Tuesday, 22 September 2026

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Minister for Energy and Resources, Minister for Environment, Minister for Climate Action, Minister for the State Electricity Commission) (12:04): I move:

That this house expresses its sincere sorrow at the death on 19 September 2026 of Dr Tim Read MP and places on record its acknowledgement of the valuable services rendered by him to the Parliament and to the people of Victoria as a member of the Legislative Assembly for the electorate of Brunswick from 2018 to 2026.

I know there will be several speakers today, and it is a hard day for many. Tim Read was a remarkable person who brought to public life a rare combination of scientific expertise, professional experience, political conviction and, above all, a genuine concern for people. Kindness was his superpower. Before entering Parliament Tim was a GP and then a doctor specialising in sexual health. He undertook extensive research, including into HIV, completed a doctorate and contributed to more than 60 published articles in medical literature. His career in medicine and research was a significant contribution to the community, but he was motivated to do more and was elected as the member for Brunswick in 2018 and served for eight years.

Tim came to Parliament with strong ideas. He was passionate about climate change, public health, housing, active transport, the prison system and the protection of vulnerable people. But what distinguished Tim was not just the causes he pursued, it was the way in which he pursued them. As a minister I found he was just someone you tried to help wherever you could. I know this is a sentiment shared by many and reflected on by my staff. He was prepared to challenge the status quo on issues important to him, and he was willing to put forward suggestions to government for practical reforms, sometimes based on his personal experience. He advocated for pill testing, reforms to public drunkenness laws and tobacco licensing, measures to address preventable chronic disease and changes to blood donation restrictions. Several of the ideas he advocated for became government policy. His advocacy extended well beyond health however. He was also a persistent advocate for safer walking and cycling infrastructure, more green space and trees, better public schools and more housing for people experiencing insecure housing and homelessness – all areas where this government has attempted to honour his values and has made significant investments.

I also need to make mention of Tim’s work on integrity and accountability and his belief that public trust in institutions really matters. As chair of the Integrity and Oversight Committee from 2023, Tim became the first non-government member to chair that committee. In that role he presided over inquiries into the powers of Victoria’s integrity agencies as well as freedom of information laws. It is certainly not lost on us that this work aligns with the parliamentary business that will be debated in this place this week. In going through some of the text messages that I exchanged with Tim over the years, they were all about integrity, FOI – things in my responsibility as Attorney-General. But I did laugh at the amount of times he said, ‘Sorry for the delay in responding. I was on the bike.’

Tim showed deep respect for the institution of Parliament and for the people who served within it. He always displayed a warmth and generosity towards his colleagues as well as an aspirational view of politics. This was on display in his final speech in the other place. Although, we know, he had been diagnosed with an untreatable cancer, he did not use his final speech to talk about himself; instead he spoke about the future. He spoke about housing and people facing inequality. He spoke about strengthening integrity institutions. He spoke about climate change and the need to decarbonise. He spoke about active transport and the importance of making it easier for people to walk and ride, and he spoke about the kind of future we could create for the next generation. He said:

… politics is the work you do to improve people’s circumstances, not just now but in the future. Politics is hope in motion.

Those words provide an insight into Tim Read’s approach to public life: that politics could be a means of making people’s lives better and that governments could make choices that would benefit people not only today but decades into the future.

I congratulate Tim on the difference and contribution he made to Victorian politics over eight years, advocating for the issues in which he believed. He listened. He engaged. He worked constructively with people across the political divide. His passing is a loss to the Parliament of Victoria, to the Brunswick community and to the many people whose lives he touched through his medical, scientific and public service. On behalf of the government, I extend my deepest condolences to his partner and children, to his family and friends and to his many colleagues and former colleagues who had the privilege of working with him.

Tim Read devoted his life to public service in medicine, in science and in politics. He leaves the Parliament with a legacy of advocacy, integrity, compassion and hope. May he rest in peace.

 Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (12:10): I rise in support of Minister Symes’s motion, and on behalf of the Liberals and Nationals I pay tribute to Dr Tim Read, the late member for Brunswick, who died on Saturday at the age of 64. Tim and I came into this Parliament in the same election, in November 2018, he in the other place and I in this one. We did not share a great deal politically, but you do not have to agree with someone’s political views to recognise that they are here for the right reasons. Tim plainly was. Before politics he was a doctor, caring for others. He worked as a GP in community health centres across Melbourne then trained as a sexual health physician and ran the HIV clinic at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre. He completed a PhD and published more than 60 peer-reviewed papers. That is a serious body of work, much of it done out of the public eye.

Tim and I shared a passion for restoring the Royal Children’s Hospital colorectal and pelvic reconstruction service. He was a member of the Parliamentary Friends of the CPRS,which is ably co-chaired by his colleague and my fellow member for Western Victoria Region Dr Sarah Mansfield. I will be forever grateful for his and Sarah’s gracious support of this cause. We also briefly served together on the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee at the start of this Parliament. His time on the committee was short before he moved to the Integrity and Oversight Committee, but it was long enough to see how he operated. He was informed, considered and thoroughly decent. He was an honourable MP in the best sense. When the government agreed that the Integrity and Oversight Committee should have a non-government chair, Tim took the job and served with distinction. On the principle that those who hold power must answer to this Parliament, he and I were in furious agreement.

