Luba Norma Grigorovitch (born 5 June 1985[citation needed]) is an Australian politician. She represents the Labor Party and is a former trade union official.
Grigorovitch was born in Altona.[4] She was raised mostly by her mother, who cared for her and her brother Robbie, as well as her uncle Ken, who had an intellectual disability.[5]
She attended secondary school at Mount St. Joseph Girls' College in Altona. When she was twelve, she was present during a visit by Joan Kirner, the first female premier of Victoria. Her mother was an ALP member and noticed her daughter's enthusiasm about this encounter, encouraging her to attend a party branch meeting. After that, Grigorovitch became an active member of her local branch.[Hansard 1][5]
In 2009, Grigorovitch was elected as a councillor for the City of Hobsons Bay. She was re-elected in 2012, and assumed the role of Deputy Mayor.
Her involvement with the RTBU began in 2010. Her initial role in the union was as an industrial officer and women's officer in its Victorian branch. In 2011, she became an elected organiser and women's officer for one of its divisions.[note 1]
In 2015, Grigorovitch was elected to the national body of the ACTU executive. In 2019, she was appointed national president of the RTBU, serving until 14 December 2022. She was the first female national president of the union.[11]
In December 2021, she was preselected as Labor's candidate for the safe seat of Kororoit. The incumbent member, Marlene Kairouz, attempted to retain preselection but was defeated in internal party processes.[12] Following that, in April 2022, Grigorovitch resigned as the state secretary of the RTBU and was succeeded by Vik Sharma.[13]John Setka spoke at her farewell event in June of that year.[14]
Parliamentary career
Grigorovitch was elected as the member for Kororoit at the 2022 Victorian state election.[15] As of August 2023, she sits on the board of the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation and Chairs the Victorian Parliament's Electoral Matters Committee.[16][17]
Personal life
In 2017, Grigorovitch attended the Australian American Leadership Dialogue where she met Ben Gray. He later founded the Australian private equity firm BGH Capital, with business partners Robin Bishop and Simon Harle.[18] In December 2020, The Age reported that the two had been quietly dating.[19]
In January 2023, Grigorovitch and Gray married at their $30m Portsea mansion.[20][21] Former Greens MLC, Colleen Hartland, officiated.[3]
The wedding was attended by many of Victoria's political, business, and union elite, including Premier Daniel Andrews, Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll, union leader John Setka, and Alan Tudge M.P., who was best man.[3][22][23] Reportedly, the event was a popular topic of discussion among Victorian politicians even a week after the date.[22]
The couple's ownership of a $30m mansion has also been a talking point in Victorian political circles, with the Herald Sun reporting speculation that it would be used by opponents to harm her political image.[24] In response to a request for comment on the issue, Grigorovitch stated she was "proudly a woman from the west", and pointed to her having a mortgage being paid in her own name.[22]
According to her parliamentary register of interests, Grigorovitch is a landlord, owning a rental property in Southbank, as well as industrial land in Altona. Her partner runs the Australian private equity firm BGH capital.[25]
Notes
^The union's Administration, Salaried, Technical and Professional Division
^In February of that year she was appointed to the position and, in November, was elected by the union's membership