Here are my latest updates from Parliament and around the Brunswick electorate (Brunswick, Brunswick East, Brunswick West, Fitzroy North, Princes Hill & Carlton North).
In this month’s newsletter:
- Protecting abortion services
- Pill testing
- Community BBQ & Skyrail discussion
- A fairer voting system
- Bringing local issues to Parliament
- Samantha’s last day
- Statement on the Member for Prahran
Missed last month’s newsletter? You can find it here if you’d like to read about what really happened at Land Forces, overhauling FOI, and a climate win!
It’s been a huge month and November has gotten off to a rocky start with the reelection of Donald Trump as the next US President. Like many of you, I worry about what another term of Trump will bring.
But we’ve already survived one term of Trump, and his last term inspired American cities to take climate action into their own hands.
Political parties should ignore commentators who urge us to abandon efforts to protect refugees and vulnerable groups, or to slow the decarbonisation of our economy, to avoid alienating voters. There are other ways to address people’s material needs and there is too much at stake to lower our ambition. We must come together and redouble our efforts for people and the planet. On that note, let’s start with some good news:
We just made pill testing law
After years of campaigning, a Bill allowing pill testing passed through the Victorian Parliament in October.
Starting this summer there will be 10 mobile testing sites at festivals across the state and a fixed testing site in Melbourne close to nightlife hot spots.
Anyone using a pill testing site will meet a harm reduction counsellor, and the ACT’s pill testing experience shows that after counselling, people often discard their drugs.
These services will tell people what’s in their drugs and whether they include toxic contaminants or potent synthetic versions of heroin (opioids) like fentanyl or nitazenes. The results from drug checking services will also enable public health alerts to be issued.
It’s worth noting this announcement follows the Government deciding against a second supervised injecting room in Melbourne’s CBD. Victoria has seen an increase in synthetic opioids causing multiple deaths across the state, including four in Broadmeadows. Harm reduction experts and former police commissioner Glare have all called for a supervised injecting room, particularly given that overdoes’ from synthetic opioids, compared to heroin, are more likely to stop a person breathing before help can arrive. There are currently one to two deaths from opioid overdoses per month in the CBD, and if the anticipated increase in potent synthetic opioids occurs, a second safe injecting room would save lives.
Bringing pill testing to Victoria is a huge step forward and a big win for harm reduction advocates who have been calling for pill testing for years. I spoke about this in parliament before the Bill passed. You can watch my speech here. Congratulations and thank you to everyone who worked tirelessly on this campaign.
Enshrining abortion services in the constitution
People should always have the right to choose when it comes to their body.
This week the Greens introduced a Private Members Bill into the Victorian Parliament that would enshrine abortion services into the Victorian Constitution.
Reproductive rights have been hard-won, but it’s clear the fight isn’t over. As we have seen with the recent elections in Queensland and the US, all it takes is a change of government for fundamental reproductive rights to be at risk of being stripped away.
That’s why the Greens want to enshrine access to abortion in the constitution. This will make it harder for future governments to revoke this fundamental human right based on their political agendas.
There is also a lot more to do when it comes to equitable abortion access across the state. Right now, two-thirds of Victorian council areas have no surgical abortion providers and Australia-wide, abortion access is a postcode lottery. The Federal Greens have this week pledged $100 million to ensure all public hospitals provide abortion services, moving the conversation from legality to affordability and accessibility.
As we move towards enshrining abortion services in the state constitution, we’d love you to support our campaign by signing the pledge or sharing this post with your friends on social media. The more people who participate in this conversation, the better.
Skyrail consultation
I enjoyed hearing from local residents at Bulleke-bek park about their reaction to draft plans for the Brunswick Level Crossing Removal and Skyrail Project. Some of the concerns raised included noise and light mitigation, accessible tram stops, bike lanes on Sydney Road, and saving Bulleke-bek park. The top concern raised on the day was the feared impact of the northern station on the west end of the park and neighbouring apartment buildings.
