2018-01-22
Colleen Hartland will retire from the Victorian Parliament when parliament resumes at the start of February, after serving 11 years as the Member for the Western Metropolitan Region in the Legislative Council.
“It’s been an incredible honour to represent my community in the Victorian Parliament, but it’s a relentless job that causes exhaustion and this does have an impact on your health,” said Ms Hartland.
“I have decided to retire from the parliament before this begins to have a major impact on me. It is time for me to hand over the baton.”
Colleen Hartland has served as the Member for the Western Metropolitan Region since 2006, where she was elected along with Sue Pennicuik and Greg Barber as the first Greens MPs in the Victorian Parliament.
Previous to that, Ms Hartland was a councillor at the City of Maribyrnong, and a community activist.
Retirements in the Legislative Council do not trigger a by-election; Victorian Greens members in the Western Metropolitan Region have preselected Sunshine woman Huong Truong to replace her.
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About Huong Truong
Huong Truong has worked for 12 years in the public service, building community action on the environmental impacts of our suburbs, delivering active transport projects for walking and cycling, and helping locals navigate welfare and support services.
She actively volunteers with community groups that help accelerate action on climate change, protect our biodiversity, and build multicultural inclusion at the grassroots.
Ms Truong holds a Masters in Environment and Planning (RMIT), a Diploma in Leadership and Management (Victoria Polytechnic) and a Bachelor of Arts (University of Melbourne). She is a graduate of the 2014 Vietnamese Community in Australia - Victoria Chapters’ Dual Identity Leadership Program and the 2017 Women in Environmental Leadership Program.
Ms Truong was born and raised in Melbourne’s western suburbs. Huong lives in Sunshine, Victoria with her husband and their two children.