Thursday, 4 June 2026

 Tom McINTOSH (Eastern Victoria) (10:40): I rise today to celebrate the remarkable life of Gil Freeman, a man who was a living legend, who passed away recently at the age of 85. Gil was a titan of every community he touched. From Brunswick to Korumburra, he was a proud community builder. Gil’s life was defined by his progressive commitment to grassroots action, beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, where he threw out the rigid education style of old to found the Sydney Road Community School and champion inclusive, student-centred education. In the late 1980s Gil worked hard to drive forward urban environmentalism. He co-founded the Merri Creek Management Committee and the iconic CERES environment park, which transformed a polluted former quarry and rubbish tip into a world-class sustainability hub. In 1995 Gil and his partner Meredith moved to Korumburra in South Gippsland, where he spent decades championing regional food security and local agriculture by co-founding the Grow Lightly food co-op, while continuously driving community-led climate action across Gippsland. Gil was an artist, an educator and a proud, lifelong Labor man who believed deeply that lasting change is built from the ground up by empowering local communities. I extend my warmest condolences to his partner Meredith, his sons and his family. Gil’s extraordinary legacy of environmental and social progress will be felt for generations to come.