Jacinta Allan

Jacinta Marie Allan (born 19 September 1973) is an Australian politician. She has been a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 1999, representing the electorate of Bendigo East. Allan is the longest serving Victorian female Minister in the State’s history and Victoria’s longest serving Labor Minister. She was Minister for Public Transport and Minister for Employment in the First Andrews Ministry from December 2014 to December 2018,

The Honourable Jacinta Allan MP
Minister for Transport Infrastructure
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 November 2018
Premier	Daniel Andrews
Preceded by	Position established
Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop
Incumbent
Assumed office 22 June 2020
Premier	Daniel Andrews
Preceded by	Position established
Minister for the Coordination of Transport - COVID-19
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 April 2020
Premier	Daniel Andrews
Preceded by	Position established
Leader of the House
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 December 2014
Premier	Daniel Andrews
Preceded by	Louise Asher
Minister for Public Transport
In office 4 December 2014 – 29 November 2018
Premier	Daniel Andrews
Preceded by	Terry Mulder
Succeeded by	Melissa Horne
Minister for Employment
In office 4 December 2014 – 29 November 2018
Premier	Daniel Andrews
Preceded by	Louise Asher
Succeeded by	Martin Pakula (as Minister for Jobs, Innovation and Trade)
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Bendigo East
Incumbent
Assumed office 18 September 1999
Preceded by	Michael John
Personal details
Born	Jacinta Marie Allan 19 September 1973 Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
Political party	Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Ben Davis ​ (m. 2004⁠–⁠2008)​ Yorick Piper ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	2
Alma mater	La Trobe University, Bendigo
Profession	Politician
Website	jacintaallan.com

Following the Labor Party’s victory at the 2018 Victorian state election, Allan was appointed Minister for Transport Infrastructure in the Second Andrews Ministry. As part of the Victorian Government’s response to the COVID-19 health emergency, Allan was one of seven Ministers appointed to the Crisis Council of Cabinet, serving as the Minister for the Coordination of Transport - COVID-19.

Allan previously held a range of ministries in the Bracks Ministry (1999–2007) and Brumby Ministry (2007–2010).[1]

A member of a prominent Bendigo political family, she is the granddaughter of the late Bendigo Trades Hall Council President William Allan.[2]

Political career

Allan served in the political offices of Steve Gibbons and Neil O'Keefe after completing her BA at La Trobe University in Bendigo. Allan was first elected at the 1999 state election at the age of 25, making her the youngest ever female parliamentarian in Victoria.[3] She entered the ministry after the 2002 election, serving as Minister for Education Services and Minister for Employment and Youth Affairs.

After a cabinet reshuffle in 2006 Allan's responsibilities were altered slightly, losing Youth Affairs in exchange for Women's Affairs. She was promoted in August 2007 in a reshuffle sparked by the accession of John Brumby to the premiership. In 2010, she became Minister for Industry and Trade after Martin Pakula became Transport Minister following the resignation of Lynne Kosky.

Allan was targeted by Right to Life organisations during her election campaign in 2010, having voted for abortion reform in parliament during 2008.[4] This targeting did not appear to have influenced her vote. She retained her seat with only a slight swing against her.

After the defeat of the Brumby government in November 2010, Allan became manager of opposition business in the Legislative Assembly, as well as opposition spokeswoman for Roads, Regional and Rural Development and Bushfire Response. Since this time, Allan has also served as police and emergency services spokesperson.[5]

In a reshuffle announced in December 2013, Allan became Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Regional Cities and Regional & Rural Development, in addition to her responsibilities as Manager of Opposition Business.[6]

After the 2014 Victorian state election, Allan was appointed as Minister for Public Transport and Minister for Employment.[7]

At the 2018 Victorian state election, Allan was re-elected as the Member for Bendigo East, delivering a 7.1% swing towards the Labor party.[8]

Following Labor’s victory, Allan was appointed Minister for Transport Infrastructure and is now leading the delivery of the largest investment in transport projects in Victoria’s history.[9][10] This includes the removal of 75 of Melbourne’s most dangerous and congested level crossings,[11] the construction of the Metro Tunnel,[12] the Suburban Rail Loop,[13] Melbourne Airport Rail,[14] and the Regional Rail Revival package,[15] which will make improvements to every passenger line on Victoria’s regional network.

Allan is responsible for the delivery of Victoria’s major road projects including the West Gate Tunnel, North East Link and upgrades to key suburban and regional road networks.[16] The West Gate Tunnel project has suffered major delays as TransUrban, the builders and government argue over PFAS contamination and the safe disposal of toxic soils. The Andrews’ Government has been accused of ignoring community concerns by introducing new Environmental Regulations that lower the bar for Tunnel spoil management. [17]

As part of the Victorian Government’s response to the COVID-19 health emergency, Allan is currently a member of the Crisis Council of Cabinet serving as the Minister for the Coordination of Transport - COVID-19. In this role, she has responsibility for leading all COVID-19 response activities across the transport portfolio.[18]

Personal life

Allan was born and grew up in Bendigo and went to school at St Joseph’s Primary School in Quarry Hill then Catholic College Bendigo, before completing her studies BA (Hons) at La Trobe University in Bendigo.

Allan is married and has two young children who attend the local primary school.

References

1. "Hon Jacinta Allan". Parliament of Victoria. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
2. Colin Cleary (1999), Bendigo Labor. The Maintenance of Traditions in a Regional City, Epsom, pp.146–148 and p.227
4. Lyle Allan (2010). "Margaret Tighe. The most powerful woman in Victoria," in Tasmanian Times, 30 November. http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php?/weblog/article/margaret-tighe.-the-most-powerful-woman-in-victoria/
5. Martin, Reymer (6 February 2012). "Bendigo MP given new portfolio".
6. "Category". Herald Sun. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
7. "New Victorian Premier sworn in, new ministerial team revealed". 4 December 2014.
8. https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/Results/State2018/BendigoEastDistrict.html
9. https://transport.vic.gov.au/our-transport-future/our-projects
10. https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/
11. https://levelcrossings.vic.gov.au/
12. https://metrotunnel.vic.gov.au/
13. https://suburbanrailloop.vic.gov.au/en
14. https://bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/melbourne-airport-rail
15. https://regionalrailrevival.vic.gov.au/
16. https://roadprojects.vic.gov.au/
17. https://amp.theage.com.au/national/victoria/west-gate-tunnel-soil-rules-blasted-as-designed-to-fast-track-project-20200708-p55a67.html
18. https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/crisis-council-of-cabinet-set-up-to-combat-coronavirus/

External links

• Parliamentary voting record of Jacinta Allan at Victorian Parliament Tracker