Last November he was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. He could have stepped back quietly. Instead he spent his final months in this place advocating for causes close to his heart and for his local community. He was only very recently in this place, in the gallery, as he listened to a speech delivered by Dr Mansfield. In his valedictory speech in July, Tim said:

We politicians might want our opponents to lose their seats, but we cannot help but feel some warmth towards those we work with.

Tim made that very easy. I extend our deepest sympathy to his partner Angela, to his children Louisa and Martin and all his family, to his Greens colleagues, to those in this chamber, to his staff and to the people of Brunswick he so ably served. Vale, Dr Tim Read.

 Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (12:13): It is the greatest of honours to rise to pay tribute to the life of Dr Tim Read, member for Brunswick, colleague, mentor and friend. Tim had a knack in moments like this, when the tension and the emotions are so big you do not even know how you are going to move forward, of being able to just say the right thing. He would find some warm thing to say or some funny quip that just broke that tension without ever diminishing the significance of the moment. It is hard to explain, but he was so special. We are really going to miss that. I could do with him here right now.

Tim passed away surrounded by his beautiful, loving family on Saturday. Tim cherished his family more than anything else, and their grief at his loss is immeasurable. My heart goes out to Angela, his children Louisa and Martin and all his family and friends. I learned of his passing while in Bendigo for an event, and I was dreading that long, lonely drive home. But the journey was punctuated every few minutes by a lovely message from someone who knew Tim: ‘decent’, ‘one of the good guys’, ‘the best of us’. Each message, many from MPs across the political spectrum, including in here, brought fresh tears but also warmth to my heart, knowing how widely loved and respected he was. He earned that love and respect from a lifelong commitment to public health, social justice and environmental action.

Growing up in Melbourne Tim had a reputation for being brilliant. He loved science and learning but also had a deep interest in how that could be applied to improving the lives of others. He studied medicine at the University of Melbourne and developed a passion for public and preventative health. It was during that time that he became very politically active, most famously for getting arrested in the 1980s for spray painting tobacco signs as part of the BUGA UP – or Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions – movement, taking on big corporate interests harming health.

He worked as a GP in community health, later specialising in sexual health and coordinating the HIV clinic at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre. He championed HIV prevention and treatment during a time when it was highly stigmatised and misunderstood, and his work was pivotal in helping to reshape the clinical and policy response to HIV. His innate love of learning continued, and he completed further studies in epidemiology and a PhD in HIV and contributed to dozens of peer-reviewed papers. But Tim was never one to accumulate knowledge for its own sake. He saw the transformative power of information and evidence and the need for more of it in our politics.

Tim understood that the climate crisis was the ultimate threat to our collective health and wellbeing yet saw the science being ignored by governments, so he did what any rational and evidence-respecting person would do: he joined the Greens. A key figure in building the Greens movement in the north for many years, Tim was first elected as the member for Brunswick in 2018. It was a historic moment – the first time the seat had ever been won by anyone other than Labor. He loved Brunswick, everything about it and everyone in it, and was committed to its service. Whether it was advocating for more accessible tram stops or safer cycling, providing air filters for community groups during COVID, more funding for the local public schools or saving the Sydney Road street party, no problem was too big or too small for Tim, and the bike-riding doctor developed a reputation for being a great local member.

But he was also a champion for causes that would improve the lives of everyone in Victoria. From pill testing and decriminalisation of public drunkenness to raising the age of criminal responsibility and allowing gay men to donate blood, from making our renewable energy targets more ambitious and abolishing group voting tickets to strengthening IBAC, Tim was a persistent advocate for changes that would make Victoria a safer and more just place, and he was remarkably effective, succeeding in every one of these causes. Tim was also a key voice of reason during the COVID pandemic. As the only doctor in the Parliament at the time, he worked constructively with the government to ensure that the lives of Victorians were protected and health workers were supported while also calling out disproportionate police force and measures that were not justified based on the evidence.

While he never wavered from his advocacy about public health issues and climate change, Tim is perhaps most widely credited for his role in shining a light on the need for strengthened integrity in Victoria. Tim believed that those in positions of power held a profound responsibility to serve the people who put them there honestly. He also recognised the immense harm that comes from corruption and a lack of trust in democratic institutions. In 2023 Tim became the first non-government chair of Victoria’s Integrity and Oversight Committee, leading landmark inquiries to strengthen the state’s anti-corruption watchdog IBAC, a mission that we have the opportunity to complete this week.

