Sarah Mansfield

Sarah Mansfield
MLC
Mansfield in 2015
Deputy leader of the Victorian Greens
Incumbent
Assumed office
23 April 2024
Serving with Sam Hibbins until 29 October 2024
LeaderEllen Sandell
Preceded byEllen Sandell
Member of the Victorian Legislative Council for Western Victoria Region
Incumbent
Assumed office
26 November 2022
Preceded byAndy Meddick
Councillor of the City of Greater Geelong for Brownbill Ward
In office
27 October 2017 – 26 November 2022
Succeeded byMelissa Cadwell
Personal details
Born
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia[1]
PartyGreens
Alma materLondon School of Economics
ProfessionGeneral Practitioner
Politician
Websitehttps://sarahmansfield.org.au/

Sarah Mansfield is an Australian politician from Geelong, Victoria. A member of the Greens, she has been a member of the Victorian Legislative Council since the 2022 Victorian state election, representing the Western Victoria Region, and has served as the party’s deputy leader since 2024.[2][3]

Career

Mansfield is by profession a general practitioner (GP), graduating from the University of Melbourne with a degree in Medical Science. She completed her master's degree at the London School of Economics, studying Health Policy, Planning and Financing.[4] Becoming a fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners in 2015, she worked as a GP in Point Lonsdale and as a senior lecturer at Deakin University.[4][5]

Mansfield's involvement in politics began in 2015, when she started working as a volunteer staffer in the office of Greens Senator Richard Di Natale.[6] She was a candidate in the 2016 Australian federal election for the Division of Corio.[4] She served as a councillor for the City of Greater Geelong, first elected in 2017 and again re-elected in 2020.[7]

Mansfield was first elected to the Victorian Legislative Council for the Western Victoria Region at the 2022 Victorian state election.[8] The Greens won 8.68% of the vote in Western Victoria Region, with most of their vote coming from the City of Greater Geelong.[9][10] She is regional Victoria's first Greens Member of Parliament.[9]

On 23 April 2024, Mansfield became one of the co-deputy leaders of the Victorian Greens, alongside Sam Hibbins, under the leadership of Ellen Sandell.[3] She was also elected as the Leader of the Greens in the Legislative Council.[11] She has been the sole deputy leader since Hibbins was suspended from the party room in November 2024.[12]

Political positions

Housing

Mansfield has supported policies aimed at increasing public and social housing in Victoria.[13] She has been critical of reliance on market-based approaches to housing affordability and has argued for a greater role for government in addressing housing supply and rental costs, including in regional areas.[13]

Environment and climate change

Mansfield supports stronger action on climate change and environmental protection.[13] She has stated that climate change poses risks to regional communities and has supported emissions reduction targets and the expansion of renewable energy.[13] She has stated that "Labor has no vision and no policies that prioritise our health and the health of our environment."[3]

Israel–Palestine conflict

Mansfield has been publicly critical of Israel’s military actions in Gaza following the October 7 attacks.[14] She has participated in public demonstrations calling for an end to the conflict and has urged the Australian government to take action in response to civilian casualties in Gaza.[14]

In May 2024, Mansfield moved a motion in the Victorian Legislative Council calling on the government to table documents relating to agreements between the Victorian government, Israeli defence company Elbit Systems, and the Israeli Ministry of Defense.[15] The motion passed 22-15.[15]

Health

Mansfield has linked health outcomes to broader social and economic factors.[13] She has supported increased investment in public healthcare services, particularly in regional Victoria, and has argued for a preventative approach to health policy.[13] Mansfield has supported reforms to Victoria’s voluntary assisted dying laws, including measures to reduce access barriers and expand eligibility.[16] She has also opposed the Victorian government’s decision to abolish VicHealth as an independent statutory authority, arguing that the move would weaken public health promotion and oversight of harmful industries.[17]

Youth participation

Mansfield has advocated for increased involvement of young people in decision-making processes.[18] She has stated her belief that young Victorians’ perspectives are often overlooked, particularly on issues such as housing affordability, climate change, and social equality.[19] Mansfield has described formal parliamentary processes as potentially intimidating and a barrier to youth participation in politics.[19] Mansfield has highlighted the Geelong Youth Council as an example of a mechanism through which young people can formally contribute to local governance.[18] She has argued that young people should be recognised as active contributors to political change rather than being treated simply as future leaders.[18][13]

References

  1. ^ humansingeelong (18 June 2023). "Sarah Mansfield MP". HuG. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  2. ^ Ore, Adeshola (14 December 2022). "Boost for Greens in upper house as Victoria confirms election result | Victoria state election 2022". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Hui, Jin (23 April 2024). "Mansfield takes on Greens role". Geelong Independent. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Green, Antony (2 July 2016). "Corio - Federal Election 2016". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  5. ^ "Sarah Mansfield". The Conversation. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  6. ^ "Recommendations for your pathway to politics: Sarah Mansfield". Pathways to Politics. October 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2025.
  7. ^ Higgins, Billy (23 August 2022). "Mansfield nominates for state tilt". Geelong Times. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  8. ^ Taylor, James (15 December 2022). "Mansfield wins seat in Upper House". Bellarine Times. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Who is regional Victoria's first Greens MP?". ABC News. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  10. ^ "Western Victoria Region results". www.vec.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  11. ^ "Sarah Mansfield - Parliament of Victoria". www.parliament.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 10 July 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  12. ^ "Victorian Greens leader condemns behaviour of MP who resigned over relationship with staffer". ABC News. 1 November 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g "Parliament of Victoria - Governor's speech - 09 February". www.parliament.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  15. ^ a b "Parliament of Victoria - Middle East conflict - 15 May". www.parliament.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  16. ^ Cassidy, Caitlin; Wind, Emily; Wind (earlier), Emily (20 February 2025). "Turnbull says 'we cannot assume we can rely on America' under Trump – as it happened". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  17. ^ News, Mirage. "Greens: VicHealth Closure Puts Politics Over Health". Mirage News. Retrieved 19 December 2025. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  18. ^ a b c Contributor, Guest (7 February 2022). "Empowering our young leaders to make positive change". Geelong Times. Retrieved 19 December 2025. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  19. ^ a b "Invested in young people - Parliament of Victoria". www.parliament.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Mansfield