Victorian Greens MP Dr Tim Read has died aged 64, after a public battle with metastatic cancer. Dr Read, who announced his retirement from the Victorian parliament in January, used his final year as the Member for Brunswick to fight against the Allan government's decision to close VicHealth, the world's first health promotion foundation.
A former general practitioner, Dr Read told the ABC in January that VicHealth had helped pioneer sun safety messaging that could have reduced his cancer risk if promoted when he was younger.
Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell paid tribute on social media, describing Dr Read as the most liked MP in state parliament. "Tim was a brilliant local MP, doctor and scientist — but to those who knew him, he was also the kindest, funniest and most fundamentally decent of people," she said.
Ms Sandell noted his advocacy led to legislative reforms including pill testing, tobacco licensing, the abolition of public drunkenness laws, a statewide plan to eradicate congenital syphilis and HIV transmission, allowing gay men to donate blood, and a statutory ban on solitary confinement in prisons.
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll said he spoke with Dr Read earlier this week and was "deeply touched by that conversation". "Despite his health challenges, he was positive and optimistic for a better world," Mr Carroll said. "I always valued his intelligent and humane contributions to the public debate."
Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson described Dr Read as "a man of conviction and a thoroughly decent person". "He brought sincerity, compassion and a strong sense of public duty to his work, earning respect across the parliament," she said, highlighting his work on the Integrity and Oversight Committee and advocacy for stronger anti-corruption laws.
Dr Read was also a campaigner on climate change, over-incarceration, deaths in custody of Indigenous Victorians and bike safety.
Dr Read never held back from speaking truth to power, Ms Sandell recalled, whether getting arrested for spray-painting health messages on tobacco billboards before his election or taking it up to the Premier in Question Time.