Yet he did all of this with little fanfare. He never sought accolades. In fact some of his most important work happened behind the scenes. Few people would know, for example, that the state sexual and reproductive health strategy largely came about because of Tim. Politely but persistently, he knocked on the doors of Minister Mikakos, then Foley, then Thomas, armed with stats and charts and graphs about how syphilis, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections were evolving in Victoria and the need to take action. He knew that eradicating congenital syphilis, for example, or the transmission of HIV was possible but we needed evidence-based policies and ambitious targets. His quiet commitment to the cause, his refusal to give up and his faith in being able to bring others to the table using logic and reason, as well as a bit of kindness, paid off.

One of the things I loved most about Tim and that I think made him so well liked was that he assumed the best in others. While grounded in firm moral convictions and values, he was never quick to judge and was remarkably free of cynicism, especially for someone in politics. He was willing to engage with everyone, no matter what their perspective, and even change his own mind, because his motivation was never about his own self-advancement; it was to get outcomes that meaningfully improved people’s lives. Tim knew that to do that you have to collaborate with others. Whether it was in his work as a GP or researcher, out in the community or in the Parliament, he recognised the power of the collective to bring about change, and he was a great connector of people, bringing them together with his kindness, pragmatism, humility, generosity and especially his humour. We will really miss that sense of humour, everything from the dad jokes and terrible puns to his piercing wit. He had a talent for bringing smiles to the faces of everyone he met.

This was an approach he brought to every part of his work, including in his office with his incredible staff, who he cared about so much – so much so that when he learned of his diagnosis, his first concern was for them. While he was the public face, he always valued and acknowledged the work of staff, demonstrated by their unwavering loyalty. If you need any further proof points about his generosity of mind and heart, go and ask his staff. Just this morning they were reflecting that Parliament was his happy place. He could not believe that we got paid to be here and to do this work. He got such joy from being able to serve the community and try and make things better. It is why he kept on coming here even after his diagnosis, always with a smile, for as long as he could.

I know that for all of his staff who worked for him over the years, it was an absolute privilege, and they are really aching at his loss, as are all of us in the Greens party room. It is hard to describe how important Tim has been to us as a collective but also individually. Tim was our family. He was intelligent, wise, thoughtful, a calm presence, a confidant and a cheerleader, and he helped to guide us as a group but also supported each and every one of us. He was never too busy to answer a call or have a cup of tea, and he always left you feeling a bit better about things. I am really going to miss never having another one of those calls or cups of tea.

Throughout his life Tim always sought to make the most of his opportunities and positions to effect as much change as he could. It was the mark of his character that upon learning that he had metastatic melanoma last year, he made it his mission to save VicHealth. Having served on its board, he used his personal journey to shine a spotlight on the critical role of Victoria’s world-leading health promotion agency. He went about it as he did with every other cause: he argued the case rationally, engaged the media, mobilised the community and knocked on the door of some ministers for a constructive chat. While he did not get to see that one over the line, just as he always did with every cause he championed, he built a movement of people ready to continue his work. I am quietly hopeful we will get there. Heads up to the Minister for Health: expect some knocks on the door and ready yourself for some stats, charts and graphs.

Decent. One of the good guys. The best of us. Vale, my beautiful friend Tim Read.

 Ryan BATCHELOR (Southern Metropolitan) (12:23): Tim Read’s death was devastating news, mostly to his family whom he loved so dearly. To Angela and the rest of his family, our thoughts and our sympathies are with you. There are many who are grieving for this thoroughly decent man who so many of us had as a colleague and many more regarded as a friend. I would like to thank Dr Mansfield for that incredible speech that I think showed just how deeply his loss will be felt by his colleagues and his comrades in the Greens, by those in the Brunswick community who he loved so much and who endorsed him so resoundingly, but also by the Parliament and the people of Victoria who have lost – too soon – a leader and a representative who made a difference to many people’s lives. Tim’s faith in the possibilities of a better democracy was like a beacon, and it inspired so many. You only have to read the outpouring of grief in the words that have been written in the last couple of days since his death and since his announcement of his cancer diagnosis. People realised, once it was clear that melanoma was going to take his life too soon, that we were all going to lose something that was clearly very special.

Dr Mansfield spoke about his health advocacy, obviously as a general practitioner, a medical researcher, a legislator and a policymaker. His interest in the wonders of medicine even got to the point of him – when we were supposed to be in a meeting talking about significant matters of policy – wanting to show the scans of how his immunotherapy was going, because he marvelled at what both medical science and universal health care could deliver in a country like Australia to someone like him, who had contracted a cancer that was going to take his life, and how medical science and the public health system were giving him a treatment that was truly remarkable. I am very privileged to have been able to share some of those conversations about that with him.

He was clearly a passionate campaigner for public health. Dr Mansfield spoke about his advocacy and activism on tobacco control, and one of the first conversations I had with him in this place in early 2023 was about vaping, an issue that I was concerned about. I was concerned for many reasons at the time, but particularly because there were some moves in other parts of the country from some of his colleagues to take a different approach to dealing with vaping issues. He understood what was at risk and he understood the importance of maintaining a line on public health advocacy and keeping the gains that had been made over a generation against the interests of big tobacco, and he kept that until the end.

