By DAVID BRAITHWAITE
THE Eastern Victoria upper house region, which includes Gippsland, will have a least one new member following Harriet Shing’s decision not to seek re-election in November.
Ms Shing was one of two Labor MPs who announced on Thursday they will leave Parliament at the state election, and resigned their ministries, effective immediately.
Until last week, Ms Shing was Minister for Health, Ambulance Services and Water. She was appointed to the health and ambulance services portfolios in April, following Mary-Anne Thomas’ announcement that she would be retiring from politics at the election.
Another ally of former Premier Jacinta Allan – who was replaced in the top job last week by Ben Carroll – Lily D’Ambrosio also announcement she will be leaving Parliament at the election, and her resignation as Minister for Energy and Resources, Climate Action and the State Electricity Commission.
Ms Shing entered Parliament as a Member for Eastern Victoria at the 2014 election. Ms Shing was the first woman elected to the Victorian Parliament to publicly share she was a lesbian.
“It has been an incredible honour to serve as the Member for Eastern Victoria since 2014, and as a Minister for the last four years. It has always been my view that we are custodians of these roles for the time that we have them, and it is now time for me to pass these opportunities and obligations on to the next person,” Ms Shing said in her resignation statement.
After holding a range of parliamentary secretary roles from 2016 to 2022, Ms Shing was promoted to the ministry by then-Premier Daniel Andrews. Regional development, equality, housing, the Suburban Rail Loop and Commonwealth Games legacy were among the ministries she had.
“I am so proud of the achievements of this Labor government. I want to thank my friends Jacinta Allan and Daniel Andrews for the opportunity to serve in their cabinets, and alongside my caucus colleagues over this 12-year journey,” Ms Shing said.
“I have congratulated and wished Premier Carroll every success. He deserves the full support, solidarity, and respect of the cabinet, the caucus, and our entire Labor movement as he takes the government forward and into the all-important contest against the Liberal Party and One Nation in November.
“I have no doubt that the fight we bring to the coming months will continue to be grounded in the principles and priorities that drive all of us. The Labor values of fairness, equity, support to manage the cost-of-living, buy, rent or build a home, find a great job, get a truly wonderful public education, and access to free public healthcare delivered by exceptional people.”
There were reportedly fears in Labor that Ms Shing, who was likely to again be second on the party’s ticket for Eastern Victoria, would lose her seat in Parliament.
Ms Shing said she worked hard, with and for the communities and people she represented, but only directly referred to Gippsland once in her statement.
“It has been a labour of love, and determination,” she said.
“The thousands of social housing homes we have funded and built all over the state for people who deserve a home that they can be proud to call their own.
“The record funding and reforms that have translated to more and better public healthcare and supports, for women and girls, for victim survivors of family violence, and particularly for reproductive rights.
“The schools, TAFE campuses, hospitals, roads, rail, and kinders we have built and upgraded. The community and sporting facilities that will bring people together for generations to come. The delivery of more services through virtual care, work, and learning.
“The multi-billion dollar funding and support for workers, families and communities across Gippsland who are living and working through the challenging long-term transition away from coal-fired power generation and native timber harvesting, to renewable energy and jobs and emerging prosperity in growth industries.
“I’ve been so proud to be part of policy work and reform delivered through our government’s nation-leading work – our voluntary assisted dying legislation, real and enduring support for LGBTIQA+ Victorians including the banning of conversion practices and the passage of anti-vilification legislation, improved water security, securing federal funding for the Suburban Rail Loop, and better protections for workers who deserve safe workplaces and fair wages and conditions.”
MS D’AMBROSIO, who has overseen the Labor government’s energy portfolio since 2014, is leaving parliament after 24 years.
“I have had the privilege to help deliver the first of many policy reforms to navigate the profound transformation of our energy system, with people always at the heart of change,” he said.
“We’ve implemented nation-leading energy consumer protections, grown clean renewable energy, and reduced our greenhouse gas emissions all whilst saving Victorians on their energy bills and securing our energy future.
“With our first offshore wind auction set to launch in August and Victoria now well placed to manage any further disruption to global fuel markets, I have decided that it is time to step back.
“Back in 2014 not a lot of people thought about energy too much. Of course, the decade that followed changed all that.
“Under Labor, Victoria has led the nation, paving the way for Australia’s transition to renewable energy. Where Victoria has gone, the rest of country has followed.”
Premier Carroll thanked Ms Shing and Ms D’Ambrosio for their service.
“Over many years of dedicated service, they have brought compassion, determination and a strong sense of purpose to their roles, delivering outcomes that have improved the lives of Victorians and strengthened the communities they represent,” Mr Carroll said.
Mr Carroll thanked Ms Shing for “her support and proud commitment to delivering for working people through a reforming Labor government”.
