Jaala Pulford (born 14 February 1974) is a former Australian politician. She was a Labor Party member of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

between 2006 and 2022, representing the

Western Victoria Region Western Victoria Region is one of the eight electoral regions of Victoria, Australia, which elects five members to the Victorian Legislative Council (also referred to as the upper house) by proportional representation. The region was created in ...

. Pulford was Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Regional Development and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council between 4 December 2014 and 30 November 2018 following the election of the Andrews Labor Government. She was appointed Minister for

Roads A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. The ...

, Road Safety and the TAC, and Fishing and Boating on 30 November 2018. In June 2020, Pulford was appointed Minister for Small Business; Minister for

Employment Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...

; and Minister for

Innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or service (economics), services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a n ...

Medical Research Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as health research, refers to the process of using scientific methods with the aim to produce knowledge about human diseases, the prevention and treatment of illness, and the promotion of ...

and the Digital Economy and in August 2021, she was additionally appointed Minister for Resources.

Early life

Pulford grew up in Castlemaine and attended

Bendigo Senior Secondary College Bendigo Senior Secondary College (BSSC) is an Australian government-funded co-educational secondary school for Year 11 and Year 12 students located in the centre of Bendigo, Victoria. It is the largest provider of VCE, VCE Vocational Major and ...

. She worked as an Organiser for the

National Union of Workers The National Union of Workers was an Australian trade union from 1989 to 2019. The union covered workers in various industries and was one of the most powerful unions in the Australian Labor Party and its national Labor Right faction. In 2019, i ...

Victorian Branch between 1994 and 2006. Pulford has a Bachelor of Applied Management from

University of Ballarat The University of Ballarat, Australia was a dual-sector university with multiple campuses in Victoria, Australia, including its main Ballarat campus, Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide that were authorized by the university to provide diploma, un ...

and has since completed a Masters of Public Policy at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

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. In November 2006, she was elected, at the age of 32, as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council, representing the

. 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). Following the Labor government's loss at 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. On 4 December 2014, Pulford was appointed Minister for Agriculture, Minister for

Regional Development Regional development refers to a broad category of policies aimed at reducing regional disparities within an economy or across economies by devoting resources to underdeveloped areas. Regional development can be national or international in natur ...

and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council as part of the Labor Government led by

Daniel Andrews Daniel Michael Andrews (born 6 July 1972) is an Australian former politician who served as the 48th premier of Victoria from 2014 to 2023. He held office as the leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 2010 and ...

. She was Victoria's first female Agriculture Minister, and oversaw significant reform, including the establishment of Regional Partnerships and a medicinal cannabis industry, the mandatory electronic tagging of sheep, Victoria's first digital agriculture program, greater animal welfare protection, and attracting recreational fishers to Victoria. On 30 November 2018, Pulford was appointed Minister for

, Road Safety and the TAC, and Fishing and Boating in the re-elected Andrews Government. On 22 June 2020, Pulford was appointed Minister for Small Business; Minister for

; and Minister for

and the Digital Economy. On 23 August 2021, Pulford was appointed Minister for Resources. On 28 October 2022, Pulford announced she would not recontest her seat at the 2022 State election.

Personal life

Pulford is married with a son and lives in Ballarat. Her daughter Sinead died of cancer in 2014, aged 13. Labor MP Jaala Pulford lost her daughter Sinead to cancer shortly after the election
,

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a Conservatism, conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Rupert Murdoch, Murd ...

, 23 January 2015

Notes

References

External links

www.jaalapulford.com.auEntry in Victorian Parliament Ministers Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pulford, Jaala 1974 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Women members of the Victorian Legislative Council Deakin University alumni 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians People from Castlemaine, Victoria Ministers for agriculture (Victoria) Ministers for small business (Victoria) Ministers for roads and road safety (Victoria) Ministers for employment (Victoria) Ministers for medical research (Victoria) Ministers for innovation (Victoria) Ministers for regional development (Victoria)