But of course I worked most closely with him for the last four years on the Integrity and Oversight Committee. He became the chair in 2023, and alongside the deputy chair Kim Wells we worked closely together to deal with some particularly confronting and challenging issues. Every Monday of a parliamentary sitting week we would go into those IOC meetings, and I always made the point of sitting next to him and not opposite or on another side of the table, because you could always have conversations, you could always thrash something out in that context in that room, because that spoke to the person that he was. I think developing a mutual respect and trust to work through some of the issues that confronted that committee is something I will value for a very long time. The report we released on the adequacy of IBAC’s legislative framework in December 2025 I think is a great testament to the work that he had done for a very long time but also his capacity to work with us on a committee where no-one had a majority to come up with a legislative framework and a series of policy recommendations that were about advancing the public interest. Those discussions were always robust, and I was grateful that we were able to hold each other’s feet to the fire on occasion and that there was a robustness in the conversation that enabled me to challenge him and for him to challenge me, but for the respect and trust to endure, for us both to always know that we were both trying to seek better policy outcomes and for him to have the confidence in someone from a different party whose political interests were not necessarily always aligned with his to come and find mutual benefit.

Everyone said he was a decent human being, and he absolutely was, but you were wise to never mistake his decency for a lack of political nous. Tim’s political mind was sharp and focused, and he was a damn good politician. I say that not in the pejorative, because too many deride politics and deride politicians, but I think Tim saw a nobility in the pursuit of politics, which I think is why he chose it, and I think it serves as an inspiration to many. He envisaged a better political system, and I think his contribution is making us all better representatives. He is going to be missed, but he leaves a legacy that will endure. Vale, Tim.

 Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (12:31): I rise to add the Nationals’ voice to this condolence motion and extend our deepest sympathies to his partner Angela, children Martin and Louisa and his family and friends and staff and dear colleagues today who are in great distress. Thinking of this place and the cut and thrust of Parliament and debate, being an old mathematician I had a vision when thinking about Dr Tim Read last night of a Venn diagram. Often we focus on the parts of the Venn diagram that we do not agree with and that are the opposites or the issues and the ideas and the ideals that are outside. The other day after Tim’s valedictory, which I missed because I was in here on duty, I saw him up in Sessions Cafe and just went over and said that all my team, all our team, the Nationals, said that it was one of the most amazing valedictory speeches that they had heard. When I was having a quiet chat to him it just reflected how much in all of us there is the part of the Venn diagram that we all can connect with, and that is recognising someone of huge dignity and integrity and commitment and passion and humour, and humour is a really good part of that Venn diagram. When we all walk away from this place – and Tim did not get the opportunity to – there are those people that you meet and have sometimes fleeting experiences with, but you still take a little bit and you put them in your heart.

As I said, there were issues and ideals where we maybe sat kind of on opposite ends of the seesaw. Maybe we were actually trying to achieve the same things and we just wanted to come at them from different ways, but he certainly was a man of huge integrity. I like raising this point: he is a little bit older than I am, but back in the day when we were growing up HIV was a hugely scary issue – and we all know those ads – and for Tim, in his early stages, to want to go into a career and dedicate himself to the health of very vulnerable people in an unknown space I think speaks a lot to the man. Also then to focus on sexual health – which is, again, not for the faint-hearted – and then to go into bat on issues in this place around VicHealth and the importance of health prevention shows a healing life in itself.

So these are my reflections on him. Reading his valedictory speech and ‘hope in motion’, as Minister Symes just said, is a nice thing to think about – hope in motion. We do not often walk into this place thinking it is hope in motion, but that is a really good thought to take into our hearts as well. The other comment is that he often had a smile on his face for others; he wanted to do the work so that there would be a smile on the face of others into the future. When, with time, that healing occurs hopefully for all of his family and friends, he will crop up as a smile on the face of those that loved him. So may I say vale, Dr Tim Read.

 David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan) (12:35): On behalf of the community of Legalise Cannabis Victoria, we are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr Tim Read. Tim brought compassion, integrity, experience and always humour, with a wealth of knowledge, to his work in this Parliament and the community. He cared deeply about the people he represented, and he was not afraid to stand up for what he believed in. We collaborated on a range of campaigns, and Tim was always forthright and insightful and shared generously with his colleagues and the community. It was a privilege to work alongside him. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this very sad time. Vale, Tim Read, Renaissance man, advocate and campaigner, well loved by so many.

 Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (12:36): I also rise to make a short contribution on the condolence motion for Dr Tim Read, the member for Brunswick. Dr Tim Read has been acknowledged across the Parliament as a member of conviction and compassion who championed human rights and fought for integrity in public life. When I was the member for Pascoe Vale in the other place, which is obviously a neighbouring district to that of Dr Tim Read, I saw these attributes in force across our shared communities. I personally came to know Tim as a genuinely decent man. Whilst Dr Read and I would strongly disagree on some policy matters, when you are hanging out at a farmers market – indeed I think it was at a farmers market that I first met Tim, with his bike and a basket full of vegetables – or a citizenship ceremony together, it becomes more often than not about what you have in common.

