Footscray MP Marsha Thomson will end her long run in politics when she retires from parliament at the next election.
The Labor MP came into parliament via the upper house in 1999 and has held the safe seat of Footscray since 2006, following the retirement of Bruce Mildenhall.
Her retirement comes as former political adviser and current government spinner Katie Hall, a Footscray local, emerged as a challenger for Labor pre-selection.
Maribyrnong councillor Sarah Carter will not confirm that she will stand for preselection, but told Star Weekly she is certainly seriously considering it.
Ms Thomson denied suggestions that reports of Ms Hall’s challenge were behind her decision to step down.
“That absolutely has not been an influence, this decision was made long before any talk of pre-selections,” she told Star Weekly.
“It will be 19 years… it’s a good time to go out on a high.”
Premier Daniel Andrews said Ms Thomson had informed him some time ago that this would be her last term in the Victorian Parliament.
“As Member for Melbourne North Province, and then as the Member for Footscray since 2006, Marsha has been a powerful and constant voice within government for better schools, hospitals and services,” he said.
“On behalf of everyone, I want to thank Marsha for her dedicated service to our party, our parliament, our government and all the working people across this state.”
Ms Thomson was Australia’s first female Jewish minister, overseeing consumer affairs, small business, and information and communications technology.
Ms Hall, 35, had the backing of her former boss Nicola Roxon when she unsuccessfully ran against Tim Watts in a pre-selection battle for the federal seat of Gellibrand in 2013.
She is currently the corporate communications and media manager at the North East Link Authority.
Opposition MP Tim Smith said Ms Hall should step down from the agency now that she is a declared candidate.
“Ms Hall can’t be a taxpayer funded spin doctor by day and a Labor preselection candidate by night.”
