Jane Furneaux Garrett (16 March 1973 – 2 July 2022) was an Australian politician. She was the Labor Party member for Brunswick in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 2010 until 2018, when she transferred to the Victorian Legislative Council representing Eastern Victoria.[2]
Jane Garrett | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Victorian Legislative Council for Eastern Victoria Region | |
| In office 24 November 2018 – 2 July 2022 | |
| Succeeded by | Tom McIntosh |
| Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Brunswick | |
| In office 27 November 2010 – 24 November 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Carlo Carli |
| Succeeded by | Tim Read |
| 12th Mayor of Yarra | |
| In office November 2009 – November 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Amanda Stone |
| Succeeded by | Alison Clarke |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jane Furneaux Garrett 16 March 1973 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 2 July 2022 (aged 49) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Political party | Labor Party |
| Spouse | James Higgins |
| Children | 3[1] |
Early life and education
editGarrett was born and raised in northern Melbourne and was educated at Radford College[3] followed by the Australian National University, where she studied law.
Career
editJane became an Associate to Justice Alan Boultan of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission in 1997, was an articled clerk with Holding Redlich in 1998, a union officer with the Transport Workers' Union in 1999, a senior adviser to Steve Bracks from 2000 to 2004 and a lawyer at Slater and Gordon from 2004 to 2010.[4][5] She was also a City of Yarra councillor from 2008 to 2010 and was mayor in 2010.[6]
Victorian Parliament
editGarrett was elected to the Legislative Assembly at the 2010 state election after winning Labor endorsement to contest the increasingly marginal seat of Brunswick.[7][4] In 2011, she was elected national junior vice-president of the Labor Party, serving in that capacity until 2017.[8][9] In opposition, Garrett was Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Minister for Police and Emergency Services from February 2012 to December 2013 and Shadow Cabinet Secretary from December 2013 until Labor's victory at the 2014 state election.[4]
Garrett became Minister for Emergency Services and Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation in December 2014 following Labor's return to government.[4] She was reportedly viewed at one stage as a potential future Labor leader.[10] She resigned from the Andrews Ministry on 9 June 2016 following a bitter dispute between the Country Fire Authority (CFA), the United Firefighters Union, and the Victorian government over an enterprise bargaining agreement, during which she had publicly fallen out with Premier Daniel Andrews.[11]
In November 2016, Garrett announced on a Facebook post that she had recently undergone a successful operation for breast cancer, and would be taking four months' leave from parliament for treatment and recovery.[12]
Following Garrett's resignation from Cabinet, she was credited with a key role in the shift of her Industrial Left subfaction, which included the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, away from Andrews' Socialist Left faction and into an alliance with right-wing powerbroker Adem Somyurek.[13][14]
On 27 September 2017, Garrett announced she would not contest Brunswick at the next state election, and would seek preselection for the Victorian Legislative Council seat of Western Metropolitan Region.[15] Her preselection bid was unsuccessful, with Labor's left faction backing Ingrid Stitt, branch secretary of the Australian Services Union.[16] However, she was saved from losing preselection when a wide-ranging deal proposed by Somyurek saw her preselected to head the Labor ticket in Eastern Victoria Region, and she successfully shifted to the Legislative Council at the 2018 election.[4][13][17]
In her new capacity in the Legislative Council, Garrett served as Parliamentary Secretary for Jobs from 2018 until her death.[4] In December 2021, Garrett announced that she would retire from politics at the 2022 state election.[10]
Death
editGarrett's cancer returned in 2022, and she died on 2 July 2022 at the age of 49 in Melbourne.[18]
References
edit- ^ Obituary, theguardian.com. Accessed 11 August 2022.
- ^ "Ms Jane Garrett". Parliament of Victoria. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
- ^ Radford Collegians - Vale Jane Garrett - Class of 1990 Accessed 29 July 2024
- ^ a b c d e f "The Hon. Jane Garrett". Parliament of Victoria. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
- ^ "Address-in-Reply - Jane Garrett's Inaugural Speech". Retrieved 3 July 2022.
- ^ "Hon Jane Garrett". Alumni Spotlight. Australian National University. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
- ^ "Bracks adviser ahead in key seat". The Age. 25 June 2009.
- ^ "Jane's one-year win". Melbourne Times Weekly. 30 November 2011.
- ^ "'Needs attention': ALP policy on gender equality proves to be all talk". The Australian. 17 June 2017.
- ^ a b "'Shift to renewal': Victorian MP Jane Garrett to leave Parliament". The Age. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
- ^ "Victorian minister Jane Garrett resigns from Cabinet as Government seeks to end CFA dispute". ABC News. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
- ^ "Jane Garrett, former Victorian emergency services minister, reveals breast cancer fight". ABC News. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
- ^ a b "How did Somyurek get so powerful?". The Age. 22 June 2020.
- ^ "Shorten's high-risk powerplay could end badly for him". The Australian. 21 December 2017.
- ^ "Labor MP Jane Garrett set to make bold move to Victorian Upper House". ABC News. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
- ^ "Jane Garrett, former Victorian cabinet minister, loses Upper House preselection". ABC News. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
- ^ Towell, Noel (24 July 2018). "Garrett takes the long and winding road to the far east". The Age.
- ^ Eddie, Rachel (2 July 2022). "Victorian MP Jane Garrett dies, aged 49". The Age. Retrieved 2 July 2022.