Dr Read fought gently but relentlessly for justice, self-determination and better outcomes for First Nations people; a more humane approach to those who seek asylum in this country; the protection and enhancement of the rich multicultural fabric of Melbourne’s north; the fundamental human right of shelter, a safe home; and our local environment, particularly our local waterways. He was a champion of active and accessible transport, as others have said. We ultimately agreed on bike lanes, although some were more controversial than others. I particularly want to acknowledge his work in pushing for the government to do more to address gambling harm. Dr Read was a man who lived and fought for his values.

I also had the opportunity to serve with Dr Read on the Parliament’s Electoral Matters Committee. Tim brought professionalism and integrity to the table. Alongside members in this place we conducted an important inquiry into the impacts of social media on Victorian elections and Victoria’s electoral administration. In that inquiry we heard how public discourse in elections could be poisoned through the use of social media to abuse, mislead and manipulate others. We know the test of anyone’s character is how they conduct themselves during the contest of an election. Unfortunately this contest and this discourse is worsening over time.

Whilst the final report highlighted these ongoing challenges, Dr Read did not just call out this behaviour from the comfort of a parliamentary committee report. I really want to acknowledge and thank Dr Read for his generosity and kindness during the 2018 election campaign when I was the subject of personal bullying and misogynistic attacks in Pascoe Vale. It would have been easy to do as some did and look the other way, particularly as a new candidate from another party. But Dr Read was a professional who understood the difference between policy disagreement and abuse and personal attack, and even though he was not contesting Pascoe Vale, he called it out for what it was. I did not get the opportunity to say this to him, but I will never forget his kindness in relation to those matters.

As I said at the outset, clearly Dr Read was someone of compassion and conviction, someone who was gentle and kind, someone who was brave and a true professional. He did not just say that integrity should be a key feature of the political discourse; he lived it each and every day. I am grateful for knowing Dr Read and for the opportunity to have worked alongside him locally and in this place. I acknowledge and express my condolences to Tim’s family, his friends and his staff and to the Greens political party. I wish you peace in the comfort that Dr Tim Read helped make the world a better place. Vale, Tim Read.

 Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (12:40): I also rise to add my voice to the condolence motion for Dr Tim Read, the member for Brunswick, who died on 19 September at the age of 64. I want to extend my condolences to Angela, his children Martin and Louisa and his wider family, his staff and his Greens colleagues. I cannot imagine the enormous pain and grief you would all be going through. I want to express my deep condolences to you all.

I will be very brief. A lot of people have discussed Dr Tim Read’s extensive background as a doctor. He really did have the sort of kindness and curiosity that most people have come across at GP clinics throughout their lives. That inquisitive nature and kindness came across in my interactions with Tim Read. We first crossed paths back in 2018, when I was running for the Northern Metro Region in the number two position and I attended a metropolitan transport forum in Brunswick alongside him. The first thing he said to me was, ‘You’re brave. Not many of your friends here.’ We joked in that regard. We disagreed that night but with good humour. He was very strongly in favour of protected bike lanes on Sydney Road and I had more concerns about the impact on small business, but he always found a way to make humour out of it and disagree well. our Parliament will miss him for that because there is not enough of that in this Parliament. His legacy leaves a good example for the rest of us on how to disagree.

Our paths crossed again in 2022 when I returned to the same Brunswick town hall for the metropolitan transport forum, where we also disagreed in good humour. I recall the enormous warmth in the room for Dr Tim Read. We were on a pre-poll booth together in Brunswick, and I could see the enormous warmth of the Brunswick community. I had a couple of old ladies come up and say, ‘Good on you for being here. We’re Liberal voters, but I love that man Dr Tim Read. I’m going to have to vote for him in the lower house.’ You would see that over and over again, and I think it is a sign that he was clearly a very good local member. That resulted on election night in an almost 12 per cent swing towards him. That goes to show the enormous work he did behind the scenes for his community and the effort of his staff as well to assist the community with all sorts of local matters, and he should be remembered fondly in that regard. He was loved by his local community. We have all crossed paths with him on the roads as we would see him coming into Parliament. I often come into Parliament via Brunswick, and we would all see him cycling in.

I also want to, as other members of Parliament have, acknowledge the work he did on the Integrity and Oversight Committee and the work he did on broader integrity reforms in this place. Vale, Dr Tim Read.

 Jeff BOURMAN (Eastern Victoria) (12:44): I want to add my contribution to this. It is a measure of Dr Read that someone from the polar opposite to him on the political spectrum is standing up here and saying how sad he will be to not see Tim around the place again. Tim and I did not agree on many things politically, but the one thing you could always count on him for was good humour and the occasional dad joke. No matter how bad a mood he was in, he would always be able to give you a smile. I do not think the words ‘thoroughly decent’ do the man any justice. He is probably someone we can all learn from in this place about how we can have different views but be nice about it. He will be missed. Vale, Dr Read.

