Meet your new Upper House Greens MP – Anasina Gray-Barberio

I’m excited to introduce Anasina Gray-Barberio, our newest Victorian Greens MP. 

Anasina works in social services across our diverse northern suburbs.

She is incredibly proud of her Samoan heritage and is a strong and dedicated advocate for Pasefika communities across Melbourne, making sure their voices are heard on issues like health, education and climate change.

In November, Anasina will become the newest Greens MP in Victoria, stepping in to replace Samantha Ratnam, who is running for Federal Parliament in the seat of Wills, which includes the suburbs of Brunswick, Coburg, Pascoe Vale, Fawkner, Glenroy and surrounds.

Anasina is going to be an incredible MP and I’m excited for the community to get to know her.

“I’m very proud and honoured to be your new representative for Northern Metro,” Anasina said. “I’m from the Pacific Islands and I’m so grateful to bring my passion and lived experience to Parliament to address the climate emergency that’s unfolding in our Pacific region.”

“The frequency with which climate disasters are happening everywhere, including here in Victoria, shows that the climate crisis is already at our doorstep,” she said. “Our people’s survival is on the line. Their stories are important and need to be amplified.” 

Anasina’s perspective and experience is crucial, especially as we continue to see the Labor State Government’s alarming trend of approving new fossil fuel projects. With more than a dozen new gas projects in the pipeline, local communities are forced to fight off disastrous projects time and time again.

Near Geelong, the local community is again having to fight a giant gas terminal proposed for Corio Bay - a project that has already been rejected once. The Greens are ensuring the community’s opposition is clearly heard in Parliament.

Community pressure is a powerful force for change. Recently, fossil fuel giant TGS pulled out of what would have been the world’s largest seismic blasting project here in the Otway Basin, on Southern Sea Country, following immense community pressure. This project would have caused catastrophic harm to the marine environment to search for new oil and gas under the sea floor. Years of opposition from First Nations groups, ocean lovers, and the Greens has paid off. 

But communities shouldn’t have to do this work. Governments shouldn’t be approving new fossil fuel projects in the first place. We are in a climate crisis. We don’t need any more oil and gas. In fact, Victoria exports more gas than we could ever use.

Anasina’s background as a community advocate and her deep understanding of climate issues will be an incredible asset as we continue to push the Labor government to prioritise people and planet, not fossil fuel profits. •