“Throughout her time in cabinet, Harriet has taken on some of the government’s most demanding portfolios and delivered lasting reforms. She has led work to reshape Victoria – improving access to housing, delivering major transport and urban renewal projects, strengthening water security and supporting regional communities,” Mr Carroll said.
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By LIAM DURKIN
LATROBE City Mayor Sharon Gibson has thanked Harriet Shing and Lily D’Ambrosio for their time in Parliament.
“I acknowledge their length of tenure,” the Mayor told the Express.
“It’s not often people are in politics for such a long time.
“There is a cost to your friends and family for that.”
The Mayor did however stop short of handing out too much praise, saying there was still plenty of work to do.
“Whoever comes in and replaces them, especially the Minister for Energy, we have serious issues in the Valley,” Cr Gibson said.
The upcoming New Energy Conference in Traralgon is set to carry greater interest now, given Ms D’Ambrosio has departed from her role as Minister for Climate Action.
Ms D’Ambrosio was booked to deliver the keynote address before announcing her departure as Minister for Climate Action, along with Energy and Resources and the State Electricity Commission.
Cr Gibson admitted to not always seeing “eye-to-eye” with Ms D’Ambrosio, but said they enjoyed a “good working relationship” nonetheless.
Any disagreements were likely manifested over the region’s energy future.
Cr Gibson ran as an independent at the 2022 state election, and held her campaign launch outside Yallourn Power Station.
She said shoring up the Latrobe Valley’s power industry sparked her decision to run.
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By AIDAN KNIGHT
JACINTA Allan was an interesting figure to cover from the perspective of the press.
I’ve seen speculation from political analysts in the hours since her resignation that she “pandered too much” to the media.
While she was almost always pleasant, that wasn’t entirely my experience covering her for the Express.
I first met the former Premier during her surprise visit to Traralgon train station last October to announce the finalisation of the Metro Tunnel and regional rail works that had prompted so much disruption over the last few years. This was something we only knew about less than an hour before her arrival.
Our office received a call while I was at a media tour of the Loy Yang B power station, and watching phones light up for our colleagues from ABC and WIN News momentarily confused me, while the phone was likely ringing off the hook back at the Express’ George Street, Morwell office.
The press conference, taking place on the station platform, seemed strategically set up to be an appropriate length, but with minimal opportunity to “drill” the Premier on harder topics. This was achieved by making it a double announcement, not only of the major transport infrastructure updates, but also new investments into national parks. To deliver the crux of these announcements were the respective ministers for Transport and Environment, Gabrielle Williams (now deputy of the state), and Steve Dimopoulos.
As is typical with these events, no question is technically off-topic. Ministers, however, usually try to steer their answers back towards the day’s announcement before offering a few crumbs on unrelated issues affecting the communities we represent. This time, even those secondary questions didn’t seem especially welcome.
ABC Gippsland reporter Bec Symons got the first one in, with a policy query on foster parenting and childcare, before I worded a neutral question on youth crime (only a matter of weeks after the death of Morwell local Kaiden Morgan), only to be told: “that’s all we’ve got time for”.
Between us arriving and the conference being cut off, the Premier copped a mouthful from one singular heckler, given a soapbox by the very infrastructure she had built and was there to promote. An older, bearded man, seemingly under the influence, took to the overpass passage connecting the two platforms as his crow’s nest, and yelled repeatedly towards Ms Allan, “it’s all suss mate”, alongside several generic anti-government phrases with and without profanity. In all honesty, we were pretty shocked this was the only interruption, as this was peak public outrage over the machete bin rollout, and we attributed the late notice (on her visit) to this.
For someone as experienced as Ms Allan, a career politician who had spent years in senior portfolios before becoming Premier, she seemed to have surprisingly little tolerance for the interruption, despite it barely being audible from where she stood.
Her expression changed immediately, dropping her instantly recognisable smile for a furrowed brow of disapproval more typically seen from that of the Energy Minister. I always remembered this, and saw a similar change take her face at the State Budget the following May, when I was consulting her once again about regional rail.
While admittedly the attitude of ‘standing-on-business’ fares better in the end in big issue circumstances, it gave more of an impression of impatience in smaller ponds.
This likely led to her downfall in the public eye over time, with more instances of avoiding the press unless vetted by her office, or attempting to walk off somewhere to be, as seen on the steps of Parliament last month when pursued over alleged CFMEU corruption.
For the most part, she was warmer than most political figures, and somehow had time for a selfie on the Traralgon platform (confusingly after not having the time to reply to my question).
As the Express’s self-appointed transport correspondent, one small thing about Jacinta Allan always stood out.
I’ve been to many train platforms for announcements with Minister Williams, Member for Eastern Victoria Region, Tom McIntosh, and various other Labor/PTV representatives.
Out of all the transport stories I have done, Jacinta Allan was the only speaker to pause her speech as a V/Locity screeched past. As a result, I didn’t lose key quotes among the noise, for which I am grateful.
It is these things that reporters remember, and separate every other politician figure from those that make our job easier.
