Jaala Pulford

The Honourable Jaala Pulford MLC
Minister for Agriculture
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 December 2014
Preceded by	Peter Walsh
Minister for Regional Development
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 December 2014
Preceded by	Peter Ryan
Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 December 2014
Preceded by	Wendy Lovell
Member of the Victorian Legislative Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 25 November 2006
Constituency	Western Victoria Region
Personal details
Born	(1974-02-14) 14 February 1974
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Labor Party
Website	http://www.jaalapulford.com.au/

Jaala Pulford (born 14 February 1974) is an Australian politician. She has been an Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Council since 2006, representing Western Victoria Region.

Pulford was appointed Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional Development and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council on 4 December 2014 following the election of the Andrews Labor Government.

Early life

Pulford grew up in Castlemaine and attended Bendigo Senior Secondary College.^[1]

She worked as an Organiser for the National Union of Workers Victorian Branch between 1994 and 2006.^[1]

Pulford has a Bachelor of Applied Management from University of Ballarat^[1] and has since completed a Masters of Public Policy at Deakin University.

Political career

Pulford has held a number of roles within the ALP, including State and National Conference Delegate, Junior Vice-President of the Victorian Branch, National Labor Women’s Network secretary and President of the ALP Women’s Policy Committee.^[1]

In November 2006, Pulford was elected, at the age of 32, as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council representing the Western Victoria Region.

As a member of the Brumby Government, she served as Parliamentary Secretary for Industrial Relations (August 2007 – January 2010) and Parliamentary Secretary for Regional and Rural Development, Industry and Trade (January – November 2010).^[1]

Following the 2010 State Election, Pulford was appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition (Legislative Council) and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional and Rural Development.^[1]

On 4 December 2014, Pulford was appointed Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional Development and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council as part of the Labor Government led by Daniel Andrews.^[2]

Jaala is Victoria’s first female Agriculture Minister and the Minister for Regional Development in the Andrews Labor Government. She also serves as Deputy Leader in the Legislative Council.

Since taking on these positions since 2014 she has overseen significant reform including the establishment of Regional Partnerships and a medicinal cannabis industry, mandatory electronic tagging of sheep and Victoria’s first digital agriculture program, greater animal welfare protections and making Victoria a Mecca for recreational fishers.

She is a passionate advocate for regional Victorians and one of her proudest achievements is being able to have supported farmers and rural Victorians in times of crisis.

Jaala has been a Member for Western Victoria since 2006 after spending more than a decade as an official of the National Union of Workers. Having grown up in Castlemaine, she now lives in Ballarat.

Personal life

Pulford is married with a son. Her daughter Sinead died of cancer in 2014, aged 13.^[3]

References

External links

• www.jaalapulford.com.au
• Parliamentary voting record of Jaala Pulford at Victorian Parliament Tracker