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
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 presiding ...
from 2010 until 2018, when she transferred to 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 ...
representing
Eastern Victoria.
Biography
Garrett was born and raised in northern
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 ...
and was educated at the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...
, where she studied law. She became an Associate to Justice
Alan Boultan of the
Australian Industrial Relations Commission
The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), known from 1956 to 1973 as the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and from 1973 to 1988 as the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, was a tribunal with powers ...
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
Slater & Gordon Lawyers is a law firm in Australia. The firm was founded in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1935 by a barrister and solicitor from Irymple, Victoria, Hugh Lyons Gordon, and Labor politician Bill Slater.
The firm is one of Australia' ...
from 2004 to 2010.
She was also a
City of Yarra
The City of Yarra is a local government area (LGA) in Victoria, Australia in the inner eastern and northern suburbs of Melbourne. It is the second smallest LGA in the state with an area of , and in June 2018 it had a population of 98,521, ma ...
councillor from 2008 to 2010 and was mayor in 2010.
Garrett was elected to the Legislative Assembly at the
2010 state election after winning Labor endorsement to contest the increasingly marginal seat of
Brunswick.
In 2011, she was elected national junior vice-president of the Labor Party, serving in that capacity until 2017. 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.
Garrett became Minister for Emergency Services and Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation in December 2014 following Labor's return to government.
She was reportedly viewed at one stage as a potential future Labor leader.
She resigned from the
Andrews Ministry on 9 June 2016 following a bitter dispute between the
Country Fire Authority
The Country Fire Authority (CFA) is a volunteer fire service responsible for fire suppression, rescues, and response to other accidents and hazards across most of the state Victoria, Australia. CFA comprises over 1,200 brigades organised in 21 ...
(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.
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.
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
The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU, though most commonly still referred to as CFMEU) is Australia's main trade union in construction, forestry, maritime, mining, energy, textile, clothing and footwear producti ...
, away from Andrews'
Socialist Left faction and into an alliance with right-wing powerbroker
Adem Somyurek
Adem Kubilay Somyurek (born 25 September 1967 in Izmir, Turkey) is an Australian politician. He has served as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council representing South Eastern Metropolitan Region since 2002.
Somyurek was a member o ...
.
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
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 ...
seat of
Western Metropolitan Region
Western 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 created ...
.
Her preselection bid was unsuccessful, with Labor'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 ...
backing
Ingrid Stitt
Ingrid Stitt (born 1965/1966) is an Australian politician. She has been a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Council since 2018, representing Western Metropolitan Region. She is a former union leader who won preselection over Jan ...
, branch secretary of the
Australian Services Union
The Australian Services Union (registered as the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union) is a trade union representing workers in a variety of industries.
The ASU is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trad ...
.
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
Eastern Victoria 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 created in 2 ...
, and she successfully shifted to the Legislative Council at the 2018 election.
In her new capacity in the Legislative Council, Garrett served as Parliamentary Secretary for Jobs from 2018 until her death.
In December 2021, Garrett announced that she would retire from politics at the
2022 state election.
Garrett's cancer returned in 2022, and she died on 2 July 2022 at the age of 49 in Melbourne.
References
External links
Parliamentary voting record of Jane Garrett at Victorian Parliament Tracker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garrett, Jane
1973 births
2022 deaths
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria
Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Members of the Victorian Legislative Council
Women members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Women members of the Victorian Legislative Council
Mayors of Yarra
Women mayors of places in Victoria (Australia)
Australian National University alumni
21st-century Australian politicians
21st-century Australian women politicians
Politicians from Melbourne
Deaths from breast cancer
Deaths from cancer in Victoria (Australia)
Victoria (Australia) local councillors