Marsha Rose Thomson (born 21 December 1955) is an Australian politician. She was a 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 ...

, representing the

electoral district of Footscray The electoral district of Footscray is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It lies just north of Melbourne, covering the suburbs of Footscray, Maidstone, Maribyrnong, Seddon, West Footscray, and parts of Yarraville ...

for the Labor Party from 2006 to 2018; she previously served in 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 2006. She was the first female

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish minister in Australia. Thomson was an economic research officer, ministerial adviser, Implementation Manager with

V/Line V/Line is a statutory authority that operates regional passenger train and coach services in Victoria, Australia. It provides passenger train services on five commuter lines and eight long-distance routes from its major hub at Southern Cross ...

and Executive Officer of Youth Policy Development Council before being elected to the Legislative Council for Melbourne North Province in September 1999. She was Minister for Consumer Affairs 1999–2002 and Minister for Small Business 1999–2005. She was Minister for Information and Communication Technology from February 2002 and Minister for Consumer Affairs from January 2005, until 2006. Due to the Upper House reforms, her former electorate of Melbourne North Province was abolished. As a result of

Bruce Mildenhall Bruce Allan Mildenhall (born 27 March 1953 in Box Hill, Melbourne) was an Australian politician and a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria ...

's retirement from politics, Thomson ran for and won his electorate of Footscray at the 2006 State Election. She was Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier and Parliamentary Secretary for the Arts until the 2010 state election. Thomson was married to federal Labor MP

Kelvin Thomson Kelvin John Thomson (born 1 May 1955) is a former Australian politician. From March 1996 to May 2016, Thomson was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of Wills in Victoria. In Fe ...

and they have two children. They separated in 2003.

References

External links

Parliamentary voting record of Marsha Thomson at Victorian Parliament Tracker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Marsha 1955 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Jewish Australian politicians Politicians from Melbourne 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Victorian Legislative Council Women members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly People from Pascoe Vale, Victoria