Federal MP In
1983 Brumby was elected to the
Australian House of Representatives for the seat of
Bendigo, which he held until his defeat in
1990. A member of the
Labor Unity faction, he was a strong supporter of
Prime Minister Bob Hawke and an opponent of the
Socialist Left faction, which historically had its stronghold in the Victorian branch of the Labor Party. Brumby then worked as a consultant before being appointed chief of staff to the federal
Minister for Resources and
Tourism,
Alan Griffiths with responsibility for the development of policy in areas such as energy, petroleum, minerals and tourism. He held this position until February 1993, when he was elected to the
Victorian Legislative Council at a by-election for the seat of
Doutta Galla Province in Melbourne's western suburbs.
State opposition leader The Victorian Labor government of
Joan Kirner was defeated at the October 1992 state elections by the
Liberal Party led by
Jeff Kennett. Kirner resigned as leader after a short period and was succeeded by her deputy
Jim Kennan. When Kennan resigned from parliament in June 1993, Brumby was elected his successor. He resigned from the Legislative Council and was elected to the
Victorian Legislative Assembly at a by-election for Kennan's seat of
Broadmeadows in Melbourne's outer north. In 1996, Brumby opposed the Kennett state government's proposed relocation of the State Museum to the
Carlton Gardens site adjacent to the
Royal Exhibition Building. At this time, Brumby first proposed that the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens be nominated for
World Heritage listing. The World Heritage nomination was opposed at the time by the
Kennett Liberal state government. It was not until after the 1999 state election that the Bracks Labor government nominated and obtained World Heritage Listing for the site. From 1993 to 1996, Brumby worked to restore Labor's fortunes in Victoria. The defeat of the federal Labor government in
March 1996 prompted Kennett to call an early state election three weeks later. Labor only managed a net two-seat gain, leaving it 20 seats behind the Coalition. This defeat was claimed to have undermined Brumby's position as leader. Brumby was later replaced as Labor leader in March 1999, agreeing to resign in favour of Shadow Treasurer
Steve Bracks.
Bracks government giving a speech in April 2007 Steve Bracks narrowly won the state election called by Kennett in September 1999 and appointed Brumby as
Minister for Finance,
Assistant Treasurer and Minister for State and
Regional Development. Brumby formed part of the core leadership team of senior ministers in the new government along with Bracks, Deputy Premier
John Thwaites and Attorney-General
Rob Hulls. Bracks initially served as
treasurer and
premier, assisted by Brumby who was responsible for Victoria's finances and most of the workload of the Treasury portfolio. On 22 May 2000, Brumby was appointed
state treasurer. As treasurer, Brumby presided over steady economic growth in Victoria, and his economic management was given some of the credit, along with the personal popularity of Bracks, for Labor's landslide re-elections in 2002 and 2006. Brumby ensured that the Labor Government maintained a budget surplus. During 2004 Brumby was criticised by the state Liberal opposition for sharp increases in the rate of
land tax in Victoria, which was criticised by many for potentially threatening the viability of many small businesses. Land tax rates were cut in the 2005 state budget. Faced with a choice of having to fund road infrastructure at the expense of the development of Victoria's schools, hospitals and public transport, Brumby decided to impose a toll on the new
Scoresby Freeway (later known as
EastLink) in eastern Melbourne. The decision, which broke a 2002 pre-election promise, provoked a hostile response from the Liberal Opposition and local community groups as well as caused the (Liberal) Federal Government to withhold its share of the funding for the project. ==Premier of Victoria==