Mary-Anne Thomas (born 26 February 1963) is an Australian politician. She 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 November 2014, representing the electorate of

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an Classical antiquity, ancient monarchy, kingdom on the periphery of Archaic Greece, Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. Th ...

. She has served as Victoria's Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services since June 2022. She was previously the Agriculture and Minister for Regional Development from December 2020.

Education and early career

Thomas studied at

Wodonga High School Wodonga High School was one of three public secondary schools educating Years 7−12 in Wodonga, Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1955, and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2005 under principal, Peter McLean. In 2005−2006 it formally me ...

, and completed a teaching degree at the Melbourne College of Advanced Education. She holds a Graduate Diploma in Industrial Relations from Victoria University and a Masters of Public Policy from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

. She worked for 25 years across public, private and community sectors. She began her career as a secondary teacher, then worked in the union movement before becoming an advisor to

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 ...

, the Minister for Post-Compulsory Education, Employment and Training. She has also held roles in the Victorian public service in Education, and the Department of Premier and Cabinet, where she was Head of Communications. Prior to entering Parliament, she held senior roles at the National Australia Bank and

Plan International Plan International is a development and humanitarian organisation which works in over 75 countries across Africa, the Americas, and Asia to advance children’s rights and equality for girls. Its focus is on child protection, education, child par ...

, one of the world's leading child rights and international development agencies.

Political career

Thomas was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly as the Member for Macedon in November 2014. She had previously contested Labor pre-selection for the Federal seat of Batman, but lost to then Senator

David Feeney David Ian Feeney (born 5 March 1970) is a former Australian politician. He was the Labor member for the division of Batman in the House of Representatives from 7 September 2013 to 1 February 2018. Before that, he was a member of the Australian ...

. She was appointed Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Regional Development in the Andrews Labor Government in December 2020, having previously served as the Parliamentary Secretary for Health & Carers. In June 2022, she was appointed as Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services.

References

External links

Parliamentary voting record of Mary-Anne Thomas at Victorian Parliament Tracker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Mary-Anne 1963 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly 21st-century Australian politicians Women members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly 21st-century Australian women politicians