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:
- Legal corruption in Victoria
- Brunswick’s activity centre draft plan
- The fight to stop school cuts
- Why can’t we talk about Palestine in healthcare?
- Taxing the big banks
- & more
Missed the last newsletter? You can find it here if you’d like to read about Treaty for Victoria, my new office, and fighting to stop the e-bike ban!
Politicians shouldn’t be able to control your vote – but in Victoria they do.
A new study has shown that Victoria is the least trusted state when it comes to fighting corruption. As the Greens spokesperson for integrity, and chair of the Parliament’s integrity and oversight committee, I see first hand how corruption corrodes our democracy. Behaviour that wouldn’t pass the pub test is not just common practice in Victoria’s parliament, but actually legal and protected by Victorian laws – and it starts before a politician is even elected.
Victoria is the only state in Australia where, if you vote above the line, like over 90% of Victorians do, you don’t get to choose your own preferences in the upper house – political parties decide for you. This is because Victoria still uses corrupt group voting tickets to elect its upper house. Some particularly bad actors manipulate this system, charging want-to-be-politicians and major parties $55,000 to create micro-parties and arrange back room preference deals, getting their clients elected on as little as 0.6% of the vote.
This corrupt system has been abolished everywhere else in Australia (including in WA, after someone was elected with just 98 votes), and multiple Victorian inquiries have said it’s bad for democracy and should be reformed.
We have an election in Victoria next year, and the Greens want to see every Victorian have full control of their vote. Last month I tried to introduce a Bill to parliament to get rid of this outdated system, and give you your vote back.
But Labor blocked my Bill, choosing instead to maintain control of your preference votes, and dictate the makeup of our next Parliament.
Victoria’s voting system needs to be updated before the next election. The Greens won’t sit back and let another election go by with this corrupt system, and I’ll keep you updated on our campaign to give Victorians full control of their votes.
Activity centre draft plan
The Victorian Government is rolling out draft plans for new ‘activity centres’ around Melbourne which will override council planning rules to make room for more medium- and high- density housing. Last month they released their draft plan for Brunswick.
I support more housing and greater affordability but I want to see us grow well. The community and Merri-bek Council should be consulted because local knowledge can only improve the plan.
To accommodate an increase in population, the Upfield train line will need to run more frequently. I was disappointed to see that the Government has no plan to increase frequency, and will continue to fight for this as our community grows. We also need accessible tram stops and more frequent, 7-day bus services to ensure that increasing density doesn’t just put more cars on our roads.
I was concerned to see the old Hoffman’s Brickworks site slated for 16 storeys. I’m OK with increased density here, provided it doesn’t tower over the site’s iconic chimneys, but I would hate to see this particular developer rewarded given the neglect of the historic structures in this precinct.
I was surprised to see 12 storey building heights listed for Ewing St, given the Government recently rejected community proposals for improved safety on Ewing Street and the nearby Brunswick Road crossing. It’s one thing to pour more people into an already congested inner city street, but you have to make it safer for walking and riding.
I question whether these plans will deliver housing that is actually affordable for young people and families. Labor’s current approach is to hand the keys to our planning system over to the property industry, and leave it to the market to sort out the housing crisis. This is exactly what has created the housing crisis in the first place. The property industry won’t deliver affordable housing out of the goodness of their hearts; they need mandatory requirements for public and genuinely affordable housing.
People in Brunswick want climate friendly transport, green space, sustainable building design and homes for all, not just the wealthy. With your help, I’m keen to push Labor to make this plan better for everybody.
Fighting to stop Labor’s $2.4 billion cuts to public education
In May this year we learned that the Victorian Government quietly cut $2.4 billion from public education in the state, by delaying their school funding commitments until 2031.
This is an undeserved blow to Victoria’s public schools – which already receive thousands of dollars less per student in state and federal funding than all other states and territories, making them the lowest-funded in Australia, and our teachers the lowest paid.
These cuts were hidden in the state budget, and will mean a child who started prep this year won’t receive proper funding until their final year of Primary School, and a kid in year 8 now, will miss out entirely. The Greens secured a Parliamentary Inquiry to investigate the impact of these cuts, which has just opened for public submissions.
Most of this funding would go to paying teaching staff at schools, and I’m concerned that these cuts will mean our students don’t get the support they need, and drive teachers out of the industry, or interstate. As iit is, Victoria is funding our schools to fail.
