Memories fuel Geelong Labor MP Christine Couzens in state election campaign

IT was in a moment of deeply personal grief when Christine Couzens’ journey to Spring Street really began.

IT was in a moment of deeply personal grief when Christine Couzens’ journey to Spring Street really began.

In 1980, following the sudden death of her husband, Ms Couzens was left to raise three children on her own.

As she dealt with the tragedy, former Geelong footballer-turned-politician Neil Trezise reached out to her in his capacity as the Member for Geelong North.

“That a member of parliament bothered to contact me and find out if I needed anything — that was a pretty profound moment,” she said.

“And, over time, it made me think more and more of the importance of that, and the difference a member of parliament can make on peoples’ lives.”

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Two decades later — after a long stint with the Barwon Region Housing Council — Ms Couzens started working as a staffer for Neil’s son, Ian, who served as Labor’s Geelong MP until retiring in 2014.

Following his retirement, Ms Couzens took over the Labor ticket in Geelong and was elected into parliament.

She said being thrust into the public spotlight after years working in the background was not an easy transition.

But Ms Couzens said she was proud to be part of a government that she said shared her passion for addressing issues for indigenous people, as well as in areas including disability and family violence.

“It’s been fantastic to be able to work with a government that you’re not continually fighting with behind the scenes to get the things you think the community needs,” she said.

Her role rubbing shoulders with the state’s political elite seems a far cry from Ms Couzens’ upbringing in working-class Corio.

“We were a pretty poor family. We didn’t have a lot really,” she said.

“I didn’t realise there was such a stigma about coming from the northern suburbs until I got older and started to see the prejudice (and) the discrimination against people like myself.

“But I’m really proud of my background and where I come from.”

Ms Couzens said it’s also fair to say she grew up fast.

She left school at 14 to work at a cake factory. At 15, she became pregnant to her boyfriend Allan, who she then married when she was still only 16.

“I’ll often think about that, and I’ll look at 16-year-olds now and think, ‘Geez, that was me, with a child’,” Ms Couzens said.

“For me, I think it was naivety. I got through really well and I had good family support, which makes a difference.

“I don’t regret any of that, because it’s all been part of my life experience.

“That’s not to say I would encourage young women to get pregnant at 16, but I think it’s shaped me into being the person that I am.”

Despite Allan’s death in 1980, Ms Couzens said she still feels he is a big part of her life, citing her three children who carry his Aboriginal heritage.

Ms Couzens also has a fourth child from a subsequent relationship.

“It’s sad to think he never got to see them grow up, because they were all tiny when he passed away,” she said.

When she’s not busy in her duties as Geelong’s sitting member — which she admits is not often — Ms Couzens loves to spend time with her family.

Along with her four children, she also has 15 grandchildren, who range from three to 22 years old.

“I’ve always had a strong bond with my kids and their kids,” she said.

“Spending time with them is really important.”

As the 60-year-old shapes up for her second election campaign, she said she was optimistic about her chances of being voted back into office.

“I think the people of Geelong will judge us on our record and I think we have a very good story to tell,” Ms Couzens said.

“There are so many things that I would really love to finish off, which is why I want to be here for another term.”

Originally published as Memories fuel Geelong Labor MP Christine Couzens in state election campaign