The Hon. Jaala Pulford MP

Jaala was appointed Minister for Employment; Minister for Innovation, Medical Research and the Digital Economy; and Minister for Small Business in June 2020 and in August 2021 also became the Minister for Resources.

Prior to 2020, Jaala served as Minister for Roads, Road Safety and the TAC; and Minister for Fishing and Boating from December 2018. In the Andrews Government’s first term she was Victoria’s first female Minister for Agriculture, as well as Minister for Regional Development and Deputy Leader in the Legislative Council.

Prior to entering parliament, Jaala worked for more than a decade in the union movement and knows the value that a secure, safe and fairly paid job provides – not only to the person in the job but also to those who depend on them. Prior to that, Jaala grew up in Castlemaine watching her parents establish and run their own small businesses.

Jaala is focussed on ensuring that all Victorians have the opportunity to work and to succeed, whether they are an employee or running their own business. She is committed to making sure that Victoria maintains its world class reputation as a leader in Innovation and Medical Research. She has a strong interest in new and emerging technologies and is keen to support the accelerating growth of the Digital Economy.

Jaala adds Resources to her existing economic portfolio responsibilities, overseeing the regulation of this important sector and supporting it to continuing creating jobs and supplying the vital materials underpinning our infrastructure boom.

Throughout Jaala’s career she has led some substantial reforms including the establishment of Victoria’s medicinal cannabis industry, the banning of puppy farms, the introduction of electronic ID of sheep and goats (all 10 million of them), the establishment of Victoria’s first digital agriculture strategy, the creation of Victoria’s Regional Partnerships framework, the transformation of Victoria into a recreational fishing Mecca; and more recently, establishing a modernised, data driven traffic management system for Melbourne.

Jaala has worked closely with Victorian farmers during two droughts and the 2016 dairy crisis; with families impacted by road trauma; and with injured workers or those in insecure jobs – all at periods of great upheaval, uncertainty and loss. Her work is now focussed on supporting people whose lives have been profoundly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic across her portfolio areas and electorate.

Jaala has been a Member for Western Victoria since 2006. She lives in Ballarat with her husband, her son and two retired greyhounds named Patch and George