As the Greens spokesperson for schools, I’ll be working with schools, parents, and unions, around Brunswick and the state to stop Labor’s cuts to public education. If you want to get involved, send me an email or visit my website for more information.
Why can’t we talk about Palestine in healthcare?
A couple of weeks ago I attended a forum held by the Medical Association for Prevention of War, where medical ethics expert Professor Paul Komesaroff argued that silencing discussion of wrongdoing is a special kind of evil.
As a former doctor, I often hear from medical professionals in the area, and recently I’ve been contacted by doctors at the Royal Children’s Hospital after an educational workshop, known as a Grand Round, was cancelled. The topic was the effects of war on children. While it was to discuss the harms of war on children generally, Gaza would have been discussed. You can watch my video on the suppression of dissent in healthcare here.
It’s clear that some very powerful people don’t want us talking about Israel’s mass killing, the famine, the amputations without anaesthetic, the targeting of hospitals and health workers, and they especially don’t want to hear the word genocide.
Remember, we are more powerful when we unite. So, if you’re a healthcare worker, follow @hcw4palestinevic and @hcwsforpalestine and become a member today.
Taxing the big banks
In the last 6 months, Australia’s big four banks made $15.5 billion in pure profit.
I’m going to repeat that. Ebony, in just 6 months, Australia’s big four banks made $15.5 billion in pure profit.
Australian banks are some of the richest in the world, and when we look at the numbers – it’s clear why. Australia’s big four banks make over $200,000 profit from the average mortgage over a 30 year loan, according to new research by the Australian Institute.
That’s $176 a week from your mortgage payments that doesn’t go to repaying your loan, or bank operating expenses – instead it lines the pockets of the big four banks’ major shareholders (including multi-trillion dollar investment companies like Blackrock and Vanguard).
These profits are obscene.
If we tax them, we can put that money back into the pockets of hardworking Victorians, funding things like more affordable housing, renewable energy, and 50 cent public transport fares.
Take the survey below to share your experiences with Australian banks. This will help make our campaign to tax the big banks smarter and more effective, so we can build community pressure and momentum on this issue.
If we tax them, we can put that money back into the pockets of hardworking Victorians, funding things like more affordable housing, renewable energy, and 50 cent public transport fares.
Take the survey to share your experiences with Australian banks. This will help make our campaign to tax the big banks smarter and more effective, so we can build community pressure and momentum on this issue.
Submit to the electric vehicle inquiry
What will happen when tens of thousands of electric vehicle drivers get home at night and plug in to charge, just after solar panels have stopped generating energy for the day?
Surely governments are planning for this – to ensure the demands of power-thirsty EVs don’t worsen the evening surge in electricity demand created by cooking and heating? Well if they are, they’re not talking about it.
Visionaries like Saul Griffith tell us how EV batteries can be used to power your home, or supplement the power grid during the evening, and still have enough juice to drive to work the next day.
This will take pressure off the grid, capitalising on the abundance of cheap, clean energy produced by renewables during the day – and boosting home electricity supply in the evening when prices are high.
But where are the policies to promote this and prevent EVs from adding to demand at the worst possible time? We wanted to find out.
This is why the Greens secured an inquiry into how electric vehicles should integrate with our electricity grid, to help us reach 100% renewables.
Whether you drive an EV, or have ideas on how Victoria should integrate EVs – including EV uptake, the availability of public and private charging or the potential of EV batteries to power homes and communities, we want you to make a submission.
The Victorian government may want to handball a lot of these questions to the federal government, and businesses will push for solutions that favour them. Which is why we need your ideas.The inquiry is accepting submissions from the public until the 31st of October. Visit the Greens website here for tips and advice on writing a useful short submission, and share this with other EV and energy enthusiasts in your life.
What else?
| Recently I’ve been chairing hearings for a parliamentary inquiry looking into Victoria’s Independent Broadbased Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC), which we hope to wrap up before the end of the year. Currently it lacks some of the important powers of interstate and federal anti-corruption agencies. So, keep an eye out for the recommendations from this report. I also recently stopped by Joy FM for an interview on Sat Mag; hosted an office warming to welcome community into my new office, which is right next to Barkly Square; asked questions to the Government about access fees for NDIS therapists at schools, and asked them to investigate unregulated programs marketed to parents of children with dyslexia; joined the “Critical Mass” bike ride calling for upgrades to the St George’s Road intersection which many people in Brunswick and Fitzroy North use, and hosted an apartment living forum to garner community feedback before the Owners Corporation Act goes up for review later this year. |
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
