Victorian Greens MP Tim Read dies, ABC News Australia reports
In Australia, Tim Read, a 64-year-old Australian Greens member of the Victorian Parliament representing the Brunswick electorate, has died. He had been publicly battling metastatic cancer, ABC News reports.
Greens' reaction
Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell described Read as a brilliant local member of parliament, doctor and scientist. According to her, people who knew him considered him a kind, witty and decent person, while in parliament he was respected by representatives of different political forces.
Sandell also said that Read openly criticized those in power. According to her, before being elected, he was detained for painting health messages on tobacco advertising billboards.
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Work in parliament and VicHealth
Before his political career, Read worked as a general practitioner. He first ran for parliament in the 2013 federal election as the Greens candidate in the electorate of Wills. The following year, he ran for the party in the Victorian parliamentary election in Brunswick, winning the seat on his second attempt in 2018.
In January, Read announced his resignation from the Victorian Parliament. During his final year as an MP, he spoke out against the Allan government's decision to close VicHealth, a health promotion agency. He told ABC that the institution's public information campaigns on staying safe in the sun could have reduced his risk of developing cancer if they had been disseminated when he was younger.
A by-election in Brunswick will not be held because the Victorian state election is already scheduled for November 28. The Greens hold this inner-suburban electorate with a 13.7% lead over the Labor Party on a two-candidate preferred basis.
