Marlene Kairouz (born 2 March 1975) is an Australian politician. She has been a

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 ...

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 presiding ...

since 2008. She was the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation between 2016 and 2020.

Political career

Kairouz was first elected to the Legislative Assembly at the 2008 Kororoit by-election, triggered by the resignation of former minister Andre Haermeyer. Prior to entering state politics she had been elected to the

City of Darebin The City of Darebin is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of and in June 2018 Darebin had a population of 161,609. Municipal offices are located at 350 High Street, Preston. Dar ...

in 1998, serving as mayor from 2001 to 2002 and again from 2006 to 2007. Kairouz was an official with the Victorian branch of the Shop Assistants' Union from 2004, and was promoted to become an organiser in 2005 before her election to Parliament. Kairouz has been a state and national

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 the f ...

conference delegate, and previously served as the Junior Vice-President of the Victorian ALP. In 2001, Kairouz was awarded the Centenary Medal for services to local government. In June 2016, she was appointed to the First Andrews Ministry as Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation. In September 2017, she was appointed as the Minister for Local Government. In November 2018, she retained her consumer affairs, gaming and liquor regulation portfolio in the Second Andrews Ministry, and was also appointed Minister for Suburban Development.

Racism controversy

In October 2017, Kairouz was embroiled in a controversy regarding her advice not to open doors to

Irish people The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been c ...

, following claims that a spate of thefts were being caused by travelling

con artists A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have de ...

with Irish accents. She issued an apology on Twitter. The incident received widespread media coverage in Australia and Ireland.

Branch-stacking allegations

In June 2020, an adviser working for Kairouz was alleged to have facilitated branch-stacking. The adviser is alleged to have obtained money from

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 ...

in order to purchase party memberships. Kairouz has rejected claims she was involved, and the matter has been referred to

IBAC Ibac is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Fawcett Comics and DC Comics. He is often depicted as a foe of Captain Marvel. Publication history Created by writer Otto Binder and artist C.C. Beck, he first appear ...

and Victoria Police. She resigned from the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

on 16 June 2020. She was a person of interest in the

investigation,

Operation Watts The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) is Victoria's anti-corruption agency with jurisdiction over the public sector. It does this by: * investigating serious corruption and police misconduct * informing the public sector, ...

References

External links

Parliament of Victoria biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kairouz, Marlene 1975 births 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Australian people of Lebanese descent Labor Right politicians Living people Mayors of places in Victoria (Australia) Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Recipients of the Centenary Medal RMIT University alumni Women members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Women mayors of places in Victoria (Australia)