 Sheena WATT (Northern Metropolitan) (12:45): I rise today to give my contribution to this condolence motion, and I want to express my deepest condolences to Tim’s loved ones. Cancer is a profoundly cruel and indiscriminate disease, and in this case it has taken from our community a truly decent and compassionate person far too soon.

Tim was an electoral neighbour. In fact his office felt like it was about only 200 metres away. We shared the same diverse, passionate community across Melbourne’s inner north, and he was a constant presence in the area. He backed the local cafes and supported the hardworking traders up and down Sydney Road, and he regularly showed up at our community health hubs. He understood the progressive, caring spirit of Brunswick because he shared it, he lived it and he breathed it every single day.

Politics in this place can often be combative and filled with disagreement, but you would be hard-pressed to find a single person in this Parliament who would not describe Tim Read as a decent man. You just knew that he genuinely cared about people. You knew he was a person who lived his values every single day. I knew it because it was in my mailbox all the time. You knew his convictions were always grounded in a desire to leave the community better than he found it. Nowhere was this more apparent than in his lifelong dedication to health.

Before he came to this place, Tim worked on the front line of public health as a doctor and a clinical researcher, and he brought that expertise and immense compassion directly into political life. He understood intimately that health care is not just about treating symptoms in a clinic, it is about addressing the root causes of vulnerability and inequality in our society. Having spent time working in community health myself, I have always had a profound respect for the way Tim championed evidence-based, health-led policies. He was a strong advocate for the most marginalised Victorians not being left behind in a system meant to help them. He knew that the best public policy is always driven by science and tempered with empathy.

Beyond his work in health, Tim was deeply committed to a brand of progressive politics that sought to genuinely lift people up. I want to thank him for being an ally to First Nations Victorians, especially mob in my neighbourhood, who spoke of him with such kindness and affection. When it came to the hard, necessary work of treaty and truth-telling, he walked alongside Aboriginal Victorians. I will always be grateful for his solidarity. This weight of loss in the community is really heavy.

To his colleagues in the Greens, who have lost a dear friend and a dedicated advocate for their movement, I want to offer my sincere condolences. To his electorate office staff, who I often see at Sparkly Bear, who share his passion for the Brunswick community and who are now navigating this heartbreaking loss while continuing to keep the doors open for locals: my thoughts are with you. To his family and loved ones: please know that his legacy is one that you can absolutely be proud of. He gave so much of his heart to the people of Brunswick. His legacy of kindness and advocacy will endure.

I was trying to reflect on a beautiful memory with Tim. I have got to tell you, a little bit like Mr Mulholland, my memories are of the long days on pre-poll with Tim, because you get to know a person on pre-poll. I got to know Tim there. I remember seeing the joy on his face because he was spending all day talking to his neighbours. Sometimes he even had former clients come up, and it was like he was running a doctor’s clinic right there on the pre-poll. They came up with such joy, and they thanked him for what he did for them. He remembered them and their stories. It was kind of extraordinary to watch. He had genuine care for everyone that came up and asked him a question about what he would do for the community. He was a man of principle and above all a man of deep, deep kindness.

I remember when I joined this place the first thing anyone told me about Tim Read was, ‘Oh, he’s so nice.’ Everywhere I go in Brunswick they speak with such affection for Dr Tim Read: ‘He’s so nice, he’s so good and he’s so just.’ He will be deeply missed in his community and right across the Parliament. Thank you for your allyship, and I will miss you too. Vale, Dr Tim Read.

 David LIMBRICK (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:50): I also would like to speak in support of this condolence motion remembering Dr Tim Read. I would first like to express my condolences to his family, friends, staff and of course parliamentary colleagues, for whom this must be devastating.

When I listened to Tim’s valedictory speech talking about people that he disagreed with but still had a good relationship with, I could not help thinking that he was talking to me. We disagreed on almost everything politically, but I never had a run-in with Tim and actually always had a very good relationship with him. In fact I would like to just share an anecdote which his colleagues may not be aware of. There was a very different dynamic after Tim and I were first elected in 2019. This was before the pandemic, and there were many on the crossbench that were very optimistic about the prospects for drug law reform. Although I disagreed with Tim on many things, drug law reform was one issue where we both strongly agreed on many things.

Tim was very generous. I think he saw it as strategically valuable to have allies on this sort of issue such as me, because it was quite unusual to have someone from what is considered the right of politics advocating for drug law reform, and we actually cooperated on a number of things in 2019. One of those things was an event – I do not think it was organised by the Greens, but you could say that the audience was very Greens aligned – and I was invited to speak at that along with Tim. It was a bar in Brunswick, and there were lots of Greens supporters there. People were drinking beer and having fun, there was music and stuff, and then they got these two guys on the stage, Tim and me, to talk about drugs. Tim was very gracious in the way that he dealt with me on the stage, considering that he sort of acknowledged that I was in foreign territory and might get a hostile response, but he encouraged people there to listen to my views on things and how they might be a bit different but actually we might even agree on some things. It was really annoying, because I really wanted to hate the Greens all the time and I could not hate him. He was just one of those guys that you cannot really find a way to hate. I agree with him that you might have people in this place – and people from the outside do not see it – with whom you might have very divergent political views on things but nevertheless you do have that human affection for in one way or another. He acknowledged that, in fact he said it in his valedictory speech.

