Maxine Veronica Morand (born 30 January 1959) is an Australian academic, advocate for cancer patients, and former politician. Morand has a current academic appointment at

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 h ...

where she is a professorial fellow in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. In addition she is a board director at Inner East Community Health and is the chair of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Morand served as the Chief Executive Officer of Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) between 2011 and 2014. Prior to joining BCNA, Morand was Minister for Children and Early Childhood Development and

Minister for Women's Affairs The Ministry for Women (Māori: ''Manatū Wāhine'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the government on policies and issues affecting women. It was formerly called the Ministry for Women's Affairs (MWA), bu ...

in the

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 ...

, and held 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 ...

seat of

Mount Waverley Mount Waverley is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Monash local government area. Mount Waverley recorded a population of 35,340 at the 2021 census. It ...

. Before being elected to Parliament, she was a researcher at

Cancer Council Victoria Cancer Council Victoria is a not-for-profit organisation which aims to reduce the impact of cancer in Victoria. It is an independent body that advises various groups, including government, on cancer-related issues. Cancer Council Victoria al ...

and ministerial adviser. Prior to entering politics she was a

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

and transplant coordinator. Morand lives in Melbourne with her husband, John Merritt, and two children. Morand was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

in 2011.

Career

Morand has a background in health, research and politics. After commencing her career as a general nurse, Morand was one of the first organ transplant coordinators 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 ...

. After a career break with the birth of her two children, Morand returned to university and completed her Arts degree at

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria a ...

with an honours year in

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

, majoring in statistics. This led to a research role at the Centre for Behavioural Research at the Cancer Council Victoria and work on a diverse range of projects including evaluation of the Quit program and cancer patient needs. Morand went on to become an advisor to John Thwaites, the newly elected Victorian Minister for Health and Deputy Premier, working across a range of public health policies and programs and health practitioner regulation. In March 2020 Morand was inducted into the

Victorian Honour Roll of Women The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the Australian state of Victoria. The Honour Roll was established as part of the celebrations of Victoria's Centenary of Federation. Public no ...

Political career

Morand ran unsuccessfully as the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

(ALP) candidate for the federal electorate of Kooyong in the 1998 election, achieving a 2.4% swing towards the ALP. She won the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

-held Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Mount Waverley in the 2002 election, at the age of 43. During her time in Parliament, she served for four years on the board of the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (

VicHealth The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation is a statutory authority in the Australian state of Victoria, originally funded by hypothecated taxation raised by the ''Victorian Tobacco Act 1987''. It was the first health promotion body in the wo ...

) and held a range of senior government positions including Parliamentary Secretary for Health. 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 in which Morand was elevated to the newly created portfolio of Children and Early Childhood Development. She was also appointed

. As Minister for Children and Early Childhood Development, Morand had responsibility for a wide range of early years services including maternal and child health, kindergarten and early intervention services for children with disabilities. As

she was a passionate advocate for women's equality of opportunity and the prevention of violence against women, and led major legislative reform in women's health. In 2008, Morand introduced the Abortion Law Reform Bill. The passage of the bill decriminalised

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

in Victoria up to twenty four weeks and up to the moment of birth if two doctors grant approval. As a consequence of her

pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pr ...

advocacy she was targeted by Right to Life organisations before and during the campaign for the

2010 Victorian election The 2010 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 27 November 2010, was for the 57th Parliament of Victoria. The election was to elect all 88 members of the Legislative Assembly and all 40 members of the Legislative Council. The incumbent ce ...

. At that election, she lost her seat to the Liberal candidate, Michael Gidley.

Breast Cancer Network Australia

Maxine served as CEO of Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) between 2011 and 2014. Maxine was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer in 2011, giving her personal insight into the impact and management of a cancer diagnosis. Morand has been a member of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre board of directors since 2015.

References

External links

Breast Cancer Network Australia CEO Maxine Morand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morand, Maxine Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria 1959 births Living people Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Ministers for Women (Victoria) Politicians from Sydney La Trobe University alumni Academic staff of Monash University 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Members of the Order of Australia Women's ministers of Australia Ministers for Children (Victoria)