Colin William Brooks (born 9 January 1970) is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor Party member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presidin ...

since 2006, representing the electorate of Bundoora. He is currently the Minister for Child Protection and Family Services and Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers since June 2022, having previously served as the

Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly The Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly is the presiding officer of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria. The presiding officer of the upper house of the Parliament of Victoria, the Victorian ...

from March 2017 until his ministerial appointment.

Early life

Born in Sydney, he was educated at De La Salle College in Ashfield before receiving an electrical trades certificate from Petersham TAFE. He was an electrician from 1990 to 1996.

Political career

In 1996, Brooks became an electorate officer. From 1997 to 2005, he served on Banyule City Council, being mayor from 1998 to 1999 and 2001 to 2002. In 2006, he was selected as the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

candidate for the safe seat of Bundoora in the 2006 state election, after the retirement of sitting member

Sherryl Garbutt Sherryl Maree Garbutt (born 5 May 1948) is a former Australian politician. Garbutt was awarded the Medal in the Order of Australia in the 2020 Australia Day Honours. Early life Born in Melbourne, Victoria, she attended Oak Park High Scho ...

. He has represented the seat since. In March 2017, he was chosen by the Labor Caucus to replace Telmo Languiller as

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by Speaker (politics), presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled Legislative Assembly, legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures ...

. He was re-elected as Speaker in December 2018. Brooks was appointed as Minister for Child Protection and Family Services and Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers in the Second Andrews Ministry in June 2022. Brooks is a member of the Australian Workers Union component of the Victorian

Labor Right The Labor Right, also known as Modern Labor, is a political faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) at the national level that is characterised by being more economically conservative and, in some cases, more socially conservative. The Labor ...

Personal life

Brooks is married with three children. He takes an interest in fishing and gardening. In 2001, he received the Centenary Medal.

References

External links

Parliamentary voting record of Colin Brooks at Victorian Parliament Tracker
1970 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Speakers of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Mayors of places in Victoria (Australia) Recipients of the Centenary Medal Australian electricians 21st-century Australian politicians Politicians from Sydney Labor Right politicians {{Australia-Labor-Victoria-MP-stub