Getting on with serving Melbourne

In 2010, our community made history when we turned Melbourne Green for the first time. In May, I was extremely humbled to be re-elected as your representative in the Federal Parliament, joined by the largest ever Greens team in Canberra.

Over the next term of government, I will continue to be your strong, independent voice for Melbourne. In Parliament and in the community, we will be fighting for everyone’s future. 

The climate crisis is caused by mining and burning coal and gas. We cannot end the climate wars and keep approving more coal and gas. At the May election, the Australian community sent more pro-climate MPs to Canberra than ever before. There is so much support for real climate action in our parliament. As your representative and as the leader of the Australian Greens, I will be pushing Labor further and faster to tackle the climate crisis. This starts with fighting to stop every single one of the 114 new Labor-backed coal and gas projects currently in the pipeline, because you can’t put out the fire while you’re pouring petrol on it. 

Many people across Melbourne are doing it tough. The cost of living is through the roof, and inequality is at record high. But this is our chance to make people’s lives better. Labor is proposing to make inequality worse, by locking in tax cuts for billionaires like Clive Palmer in its first Budget. The Greens will push Labor to ditch these unfair tax cuts and instead invest in the things that will help everyone live a good life, like getting dental into Medicare for everyone, free childcare, tackling the housing affordability crisis and raising Centrelink payments. 

Sadly, much of what we love about Melbourne is under threat. We’ve been hard hit by the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, especially the arts, entertainment and creative industries. We need to rebuild our community, not just our economy. The Greens and I have a plan to revitalise our city, with rent reductions for innovative and creative businesses and steps to protect liveability. 

As Melbourne experiences another cold, wet winter, I want to pay a special tribute to our health care workers who are under immense pressure to keep our community safe as COVID-19 and flu cases rise. I encourage all of you to do your part to keep our community safe, get your COVID-19 booster, mask up when you’re indoors and stay home when you’re feeling unwell. We’ll continue to fight for sick pay for everyone, so no one has to choose between protecting those around them and being able to pay the bills. 

This next term of parliament has incredible potential. I’m excited to continue to represent you and to fight for the values of compassion and fairness that our community holds so dear. As your local MP, my team and I are here to help you. You can contact my office for assistance on issues such as immigration, Centrelink, housing and dealing with other government agencies or Ministers, or to seek support for community projects and campaigning on local issues.

I look forward to seeing you around, Melbourne. •