Victorian Greens MP Tim Read dies aged 64 after battle with cancer

Victorian Greens MP Tim Read has died aged 64, ending a high‑profile battle with metastatic cancer and prompting tributes for a politician widely regarded as one of the most respected figures in state parliament.

Dr Read, a former general practitioner and scientist, retired from politics earlier this year after scans revealed his cancer had spread throughout his body. He had previously undergone surgery to remove a melanoma from his leg seven years ago.

Despite his diagnosis, Dr Read used his final year as the Member for Brunswick to campaign against the Allan government’s decision to close VicHealth, arguing the health promotion agency had saved lives and prevented disease for decades.

He said VicHealth’s early sun‑safety campaigns — introduced long after his youth — might have reduced his own cancer risk had they been promoted earlier.

In January, he warned shutting the agency would create a “false economy”.

“We need to be strengthening health promotion, not weakening it,” he said.

Dr Read’s advocacy for the agency became one of the defining fights of his final year in parliament — a continuation of the public‑health work he championed throughout his medical and political career.

Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell said Dr Read was “the most liked MP in state parliament”, admired across party lines for his integrity and scientific rigour.

“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.

“Tim never held back from speaking truth to power, whether it was getting arrested for spray‑painting health messages on tobacco billboards prior to getting elected or taking it up to the Premier in Question Time.”

She said he embodied “conviction, integrity, wit and genuine humility”.

A by‑election will not be held for the Brunswick electorate, with Victoria already scheduled to vote on November 28.

The Greens hold the inner‑suburban seat with a 13.7 per cent two‑candidate‑preferred margin over Labor.

Dr Read first contested federal politics in 2013, running as the Greens candidate in Wills, the seat once held by former prime minister Bob Hawke.

He later shifted to state politics, standing for Brunswick in 2014 before winning the seat on his second attempt in 2018.

As Victoria prepares for its November election, Dr Read’s fight to preserve VicHealth remains one of the defining issues he leaves behind, underscoring his belief that prevention and public health should sit at the centre of government decision‑making.