I would just like to say that I am going to miss Tim as well. I did enjoy the times when we did agree on things and cooperate on things. I will always remember that time in the pub in Brunswick – and I was actually feeling very nervous at that time, I might add, because I was just newly elected and going into a Greens pub in Brunswick was a bit daring of me. I am going to miss Tim as well. He was a decent person, and I think that, as has been said by everyone, we all acknowledge that. We are going to miss him.

 Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:54): I rise also to make a contribution about a dear colleague who we are going to miss greatly. It is really hard to put things into words, but like so many who have sought to do so as part of the motion today, I wish to offer my condolences to the Brunswick community, particularly to his partner Ange, his children and family and all of his office staff.

Tim was an amazing person. He listened to people even when he really did not have to – he would always listen. He had this ability to have such an open mind that is really becoming of a person who does this line of work. That openness, I think, could be welcomed across the political divide in finding solutions for community.

Something that I really admired about Tim was his courage, which is not necessarily the first thing that people would attribute to him, but he had far more courage than I ascribe to myself. He would go in there and he would have the tough conversations and he would relish the opportunity to make a rational argument and to contribute in those moments. He would never shy away from those opportunities. I think that courage and his reputation preceded him. It preceded his time in the Parliament: his time as a GP during the HIV/AIDS crisis, his decision to specialise in sexual health and his PhD in HIV control. I was at an event just last week that turned out to be the day before he passed, and it was a room full of medical researchers and stakeholders who spoke with such love about Tim and wished that he was in the position healthwise to be there to see them all, because they recognise his contribution that he had made over many years.

He was a man of bold ideas. Many of those are now policy in this state and have made our community better. Some of his ideas were too bold, and so I cannot even speak of some of them because they are too bold. I would find myself often aligning in conversation with him on some of those topics. That was something that I really appreciated, finding solidarity in some of those moments.

Tim was integrity. You could not fault the man. Over the weekend I was listening to JOY 94.9, which is a queer radio station, and they broadcast an interview that they conducted with Tim back in 2025. It is online as a podcast; you can all listen. A lot of it was really quite telling about him and his beliefs and his character, and a lot of it is still timely, even for this week when we are considering legislation before the Parliament. He spoke about trust in institutions. He spoke about the need for transparency and openness. These were things that he lived. He spoke about the need to change a cautious culture of reticence, redaction and secrecy. He said that when governments and departments get secretive, people get suspicious. He was reflecting on the distrust in institutions and in governments that we are seeing at the moment. He said:

… the voting public will be more forgiving of ministers and governments when, over time, they understand more about why decisions are made.

I think this is something about Tim: his advice, whether public or private, was always so sage. I hope, in this time of reflection, that it is an opportunity for people to listen to some of those things that he put on record time and time again. He had the right idea on a lot of things. Tim is impossible to replace and he was taken far too soon. We will miss him, and I hope that we honour his legacy. Vale, Tim.

 Anasina GRAY-BARBERIO (Northern Metropolitan) (12:59): I speak with a very heavy heart. We knew this was coming, but we refused to accept it. Then we all found out the news over the weekend, and it still hurts. It hurts deeply. To Tim’s beloved family Ange, Martin and Louisa and many friends we send our deepest love, condolences and prayers during this time.

I am feeling very privileged right now to offer this contribution on this incredible man, leader and friend, Dr Tim Read. He was a strong and much-loved local member for Brunswick, a champion for his community and a giant of the Greens movement. If Tim could see all of this, he would probably say to us, ‘What is all this fuss about?’ This speaks to exactly who he was: never about him, always about others. This was reflected in the way that he interacted with people here in Parliament and in community. Even when Tim received his diagnosis, he made the focus about others. His unending optimism in people was on full display, using his position, power and privilege to speak strongly on important issues. He stood strongly on why it was important for governments to invest sustainably in work on preventable diseases and why it was important to invest in good and affordable healthcare systems. More prominent was Tim’s leadership in the push to save and to protect VicHealth, the world’s first health promotion foundation, set up more than four decades ago which was, sadly, dissolved by this government. Tim understood clearly why this was important: if people did not have to die from preventable diseases, it meant that they could spend more time with their loved ones.

Tim cared deeply about democracy that had strong foundations in integrity. He fought hard across the political aisle to put in place the strongest safeguards to protect democracy from exploitation. He got the job done by working for a long time to abolish group voting tickets, and I am so grateful that he got to witness these reforms take place. Now, this week, we get to pass stronger reforms for IBAC to give them the powers they need to strengthen and protect integrity and democracy in this state. Although, Tim, you will not get the public acknowledgement for all your hard work behind the scenes, today we acknowledge you. We acknowledge your long-held commitment to integrity in our democracy.

