Martin Philip Pakula (born 7 January 1969) is an Australian former politician. He has been a Labor Party member of the

Parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria that follows a Westminster System, Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the Monarchy in Australia, King, represent ...

from 2006 to 2022: in the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

for

Western Metropolitan Region Western Metropolitan 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 create ...

from 2006 to 2013, and then in the Legislative Assembly for Lyndhurst (2013–2014) and

Keysborough Keysborough is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, southeast of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Greater Dandenong local government area. Keysborough recorded a population of 30,018 at the . Keysborou ...

(2014–2022). Pakula has served as a minister in the

First Andrews Ministry The First Andrews ministry was the 69th ministry of the Government of Victoria. The Labor Government, led by the Premier, Daniel Andrews, and Deputy Premier, James Merlino, was officially sworn in on 4 December 2014, following the 2014 sta ...

and Second Andrews Ministry. Most recently until June 2022, Pakula was the Minister for Industry Support and Recovery, Minister for Trade, Minister for Business Precincts from June 2020, the Minister for Tourism, Sport & Major Events from November 2018, and the

Minister for Racing Minister for Racing may refer to: * Minister for Racing (New Zealand) The Minister for Racing is a Ministers in the New Zealand Government, minister in the New Zealand Government with responsibility for the regulation of the racing industry an ...

from December 2014. He previously served as the Minister for Jobs,

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 ...

& Trade (2018–2020),

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

(2014–2018). He also served as Minister for Industrial Relations (2008–2010), Minister for Industry and Trade (2008–2010) and Minister for Public Transport (2010) in the Brumby Ministry.

Early life

Pakula was born in Melbourne in 1969, the son of

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

who were deported during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. Pakula's mother, a school teacher, arrived in Australia as a 6 year old with no knowledge of English, while his father, a lawyer, spoke no English at home. He attended Ormond Primary School and then Haileybury. Following this, he was accepted to study economics and law at

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

. During his time at Monash he became a leading member of Victorian Young Labor, joining the Labor Party in 1987. He completed his

Bachelor of Economics A Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon)Bureau of Labor StatisticsHow to Become an Economist/ref> is an academic degree, awarded to students who have completed specialised undergraduate studies in economics. Variants include the "Bachelor of Econo ...

in 1989 and an Honours Degree in Law in 1991. In his final year, he won the Industrial Relations Law prize.

Professional career

After graduating from university, Pakula began work at Macpherson and Kelley Solicitors. In 1993, he became an Industrial Officer at 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 ...

. He went on to become State Secretary and National Vice President. In 2005, Pakula unsuccessfully challenged

Simon Crean Simon Findlay Crean (26 February 1949 – 25 June 2023) was an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 2001 to 2003. He represented the seat of Hotham i ...

in the ALP preselection for the seat of Hotham. Pakula was then preselected for ALP's third spot for the

in the

and was elected at the

2006 Victorian state election The 2006 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 25 November 2006, was for the 56th Parliament of Victoria. Just over 3 million Victoria (state), Victorians registered to vote elected 88 members to the Legislative Assembly of Victoria, Legi ...

. Following the election, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Ports under

Tim Pallas Timothy Hugh Pallas (born 7 January 1960) is an Australian former politician. He was a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2025, representing the electorate of Tarneit until 2014 and then Werribee from 2014 ...

. After the resignation of Minister

Theo Theophanous Theo Charles Theophanous (born 16 June 1948) is a former Australian politician. He entered politics in 1988 as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council. Theophanous served from 1988 to 2006 as one of the two members for Jika Jika Province ...

in December 2008, Pakula was appointed Minister for Industry and Trade and Minister for Industrial Relations. In January 2010, he replaced

Lynne Kosky Lynne Janice Kosky (2 September 1958 – 4 December 2014) was an Australian politician and senior minister in the Government of Victoria. She represented the electoral district of Altona in the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the Labor Par ...

as Minister for Public Transport following her resignation. On 18 March 2013 he was endorsed as the Labor candidate for the Lyndhurst by-election held on 27 April, caused by the February 2013 resignation of shadow treasurer

Tim Holding Timothy James Holding (born 21 August 1972) is a former Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2013. He served as minister for water; minister for finance, WorkCover and the Transp ...

. Pakula resigned from the Legislative Council on 26 March 2013 to contest Lyndhurst and was successful in retaining the seat for Labor. On 4 December 2014 he was sworn in as the Victorian Attorney-General, and was replaced by

Jill Hennessy Jillian Noel Hennessy (born November 25, 1968) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is best known for her roles on the American television series ''Law & Order'', on which she played prosecutor Claire Kincaid for three seasons, and ''Crossin ...

following the

2018 Victorian state election The 2018 Victorian state election was held on Saturday, 24 November 2018 to elect the 59th Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly (lower house) and all 40 seats in the Legislative Council (upper house) were up for elect ...

. He continued to be a minister in a number of portfolios, with the racing portfolio being held the longest since 2014. In June 2022, Pakula announced he would retire at the November state election. He stepped down from his ministerial roles on 27 June 2022. In November 2022 Pakula was appointed to the board of helloworld travel as a non-executive director. Pakula was currently serving in this role as of March 2024 In January 2023 Pakula accepted a part-time role as an advisor to the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

. In October 2023 Pakula was appointed as the chair of the board of the

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual Formula One motor racing event, taking place in Melbourne, Victoria. The event is contracted to be held at least until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Gran ...

Personal life

Pakula is married with two children and is a supporter of the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Princes Park (stadium), Princes Park in Carlton North, Victoria, Carlton North, an inner suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The c ...

. He lives in Black Rock. Pakula is Jewish.

References

External links

Parliamentary profile

Martin Pakula in Victorian Hansard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakula, Martin 1969 births Living people People educated at Haileybury (Melbourne) Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Labor Right politicians Politicians from Melbourne Australian people of Uzbekistani descent Australian people of Polish descent Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Monash Law School alumni Australian Jews 21st-century Australian politicians People from Black Rock, Victoria Ministers for racing (Victoria) Ministers for sport (Victoria) Attorneys-general of Victoria Ministers for public transport (Victoria) Ministers for industrial relations (Victoria) Ministers for innovation (Victoria) Ministers for tourism (Victoria)