Lisa Mary Neville (born 27 May 1964) is a former Australian politician, formerly serving as the member for Bellarine in the Victorian Legislative Assembly. She represented the Labor Party. Between 2014 and 2022, she was the Minister for Police and the Minister for Water. She also held other portfolios such as environment, climate change and emergency services at different times during this period.
Neville was born in Newcastle, New South Wales. Her father worked for the airline Qantas, and the family moved around Australia and Papua New Guinea before settling in Brisbane. Neville attended Mount Alvernia College, and then completed an arts degree at Griffith University. At university, she was involved in student unionism, initially with the Queensland Union of Students and then as general secretary and president of the National Union of Students in Melbourne. She worked as a community visitor, inspecting residential facilities for the elderly and disabled on behalf of the state Public Advocate.[1]
Neville first entered parliament at the 2002 election winning the marginal Liberal seat of Bellarine. [citation needed] After spending her first term on the backbench, she was promoted to the positions of Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Children and Minister for Aged Care after the 2006 election. [citation needed]
Neville was named the Shadow Minister for Environment, Climate Change and the Arts by leader Daniel Andrews following Labor's loss in the 2010 Victorian state election. [citation needed]
Neville was made Minister for Environment and Climate Change and Minister for Water following the 2014 Victorian state election.[2]
Following a cabinet reshuffle in May 2016 Lisa Neville was appointed as the first female Minister for Police in Victoria, and retained her water portfolio.[3]
In February 2021, Neville was admitted to the hospital and was forced to take leave due to Crohn's disease. She returned to work in August 2021. The nature of her emergency services portfolio required regular travel around to remote parts of the state at short notice, which was not suitable for her medical condition, forcing her to relinquish the portfolio.[4]
In June 2022, Neville announced she would retire at the November state election, citing her Chron's disease medical condition.[5] She stepped down from her ministerial role on 27 June 2022, and her term as a member of Bellarine ended on 26 November 2022.
Neville was previously married to, and has a son with, Richard Marles, who later became the federal MP for Corio and the Deputy Prime Minister.[1]