Victorian Employment Minister Jaala Pulford says she has no regrets after calling time on her political career, just weeks out from the November 26 election.
Ms Pulford's exit will further reduce the number of experienced ministers in the Andrews government, after four ministers announced their departure in June.
Ms Pulford was first elected in 2006, after working for more than a decade as an official of the National Union of Workers, advocating for people injured at work.
Less than a fortnight after Labor's 2014 election victory, Ms Pulford's 13-year-old daughter Sinead died from cancer, something which she later said had influenced her support for Victoria's voluntary assisted dying laws.
During her political career, Ms Pulford served as Victoria's first female agriculture minister and played a key role in legalising locally manufactured medicinal cannabis for use in exceptional circumstances.
No regrets on 'extraordinary' career, MP says
The upper house MP for Western Victoria told the ABC on Friday her decision to leave was formed "in an iterative kind of way" over the past couple of months.
She said joining the premier over the weekend to announce a $35 million investment in children's cancer research was one of several significant milestones across her portfolios.
"On Sunday when the Premier and I announced that, I thought 'yes that's it, I'm done here, my work here is done'," Ms Pulford said.
She played down commentary around the departure of several senior Labor MPs ahead of the next election.
"Because we have fixed four-year terms," she said.
"It's like being on a train ride, right? You're pulling up at the station, you get off now, or you're in for another four years and that's quite a long commitment.
"In a normal job people might have a two-week or a four-week notice period, we have a four-year notice period in many respects, so it's different."
Ms Pulford said she was feeling "really good" about the decision, which would allow her to spend more time with her family in regional Victoria.
She said she had no regrets about her career and the "extraordinary privilege" it had granted her to serve her state.
"I've had an extraordinary series of opportunities and experiences and I have loved almost every moment of it, but it's time for me to do something else and time for somebody else to have a go and to perhaps make something of some of the opportunities that my departure will create," she said.
Premier pays tribute to career marked by kindness and strength
In a separate statement, the premier paid tribute to Ms Pulford as a "devoted advocate for working people" who demonstrated great strength after the "unimaginable grief" of her daughter's death.
"We all were, and still are, in awe of Jaala's strength," he said.
"To see her continue to manage her ministerial responsibilities with such heart, while holding onto that pain, was nothing short of remarkable.
"She made the Victorian parliament a kinder, more thoughtful place. She gave us all cause to reflect, and to garner a little perspective.
"She will be sorely missed by many on both sides of the aisle."
Greens leader Samantha Ratnam and the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes were among those who also paid tribute to Ms Pulford's career on social media.
