- Published:
- Monday 13 April 2026 at 1:00 pm
I want to thank my long-time colleagues – Mary-Anne Thomas, Danny Pearson and Gayle Tierney – for their tireless work over many years as they retire from the Ministry and, at the end of the year, the Parliament.
They have each left an indelible mark on this state, our Government and the great Labor movement. I am grateful for all they’ve done and everything they’ve achieved and for that I say thank you to each of them.
Danny Pearson has brought so much strength and determination to the Ministry since 2020, and as Member for Essendon since 2014. He led major reform to Workcover, ensuring it remains sustainable and helps injured workers get back to work sooner.
He has changed the digital footprint of our state forever, opening the door to the possibilities of the Service Victoria app and relentlessly pursued data centres as well as releasing the AI Mission Statement.
His work in banning engineered stone in Victoria will ensure lives will be saved.
Mary-Anne Thomas took on the Health portfolio during a one-in-100-year pandemic and has achieved so much for our public health system, always backing our dedicated and hard-working workforce.
Her pivotal role in establishing Urgent Care Clinics, the Virtual ED, our first Virtual Hospital and Chemist Care Now, as well as public fertility care and Local Health Service Networks are reforms I will always be incredibly grateful for.
Mary-Anne performed other roles, including Cabinet Secretary, as well as the Leader of the House since 2022, always with dignity. As the Member for Macedon since 2014 she leaves government having made this state a better place.
Gayle Tierney has served in elected office for 36 years, and during that time has achieved so much fighting for working people.
As a Minister for almost a decade in a variety of roles, it was her work leading the restoration of skills and TAFE in Victoria, after being destroyed by state and Federal Liberal Governments, that meant so much to me. Free TAFE will mean more Victorians can continue to retrain, upskill and access secure work.
Prior to this she was the first female State Secretary of the Vehicle Division of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, and also the Federal President. During this period she was also an Executive member of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
I also want to thank Steve McGhie who finishes up as my Cabinet Secretary, a role he has held since 2022.
His long and distinguished record of serving communities in the western suburbs is something I know he is incredibly proud of. I have deeply valued his friendship and support.
Good governments are only as good as their people, and as this group of experienced people moves on, they will be replaced by new Ministers with new idea and new solutions.
My Labor team has a unity of purpose that is guided by our values. We can renew and refresh because of this.
We are united and share a singular focus on making life easier, safer and more affordable for working people and families.
Unlike our opponents who are extreme, divided and have one solution – to cut.
In uncertain times, Victorians can look to Labor for the things that matter: cost of living, health, education, safety and jobs.
That is my focus and that is the focus of my team.
The Parliamentary Labor Party will convene for a Caucus meeting tomorrow, Tuesday 14 April, to make new appointments to the Cabinet.
Portfolio arrangements will be confirmed very soon and the new Ministry will be sworn in in due course.