Tim Read, member for Brunswick in Victoria, dies after cancer battle
Tim Read, a Greens politician who represented the state seat of Brunswick in Victoria, has died aged 64 after a battle with melanoma.
Read’s death was announced on Saturday afternoon by Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell, who said he passed away earlier in the morning “surrounded by family and love”.
Tim Read first entered parliament in 2018. Simon Schluter
“The Victorian Greens are truly devastated to announce the death of Tim Read, our dear friend, colleague and beloved MP for Brunswick,” the statement read.
“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.
“At this time of incredible pain and sadness, we offer our deepest love to his wife Angela, his children Louisa and Martin, and all of Tim’s family and friends.”
Read was first elected into state parliament at the 2018 election, where he won the previously Labor-held seat of Brunswick in Melbourne’s inner suburbs. He retained the seat at the 2022 election.
Before being elected to parliament, he was a GP and medical researcher, and was the only qualified medical doctor sitting in Victorian parliament during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read was diagnosed with melanoma in November. Paul Jeffers
Read was diagnosed with melanoma in November, and announced he would not stand for re-election at the November state election.
“My diagnosis is serious, and I don’t know exactly what the future holds,” Read said in an opinion piece published in The Age in February where he announced his retirement from politics.
“The cost of delay is always greater than the cost of acting early.”
He said he would use his remaining time in the parliament to fight against the closure of VicHealth, a health promotion foundation.
Victoria’s opposition leader Jess Wilson paid tribute to Read’s work in the parliament, as well as his character. Getty Images
In a statement, leader of the opposition, Jess Wilson, paid tribute to Read, calling him a “thoroughly decent person.
“Tim was a man of conviction... he brought sincerity, compassion and a strong sense of public duty to his work, earning respect across the Parliament,” she said.
“Parliament often requires negotiation and compromise. I always enjoyed working with Tim. He was an honest broker, someone who listened, engaged in good faith and approached every discussion with respect and integrity.”
Read’s family said that in lieu of flowers, they would prefer donations be sent to Friends of the Earth and the Inner North Community Foundation.
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