The Hon Lynne Kosky

Before her political career, Lynne's dedication to the community and sense of public service was already evident in her work as a community education officer, a youth policy officer and manager of community liaison for the Melbourne Olympic bid. She was elected to the Footscray Council in 1986, before becoming mayor at the age of 29. Following this, Lynne served as the second female Director of an AFL club with the Western Bulldogs from 1990.

In 1996, Lynne was elected to Parliament in the Legislative Assembly seat of Altona. From 1999 until her retirement from politics in 2010, she went on to hold a number of key ministerial portfolios.

After being appointed as Minister for Post Compulsory Education, Training and Employment in 1999, Lynne became the Minister for Education and Training in 2002, and introduced the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL)— a practical, workplace training-based alternative to the Victorian Certificate of Education.

Lynne also led an extensive legislative review of the 15 separate statutes governing Victoria's education and training system. This review culminated in the introduction of the Education and Training Reform Bill in February 2006, the most far-reaching statutory changes in the field for a century.

As Minister for Public Transport in late 2006, she rewrote the Transport Act 1983 and secured the Commonwealth– State agreement and funding for the Regional Rail Link. As Minister for the Arts, she initiated the $128 million upgrade of the Victorian Arts Centre and oversaw the completion of the Melbourne Recital Hall.

On leaving parliamentary life in 2010, she became an Honorary Fellow at Victoria University and Chair of the Substation Centre for Art and Culture in Newport. After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011, Lynne continued to lead a rewarding public and private life until her death in December 2014.

She is remembered for her belief in the power of education, as a major reformer in public administration, for her promotion of women in leadership, and for her enormous contribution to public life.