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:
- Join me at Edinburgh Gardens today
- Anasina’s first speech
- Victoria ends MoU with Israel Defence Ministry
- Calling for an inquiry into Council Elections
- Tobacco licensing scheme
- Climate wins!
- Reflections on the year (incl. Isla, brunswick schools,
Before jumping into the big news from the past month, I want to share a short article I recently wrote for Reproductive Health Australia on my journey from working as a sexual health doctor and researcher, to becoming your MP for Brunswick. It involves a few cans of spray paint, a cigarette costume, and a growing realisation that commercial interests often work against the health of the community. You can read the article here.
Missed last month’s newsletter? You can find it here if you’d like to read about enshrining abortion access in the state constitution, pill testing, and some local issues I brought to Parliament last month.
Free BBQ and end of year celebration at Edinburgh Gardens
Today (Sunday 15th) Anasina Gray-Barberio and I will be at Eddy Gardens for a free community BBQ and end of year celebration! Grab a picnic blanket and bring the family for a day in the park, or just swing by to say hi and grab a free meal. Hope to see you there! Event details here.
People led climate wins
Fighting to save our climate is a tough battle, but when I step back and look at the progress we’ve made together, I’m reminded of something. We are winning.
For those looking for a good news story, watch this short video on 8 climate wins that were made possible by people like you.
Which brings me to some new climate news; Labor’s disastrous plan to turn Latrobe Valley coal into hydrogen and ship it to Japan has hit a standstill!
The so-called “Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain” project never stacked up environmentally or economically – and now the megacorporation meant to import the liquid hydrogen is backing out.
The HESC would have been an environmental and economic disaster. It would extend the life of Latrobe Valley coal plants, emit roughly 3 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year, and commercialise dodgy carbon-capture-and-storage technology – just to transport a small amount of liquid hydrogen.
After years of community pressure, key proponent Kawasaki Heavy Industries has pulled out of the commercial trial and downsized plans for its hydrogen carriers by about 75% to focus on domestic opportunities.This is a massive win for people power. Thank you to everyone involved in the community effort to stop this project.
Victoria ends its MoU with Israeli Defence Ministry
In the last week of Parliament this year, we learnt that the Victorian Government’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Israeli Defence Ministry, and project with Israel’s largest weapons supplier, Elbit, have both ended.
For over a year the Victorian Government has remained secretive about their projects and partnerships with the Israeli Defence Ministry and Elbit Systems. They have ducked questions and refused to show up for hard-won debates. The news that both the MoU and project with Elbit have ended is a testament to the tens of thousands who showed up to protest every single week, to everyone who started or signed a petition, wrote to your MP, picketed weapons manufacturing and exports, or flew a Palestinian flag in your window.
We are one small part of an immeasurable global movement for peace and together we are having an impact.
Labor still has questions to answer about their partnership with weapons manufacturers and we’ll continue to ask them.
Anasina’s first speech
In a truly historic moment for Victoria, your new Greens MP for Northern Metro, and the first Pasefika MP in Victorian Parliament, Anasina Gray-Barberio, was sung into Parliament by members of the local Pasefika community before delivering her first speech.
The chamber was filled with over 100 community members who showed up to support Anasina and participate in the cultural practice of singing her in for her first speech. Sadly, Anasina was banned from sharing this cultural practice in the chamber, instead, they sang from the corridor.
Parliament still has a long way to go in accepting the diverse cultures in our community. I cannot wait to see Anasina in action representing both the Pasefika community, and the people of Northern Metro.
Anasina and I will be at Edinburgh Gardens at 1pm today (Sunday the 15th) for a community BBQ to celebrate the end of the year. Everyone is welcome to come share a meal in the park and meet your new MP for Northern Metro.
Inquiry into the Council Elections
Did you vote in the council elections in October? I’ve heard some concerning reports from renters and people who recently moved, that the postal ballot system made it harder for them to cast their vote. One keen-eyed Greens member dug into the data and found that areas with a higher percentage of renters had lower voter turnout.
All Victorians should be able to vote in Local Government elections and a system which inconveniences those who have recently moved means renters and young people are less likely to have a voice.
On top of this, we’ve heard concerning reports of alleged ballot theft in two councils in Victoria’s North East, a litany of problems resulting from single member wards, unfettered donations to council candidates from billionaires and big business owners (see my thread on the Melbourne City Council donations which were disclosed just this week), and a voting system where non-residential landlords and businesses have the lion’s share of the vote. This demonstrates serious issues with the way our council elections are functioning.
Election results should reflect the will of the people. The Victorian state government must amend the City of Melbourne Act 2001 to fix this council’s outrageously undemocratic system and conduct an inquiry into the 2024 local government elections as a whole.
Tobacco Licensing Scheme
Every week in Melbourne, one or two tobacco shops burn. It’s remarkable that it’s no longer remarkable. Just as remarkable, is that Victoria is the only state without a tobacco sales licensing scheme, that the state government has only just legislated one, and that police seem to be doing very little to close down these shops selling bootleg tobacco and vapes.
I don’t shed any tears for the smouldering tobacco shops. Smoking kills about 4000 Victorians every year and hospitalises many more. I struggle to feel sympathy for those who profit from emphysema.
Far from being a public health strategy these shop fires stem from a feud between rival gangs fighting for control of a protection racket that exists because Victoria is the only state where you can sell tobacco without a permit, and bootleg tobacco and vapes make this lucrative. And the fires sometimes damage far more than their intended target, as we saw on Lygon St recently when the Cargo Cycles shop was destroyed.
So it’s great that Victoria will soon require businesses to get a licence to sell tobacco. Public health groups and yours truly have been calling for this for years. This will be set up like liquor licensing and will make enforcement so much easier because tobacco outlets can be identified and licences can be cancelled.
My only regret is that neither the Labor nor Liberal parties supported a Greens amendment to specify that licences can be refused or cancelled on public health grounds, if for example, a tobacco outlet was too close to a school. Nevertheless I think that power exists in the legislation, and I look forward to seeing it used. I’m just not confident that the current Labor government is thinking about it, so there’s still work to be done.
Gender-based violence
The last week of Parliament this year fell during the 16 days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence, which kicked off just days after we learnt of the tragic murder of Brunswick local, Isla Bell.
The weekend prior, I attended a vigil for the 83 women who had been killed this year. From where I was sitting I could see Isla’s picture, the one most of us saw over the weeks following her disappearance, on the missing posters that her family put on every post and every window in Brunswick.
Isla was the 85th Australian woman killed this year. Today, that number is 98.
I had the privilege of sharing a small part of Isla’s story in Parliament, and honouring her memory.
As we head into the holiday season, we must be aware that reports of domestic violence consistently increase in December. If you or anyone you know could use support services at this time, there is a good list here.
Violence is preventable, not inevitable. But prevention requires all of us. Every small step – from calling out sexist behaviour to supporting victim-survivors, contributes to the cultural change needed to stamp out gender-based violence. I thought my Greens colleague Sarah Mansfield spoke very well last month about the tangible things the state government can do to address gender-based violence, including funding community legal centres and family violence support services; improving public housing, healthcare and childcare; and tackling drivers of violence like alcohol and tobacco. Anasina Gray-Barberio also called on the state government to establish a culturally specific women’s refuge for women from migrant and refugee communities. We will continue to call for these and other practical changes the government can make to reduce gender-based violence and support victim-survivors.
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
