Bronwyn Jane Pike (born 25 January 1956) is a former Australian politician. She was Minister for Education in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in the Brumby Government, and was the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

from 1999 to 2012.

Early life

Prior to entering Parliament, Pike worked as a teacher, a community services manager and as the Director of the Unit of Justice and Social Responsibility in the

Uniting Church The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...

. She is also a former Board Director of

Greenpeace Australia Greenpeace Australia Pacific (GPAP) is the regional office of the global environmental organisation Greenpeace. Greenpeace Australia Pacific is one of Australia's largest environmental organisations. Origins and formation Greenpeace Australi ...

. Pike has a long history of advocating for social change, equality and the disadvantaged. Pike has a son, Paul Coats, who is a former University of Melbourne Postgraduate Association President and an active

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

Political career

Pike entered politics in 1999, at age 43. She was appointed the Minister for Housing and Aged Care and Minister Assisting the Health Minister in the government of

Steve Bracks Stephen Phillip Bracks (born 15 October 1954) is a former Australian politician and was the 44th Premier of Victoria. He first won the electoral district of Williamstown in 1994 for the Labor Party and was party leader and premier from 1999 ...

. In 2002 she was appointed as Minister for Community Services and Minister Assisting the Premier on Community Building. In May 2007, Pike became the longest-serving female minister in Victoria's history, along with

Lynne Kosky Lynne Janice Kosky (2 September 1958 – 4 December 2014) was an Australian politician and senior minister in the Government of Victoria. She represented the electoral district of Altona in the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the Labor Part ...

. Pike announced her resignation from parliament on 7 May 2012 which triggered a Melbourne by-election. Labor retained the seat, with

Jennifer Kanis Jennifer Kanis (born 16 April 1970) is an Australian politician. She was the Labor Party member for Melbourne in the Victorian Legislative Assembly between 2012 and 2014. Kanis was born in Melbourne to migrant parents—a Greek father and Ital ...

narrowly defeating the Greens candidate, Cathy Oke.

Minister for Health

Following the re-election of the Bracks government in late 2002, Pike was promoted to

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

Minister for Education

On 2 August 2007, newly-appointed Premier

John Brumby John Mansfield Brumby (born 21 April 1953) is the current Chancellor of La Trobe University and former Victorian Labor Party politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2007 to 2010. He became leader of the Victorian Labor Party and premier ...

announced a cabinet reshuffle, which moved Pike from Minister for Health to Minister for Education. Pike spearheaded the $1.9 billion Victorian Schools Plan to rebuild and modernise 500 Victorian schools over the four-year term of government. This included upgrades to technology wings; re-equipping science class rooms; building new schools in growth corridors. A key focus of this rebuilding program is encouraging joint-use of school and community facilities in areas ranging from libraries to sports fields. By 2011 more than 900 schools will have been rebuilt or modernised. The program has been tarnished by use of tactics to force school councils to vote for closure or merger of small schools by threatening to limit funds to the minimum amount as well as other tactics.

Later career

Among her positions since she left politics, Bronwyn Pike is the Chair of

UnitingCare Australia UnitingCare Australia is the national body for the UnitingCare network, made up of the Uniting Church in Australia's (UCA) community services agencies. It is a sister body to UnitingJustice Australia, and UnitingWorld. All are agencies of the Un ...

and serves on the board of Uniting NSW and ACT. She is a lifelong member of the

Honours

In 2022, Pike was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the

2022 Australia Day Honours The 2022 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2022 by the Governor General of Australia, David Hurley. The Australia ...

for "significant service to social welfare and not-for-profit organisations, and to the Parliament of Victoria".

References

External links

Personal Website

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pike, Bronwyn 1956 births 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Australian schoolteachers Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Living people Members of the Order of Australia Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly People educated at Immanuel College, Adelaide University of Adelaide alumni Women members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly