Statement From The Premier

The Hon. Maree Edwards MP, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and Member for Bendigo West, has advised me that she will not be seeking re-election in November.

For almost 16 years, Maree has served Bendigo West, Victoria, and our Parliament with integrity, humility and care.

The truest measure of any Speaker is the respect they earn across the whole chamber, particularly from those whose politics they do not share. Maree has more than earned that respect.

She listens, considers every matter carefully, and is patient, fair and firm when required.

From working alongside Maree in the ‘chook shed’ during opposition, to her time in the Speaker’s Chair, Maree never lost sight of who she was or why she was here.

Her mark isn’t just confined to the Parliament. It is written in every corner of the community she has proudly served for so many years.

Across Bendigo West, her impact is there to see wherever you look:

The redeveloped Kalianna School and Castlemaine Secondary College, the upgraded Bendigo TAFE, the new Bendigo Law Courts and the Bendigo Hospital Day Rehabilitation Facility.

These projects will endure, as will the difference Maree has made for people with disability and their families, and for regional communities that too often felt overlooked and undervalued.

The daughter of factory workers, Maree brought to public life the Labor values she learned growing up in Maryborough – fairness, dignity and a fair go.

As the first woman to represent Bendigo West, and the fourth woman Speaker ever in our state, Maree has made history.

I am deeply grateful for Maree’s service to her community, regional Victoria, our Parliament and the labour movement more broadly.

I thank her family, including her late husband Steve, and her children for the constant support they have shown her.

Maree has given so much to public life, and I wish her every happiness for the future.