Gavin Wayne Jennings (born 18 April 1957) is an Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the

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

from 1999 to 2020, representing

Melbourne Province Melbourne Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council (Australia). Melbourne Province was created in 1882 when Central Province was abolished in the redistribution of Provinces. Its area included central Melbourne, Carlto ...

(1999–2006) and then the

South Eastern Metropolitan Region South-Eastern Metropolitan Region is one of the eight electoral regions of Victoria, Australia, which elects five members to the Victorian Legislative Council (also referred to as the upper house) by proportional representation. The region was c ...

(2006–2020) . He was Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council and Special Minister of State in the Andrews Ministry from 2014 to 2020. He previously served as Cabinet Secretary (1999–2002), Minister for Aged Care (2002–2006), Minister for Aboriginal Affairs (2006–2007), Minister for Community Services (2006–2007), Minister for Environment and Climate Change (2007–2010) and Minister for Innovation (2007–2010) in the

Bracks Ministry The Bracks Ministry was the 65th ministry of the Government of Victoria. It was led by the Premier of Victoria, Steve Bracks, and Deputy Premier, John Thwaites. It succeeded the Kennett Ministry on 20 October 1999,Brumby Ministry The Brumby Ministry was the 66th ministry of the Government of Victoria. It was led by the Premier of Victoria, John Brumby, and Deputy Premier, Rob Hulls. It succeeded the Bracks Ministry on 3 August 2007, following the retirement of former P ...

. He had also been Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council from 1999 to 2010. Jennings is a leading member of the party's Socialist Left faction. Jennings studied at

Beaufort High School Beaufort High School is a public high school within the Beaufort County School District, located in Beaufort, South Carolina, United States, on Lady's Island. The school serves students in downtown areas of Beaufort and Port Royal in addition to ...

and

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

, attaining degrees in arts and social work. He worked at various times as a factory worker, actuarial clerk, actor, social worker and policy analyst. He was employed as an adviser to Cain government minister

Kay Setches Kay Patricia Setches (born 28 November 1944) is an Australian politician. She was a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1982 to 1992, representing the electorate of Ringwood. She was Minister for Conservation, Forest ...

between 1988 and 1990, and then to Premiers John Cain and

Joan Kirner Joan Elizabeth Kirner (née Hood; 20 June 1938 – 1 June 2015) was an Australian politician who was the 42nd Premier of Victoria, serving from 1990 to 1992. A Labor Party member of the Parliament of Victoria from 1982 to 1994, she was a mem ...

between 1990 and 1992. After the defeat of the Kirner government at the 1992 state election, Jennings began working as an industrial officer, working for the Public Transport Union,

Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union United Voice was a large Australian trade union, with over 130,000 members. United Voice members worked in a wide range of occupations including hospitality, childcare, teachers' aides, aged care, property services (cleaning, security, maintenan ...

and Electrical Trades Union at various times until his election to parliament. Jennings won preselection for the safe Labor Legislative Council seat of

in advance of the 1999 state election, and was thus easily elected. He was immediately appointed as Cabinet Secretary and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council. He was promoted to the ministry after the 2002 state election, serving as Minister for Aged Care and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. He was shifted from the aged care to the community services portfolio after the 2006 state election. He received a significant promotion in the wake of

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 ...

's accession to the premiership in August 2007, receiving the portfolios of the environment and climate change, and innovation. On 25 May 2016, the Legislative Council passed a contempt motion against Jennings, effectively suspending him from parliament for up to six months, unless he released documents to the Upper House relating to the

Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre The Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) is a multi-site, multi-disciplinary specialist cancer hospital and research centre located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The VCCC comprises an alliance between The University of Melbourne, th ...

. In March 2020, Jennings announced that he was resigning from the Victorian Parliament. The premier, Daniel Andrews, said the Labor movement was "more confident, more courageous and more compasionate" because of Jennings. On the 23 April 2020, former MP and member of the party's

Left faction The Left Faction ( he, סיעת שמאל, ''Siat Smol'') was a short-lived political party in Israel. History The Left Faction was formed on 20 February 1952 (during the second Knesset) as a breakaway from Mapam in the aftermath of the Prague T ...

Lee Tarlamis was sworn in as Jennings' replacement.

References

External links

Parliamentary voting record of Gavin Jennings at Victorian Parliament Tracker

Gavin Jennings's entry in the Victorian Parliament's biographical database website
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Gavin 1957 births Living people Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Members of the Victorian Legislative Council for South Eastern Metropolitan Region Monash University alumni 21st-century Australian politicians