Here are my latest updates from Parliament and around the Brunswick electorate (Brunswick, Brunswick East, Brunswick West, Fitzroy North, Princes Hill & Carlton North) on the unceded lands of Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. Learn about our shared history here.
In this month’s newsletter:
- Standing against racism
- Treaty for Victoria
- I’ve moved!
- Do you ride an e-bike?
- Better laws to improve apartment living
- Dump Day
- Underquoting at auctions
- & more!
Missed the last newsletter? You can find it here if you’d like to read about Safety on Ewing Street, a floating gas terminal approved off Victoria’s coast, Victoria’s missing emissions data, and more.
Standing against racism
Last weekend Melbourne saw the extent of far-right extremism in our city, with an anti-immigration rally and known neo-Nazis violently attacking Camp Sovereignty.
Camp Sovereignty is a burial site for the remains of Indigenous people and the camp was established by Uncle Robbie Thorpe in 2006 and re-established on January 26 last year.
Footage of the attack on Camp Sovereignty and scenes of anti-immigration protesters, led by known Nazis, on our streets and the steps of parliament, are deeply disturbing. These attacks on First Nations and multicultural communities are a clear reminder of why we must stand together against hate.
Racism has always existed in settler-colonial Australia. Early this year, the Yoorrook Justice Commission, the first formal truth-telling inquiry into historic and ongoing systemic injustices perpetrated against First Peoples, found that genocide was committed against First Peoples in Victoria, and that the harms of colonisation are ongoing.
We cannot allow violence and hate to stop us from taking steps towards healing and justice. Which leads me to the next section of this newsletter.
Treaty for Victoria!
Earlier this month negotiations on Victoria’s statewide Treaty were finalised, and we expect the Treaty Bill to appear in parliament next week.
This is a historic moment.
First Nations peoples in Victoria have been fighting for a Treaty for decades to acknowledge the truth about what was, and continues to be done to Aboriginal people, and give Aboriginal communities the power to deliver practical solutions.
Because when it comes to Aboriginal communities, cultures, and lands, Aboriginal people are the experts.
Treaty will also help us all learn and deepen our understanding and connection to Victoria. My Greens colleagues and I are honoured to support its passage through state parliament. Make sure you’re following @firstpeoplesvic and sign up to their mailing list so you can walk alongside First Nations people on the path to Treaty and Justice.
We’ve moved!
A few weeks ago my team and I packed up and said goodbye to our office on Nicholson street, and have officially moved down the road.
My new office is located at G02/272 Barkly Street, Brunswick. We’re directly across from Barkly Square, between Boulder Lab and Wide Open Road Coffee. So you can pop in for a chat with your local MP on your way to do the shopping or after a climb.
IMAGE: Map showing the location
Now I’m not one to give away a secret but there might be plans for an office warming in the near future, so keep an eye on my social media in the coming weeks for an invitation. Otherwise, pop by the next time you’re in the area and say hi!
Do you ride an e-bike?
Do you ride an e-bike? If so, do you ever take it on the train? For some e-bike users, jumping on the train is an integral part of their daily commute, and for others it’s a way to reach new regions and bike paths across Victoria. Either way, it’s important.
Which is why I, and many other bike riders, were shocked to hear about a proposed plan to ban all e-bikes and scooters from trains in Victoria.
This proposed ban, which is a response to one incident where an e-bike battery caught fire on a train in March, is a disproportionate response to the risk and will affect thousands of people. I recently raised my alarm at this plan in Parliament, where I noted that the government’s own report acknowledges that fire risk stems largely from noncompliant imported e-bikes and home conversion kits.
Back in 2018, Coroner Audrey Jamieson recommended that the state government better regulate noncompliant e-bikes but she was ignored, and now the government wants to ban all e-bikes and e-scooters, even compliant ones. This is a major overreaction and a misguided attempt to solve the real problem of home conversion kits and unsafe imports which, by the way, are a workplace safety issue for delivery riders.
E-bikes are here to stay, and a good government would safely facilitate this transition instead of running away from it. This ban should not go ahead and I will continue to fight against it in Parliament.
Better laws to improve apartment living, owners corps
I recently visited Zach, Meredith and Abby at their apartment in Brunswick where – by switching to electric heat pumps and solar panels – they’ve slashed energy bills by almost $18,000 a year, and their emissions by 86%!
If you live in an apartment, you know that it can bring unique challenges, but this group showed that it can also lead to great things (like cheaper, cleaner energy). We need to make it easier for other apartments of all sizes and ages to follow in their footsteps.
This means ensuring laws and regulations are designed to make apartment living easier and more comfortable, and to help you increase sustainability in your home.
My Greens colleagues, Ellen Sandell MP, Gabrielle de Vietri, Sophie Wade and I are hosting an apartment living forum on Tuesday the 16th of September and we would love to see you there. If you can’t make it, visit my website and fill out the survey to share your experiences and help us fight for better laws.
We will be talking about the upcoming review of the Owners Corporation legislation, pathways to electrify apartments, and any other apartment living pros or cons you can think of.
When: Tuesday 16th September at 6pm
Where: Storey Hall, RMIT, Melbourne
Special thanks as well to Trent from All Electric Homes and Lloyd from the Yarra Energy Foundation who came along to my visit with Zach, Meredith and Abby, to explain the new hot water and solar systems in this Brunswick apartment! If you want to read more about how they electrified, I highly encourage reading this piece by Lloyd from the Yarra Energy Foundation.
Dump Day
Dump day is a longstanding tradition where Labor and Liberal Governments alike dump hundreds of important reports on a single day in a deliberate attempt to cover-up important public information. But earlier this month, the Greens put an end to it.
It’s a running joke in Parliament, which causes chaos in the offices of Greens MPs and journalists alike, but when you see the piles of reports released at once, it’s clear that critical information – like surgery waiting times, child safety risks, police misconduct data, and public money blowouts – has been buried.
It’s terrible for transparency and democracy, and makes it impossible for journalists, Greens MPs, or anyone to properly scrutinise the Government. In 2022, the Victorian Parliament’s website crashed as stakeholders tried to access the over 250 reports released in one large dump.
Earlier this month, a Greens amendment to a Government bill will require Ministers to table reports in parliament within 14 days of receiving them. This will see reports made public sooner and in smaller, more manageable batches, making it far harder for governments to bury bad news.
Underquoting at auctions
If you’ve tried to purchase a home recently, you would know that properties are listed with a price guide to help buyers know if it’s in their budget and worth spending a few weekends at open homes, reading building and strata reports, and of course bidding at auction. But, you would also know the crushing feeling when an auction blows $50, $80, $100k over the quoted price.
In some Melbourne suburbs, 9 out of 10 homes are selling way above the price guide. In Clifton Hill, 61% of tracked sales went over the agent’s highest guide prices, and in Richmond a property sold $450,000 over the guide.
That’s why the Greens are introducing a bill that will force real estate agents to disclose the reserve price when advertising a property, with strong penalties for dodgy real estate agents who underquote.
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 film screenings, open mics, school holiday programs, comedy shows, and more, and you can always email me to suggest other events and opportunities you’d like me to share.
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