My colleague Samantha Ratnam spoke in Parliament about the need to protect Bulleke-bek park and called on the Government to engage in genuine consultation with local residents, particularly about the station location.
This project will affect thousands of Brunswick residents, so it’s important that the Government listens to the community. If you missed the BBQ, I still want to hear from you. You can fill in this response form or contact my office at [email protected]
A fairer voting system for 2026
Last week I asked the government if they will trust Victorians to direct their own preferences at the next election.
The Victorian Upper House is the only Australian jurisdiction where people voting above the line cannot direct their own preferences. Instead parties decide where the preference votes go, and that means you could end up electing a party you’ve never heard of, as a result of backroom preference deals. The system can be manipulated to “elect” a person from a tiny vote and this can be arranged for a fee! The best known exponent of this dark art, known as the Preference Whisperer, could get you elected to Victoria’s upper house for around $55,000.
The Parliament’s Electoral Matters Committee has backed the Greens’ calls to scrap this unrepresentative system before the next election. Now, the decision lies with Labor. Will they allow Victorians to direct their own preference votes, or uphold a dodgy system that works for them? I asked the Premier if the Government would commit to scrapping group voting before the next election, which she refused to commit to.
I will keep putting pressure on the Government to scrap group voting before the 2026 election, sign up here to receive updates and get involved in the campaign.
Bringing local issues to Parliament
This month I raised some local issues in parliament, starting with the effects of train horns on residents living adjacent to the Upfield line. These train horns go off until late at night, and early in the morning, reaching a deafening 110 decibels. I live 1.2km away and I can hear the horns from my backyard, so I can just imagine how those living in apartments on the Upfield line feel.
I asked for a dangerous patch of Lygon street to be repaired. A section of sunken bitumen on the northern end of Lygon led to at least eight motorcycle crashes in 2023, all due to loss of control. Last week I raised this issue in Parliament and called on the Minister to organise repairs to this dangerous section of road. You can watch my full speech here and, if you ride down the northern end of Lygon now, you’ll see that earlier this week the road was repaired! Hopefully this makes Lygon street a bit safer for everyone.
I also spoke about a climate win, a new tobacco retail licensing scheme, and called for greater funding for Brunswick public schools struggling to maintain their crumbling heritage listed buildings. Follow me on Instagram or Facebook as I will be sharing more on these issues in the coming weeks.
Samantha’s last day
Last week we farewelled former Victorian Greens leader and upper house MP, Samantha
Ratnam. I’ve worked with Samantha for all of my six years in parliament and I am always amazed by her energy and optimism.
She was the only Greens MP in the state upper house during the last term (we have four now) and she was tireless. When the government needed an extra vote to extend the state of emergency, she came back from maternity leave after only a few weeks to provide that vote.
I want to thank Samantha for her exemplary leadership over the past six years and I’ll be doing all I can to help her in her next quest, to be elected in the seat of Wills in the federal election which is due in May or earlier.
You can find out more about Samantha’s campaign and how to support it at samantharatnam.com.
*Note that at the federal election, Wills will include Fitzroy North, Carlton North and Princes Hill.
Statement on the Member for Prahran
Last week, the Victorian Greens learned of allegations against the Member for Prahran, who has since resigned from the party and announced he will sit as an independent. You can read the full statement from Ellen Sandell on behalf of the Victorian Greens here.
As soon as my colleagues and I were made aware of these allegations, the Member was suspended. The staff member involved has asked for her privacy and confidentiality to be protected. Her wellbeing is our primary concern.
What’s on in the neighbourhood
If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you may have noticed that I regularly post events and opportunities that are happening in the Brunswick area. Here’s my most recent post where you can find out about events and opportunities including community grants, local school fetes, festivals, and ways to get involved.
Thanks for getting this far! Remember, if there’s anything you want to raise with me, you can always get in touch with my office on [email protected] or (03) 9384 1241.
Until next time,
Tim
