Four MPs promoted to Labor’s new-look frontbench
Four Labor MPs have been promoted to ministers in the Allan government, just weeks before budget day and seven months before the state election.
At the meeting of state MPs on Tuesday, Kororoit MP Luba Grigorovitch, Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke, Eureka MP Michaela Settle and Box Hill MP Paul Hamer were elected to the cabinet.
They will be tasked with creating portfolios ahead of the state budget on May 5, followed by parliamentary budget estimates hearings in the weeks that follow, and the new cabinet will be the leadership team Premier Jacinta Allan will pick at the November state election.
Edbrooke was first elected to parliament when Labor came to power in 2014; Hamer and Settle were elected in a landslide election in 2018, and Grigorovitch entered parliament in 2022.
Hamer emerged as a late candidate for the fourth spot, pitting him against Mordialloc MP Tim Richardson, but he eventually gained enough support to move up.
Supporters of Hamer and Richardson were frantically trying to rally support Monday night and Tuesday morning ahead of the vote.
Before his election, Grigorovitch was state secretary of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union from 2014 to 2022.
Edbrooke worked as a firefighter and teacher. He made headlines in 2023 when he survived an emergency landing on a light aircraft and helped resuscitate a man who was struggling to breathe weeks later.
Settle, a long-time regional Victorian, owned and operated a family sheep farm in Ararat for a decade. Hamer was a civil engineer before winning what was once a safe Liberal seat in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.
Allan will now appoint portfolios to these MPs as part of a wider cabinet reshuffle that will be confirmed on Wednesday.
Mental Health Minister Ingrid Stitt has been touted as a possible replacement for the health portfolio, which plays a central role in the government’s strategy and re-election chances.
The new ministers will replace Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas, Finance Minister Danny Pearson and Water Minister Gayle Tierney. Who stopped on Monday and confirmed they would not re-contest their seats in November. Natalie Hutchins had previously announced her retirement.
