Christine Campbell (politician)

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Christine Campbell (born 30 November 1953) is an Australian politician who represented Pascoe Vale in the Victorian Parliament for the Labor Party from 1996 to 2014. She grew up in Melbourne and studied at La Trobe University, earning a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma of Education. Before entering Parliament, she worked as a teacher and held roles with the National Women's Bureau and the Caroline Chisholm Society.

Campbell joined the Labor Party in 1983 and worked as an electorate officer in 1989. She ran the Caroline Chisholm Society from 1992 to 1995. Elected in 1996, she was Shadow Minister for Family Services and Women's Affairs, then moved to Community Services. When Labor won government in 2002, she became Minister for Senior Victorians and Consumer Affairs.

She voted against the Abortion Law Reform Act 2008 and has expressed opposition to abortion, supporting doctors who refuse to refer patients. In 2013 she argued against laws that deny conscience rights and tabled a petition to change how conscientious objection is handled, seeking to remove the referral requirement for objecting doctors.

Campbell is the godmother of Lizzie Blandthorn, who later became the MP for Pascoe Vale. Her interests include bushwalking, cycling and bioethics. She chairs the Australian Care Alliance, which opposes assisted suicide. Since 2023 she has been the board chair of the Caroline Chisholm Society, which provides services to at‑risk women and children in Melbourne’s western suburbs; she had previously served as its Executive Director.