High-quality public education was important to Tim. He was our Greens spokesperson for education. He took this responsibility very seriously, leading the call for the recent parliamentary inquiry into public school funding. He understood that Victorian children and public schools could not afford any more delays, neglect and indifference and fought hard for public schools to receive the urgent upgrades they needed, including teachers having access to fair pay but also the necessary resources to educate our next generation.

Tim had a great zest for life and really embodied what it means to be a public servant for all. He would serve all his constituents of Brunswick with the same measure of fairness and care regardless of their political preferences. He understood people’s anxiety about losing faith in institutions and how challenging times are right now for so many. He met people and organisations with such an authentic desire to make their lives better, and he did this with such clear purpose of responsibility and intentionality. If you need further evidence of this, just jump online to see the outpouring of love and gratitude for his work.

In this line of work Tim knew that he needed an extensive toolkit, but I reckon the sharpest tools that Tim had were his wit and his compassion. In 2025, last year, in summer both our teams had organised for Tim and I to go to the local park and hand out free Zooper Dooper iceblocks to locals on their way home from work. But what we did not plan for that day was that it was going to be a 35-degree-plus day. I had arrived with my esky on wheels and Tim, always on his bike, came pedalling through with his hi-vis, because safety and visibility was important to him. As we walked around the park and got our steps up, so many people came up to him – they knew exactly who he was – enthusiastically sharing their stories and also talking about the way Tim and his team helped them with their local issues. This was Tim – never engaging community from behind a computer screen but instead choosing to be out there, visible and accessible. He understood the importance of one-on-one relationships, of listening and talking to people to hear where they were coming from and always being open to different lived experiences.

I will never forget the day you told us you had made peace with your fate. It was very hard for us to accept this, but you stayed with us to the end, Tim.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Tim’s team, who he absolutely adored and respected, because the reality is that beside any MP there is a dedicated and loyal team; his beloved team of Ebony, Tahlia, Emma, Mark, Neha, Violetta, Jovilyn, Iliana, Tim, AJ and Jay and many more he offered opportunities to throughout his eight years of service. You may have lost your fight to this cruel disease, Tim, but the largeness of your spirit and values live on in us. You were the best of us, and I thank you for your pursuit of honour and integrity in politics. Thank you for your service, your friendship, your kindness and your brilliance. You can rest now. Let us take it from here. Rest in love.

 Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (13:06): I rise to also express my condolences on the loss of our dear colleague Tim Read. I share my deepest sympathies with Louisa, Martin and Ange, Tim’s family. I want to say at this time, thank you for your generosity in sharing Tim with the world the way that you did throughout his parliamentary career and his time in the Greens. And thank you for your generosity now as we all grieve the loss of this incredible man. I send my sympathies to Tim’s community, who adored him as their local representative, and to all of his close friends and family. Your Greens family are mourning with you as we farewell this incredible human. We have lost a champion for our climate, for public health, for bike safety and for integrity and democracy. Our party room has lost an irreplaceable voice.

Tim, you were endlessly sensible. You were kind, and you always had a joke ready to alleviate tension and to create connection with the people that you were debating or discussing anything with. You had an incredible ability to locate precisely the principles and the values at the heart of any decision that we were making and to allow those to guide the discussion and the conversation, which it would inevitably be with Tim. There was no hectoring; there was only an exploration of the correct course of action, and invariably you found your way there. Tim, you brought your Hippocratic sensibility to your work in Parliament. It has been spoken about today, and I know that your colleagues and your community felt that – the rare and beautiful curiosity and openness that you brought to parliamentary work. You were always willing to listen. You sought to understand and then to help where you could.

I have lost a friend. Tim, you were always the one that turned up. You came to the south side for one of our campaign events, and you got doored on Chapel Street for your trouble. You showed up to my gigs. I will really miss starting my day by bumping into you and seeing your smile at the bike racks here at Parliament. Your achievements are so many, and we will honour your memory and your legacy in all of the beautiful, positive changes that you have brought to this place and to our state and for our environment. Though you would not want the fuss, we will not forget your contribution in bringing forward those things. I am so glad you got to see some of those reforms pass in the last few weeks, and we will continue your work where it remains unfinished. Vale, Tim Read. Go well, my wonderful friend.

The PRESIDENT: The question is that the motion be agreed to. I ask members to signify their assent by rising in their places for 1 minute.

Motion agreed to in silence, members showing unanimous agreement by standing in their places.

 Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Minister for Energy and Resources, Minister for Environment, Minister for Climate Action, Minister for the State Electricity Commission) (13:11): I move, by leave:

That, as a further mark of respect to the memory of Dr Tim Read MP, the house be suspended for 1 hour.

Motion agreed to.

Sitting suspended 1:12 pm until 2:15 pm.