Arabic version: وفاة النائب عن حزب الخضر في فيكتوريا تيم ريد عن 64 عاماً

According to ABC News, Victorian Greens MP Tim Read has died aged 64 after a well-publicised battle with metastatic cancer. The former general practitioner represented the inner-suburban electorate of Brunswick after winning the seat at the 2018 Victorian election. He announced in January that he would retire from parliament ahead of the November state election.

In his final year as Brunswick’s MP, Dr Read campaigned against the Allan government’s planned closure of VicHealth, the health promotion foundation established in 1987. He told the ABC in January that shutting the organisation would create a “false economy” and argued that health promotion should be strengthened rather than weakened. Dr Read had previously said VicHealth’s sun-safety messaging could have helped reduce his cancer risk had it been promoted when he was younger.

Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell described Dr Read as a brilliant local MP, doctor and scientist, and said he was “the kindest, funniest and most fundamentally decent of people”. She said his advocacy contributed to reforms involving pill testing, tobacco licensing, public drunkenness laws, blood donation by gay men, solitary confinement in prisons, and plans to eradicate congenital syphilis and HIV transmission.

Premier Ben Carroll said he had spoken with Dr Read earlier in the week and had been deeply touched by the conversation. Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said he was a man of conviction who earned respect across parliament. Born in 1962, Dr Read completed a PhD while working in a public HIV and sexual health clinic. A by-election will not be required for Brunswick because Victoria is scheduled to go to the polls on November 28.