Rosalind Louise Spence (born 16 December 1970) 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 Yuroke from 2014 to 2022, then

Kalkallo Kalkallo is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hume local government area. Kalkallo recorded a population of 5,548 at the 2021 census. Located on the Hume Fr ...

from 2022 onwards. Spence is presently the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, Community Sport and Suburban Development in the

Third Andrews Ministry The Third Andrews ministry is the 71st and current ministry of the Government of Victoria. The Labor government, led by Premier Daniel Andrews and Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan, was officially sworn in on 5 December 2022, following the party ...

Early life, education and career

Spence was raised in Eltham and graduated from Eltham High School in 1988. She later graduating with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tasmania in 2002. Prior to her election to Parliament, Spence worked as an electorate officer to various state and federal Members of Parliament, as operations manager for the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party, and as a volunteer solicitor at the Broadmeadows Legal Centre.

Political career

From 2008 to 2012, Spence served as a Councillor in the

City of Hume The City of Hume is a local government area located within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It includes the outer north-western suburbs and a number of rural localities between 13 and 40 kilometres from the Melbourne c ...

, including as Mayor between 2011 and 2012. In 2013, she was selected as the Labor candidate for the seat of Yuroke and was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly at the

2014 Victorian state election The 2014 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 29 November 2014, was for the 58th Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly and 40 seats in the Victorian Legislative Council were up for election. The incumb ...

. She later re-elected at the 2018 Victorian state election. Following the abolition of the Yuroke electorate, Spence won the seat of

at the

2022 Victorian state election The 2022 Victorian state election was held on Saturday, 26 November 2022 to elect the 60th Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly (lower house) and all 40 seats in the Legislative Council (upper house) were up for el ...

. Following her election, Spence served as Government Whip and later as Parliamentary Secretary for Public Transport and Parliamentary Secretary for Road Infrastructure. She has also served as the Chair of the Electoral Matters Committee. In March 2020, Spence was elevated to the Second Andrews Ministry following the resignation of Gavin Jennings as the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Community Sport and Youth. She was additionally appointed as Minister for Prevention of Family Violence in June 2022. Following the 2022 election, Spence was sworn in as Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, Community Sport and Suburban Development.

Personal life

Spence has one son and is married to former Victorian Labor assistant state secretary Kosmos Samaras.

References

External links

Parliamentary voting record of Ros Spence at Victorian Parliament Tracker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, Ros 1970 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Victoria (Australia) local councillors Mayors of places in Victoria (Australia) 21st-century Australian politicians Women members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Women mayors of places in Victoria (Australia) Women local councillors in Australia People from Eltham, Victoria 21st-century Australian women politicians