Victorian Greens MP Dr Tim Read has died aged 64 after living with metastatic cancer, prompting tributes for the Brunswick representative, former doctor, medical researcher and public-health advocate.
Read had represented the inner-Melbourne electorate since 2018. He announced in January that he would retire at Victoria’s November 2026 state election after learning that cancer had spread through his body. His death comes just weeks before Victorians return to the polls.
Tim Read died after metastatic cancer diagnosis
Read had previously undergone treatment after a melanoma was removed from his leg. He later noticed swelling in his leg while getting ready for work, and subsequent scans showed that cancer had spread through his body.
The diagnosis led him to decide against seeking another term, although he continued serving Brunswick and delivered his valedictory speech during his final year in parliament.
Medicine shaped his approach to public life
Born in 1962, Read worked as a general practitioner before specialising in sexual health. He completed a PhD and conducted research involving HIV prevention and treatment as well as antibiotic-resistant sexually transmitted infections.
His medical background remained closely connected to his political priorities. Another Australian political figure whose career combined medicine and public service was former Higgins MP and paediatrician Katie Allen.
His activism began decades before parliament
As a young medical student, Read became involved with BUGA-UP, short for Billboard-Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions. The campaign targeted tobacco advertising by altering billboards with health messages when cigarette promotion was still widespread.
Read later contested the federal seat of Wills for the Greens in 2013 and Brunswick at the 2014 Victorian election. He returned in 2018 and won Brunswick on his second attempt.
VicHealth became a major final campaign
One of Read’s most prominent campaigns during his final year was his opposition to the Allan government’s decision to close VicHealth, the health-promotion foundation established in 1987.
Read argued that weakening preventive healthcare could create greater costs for the health system in the longer term. He also connected the issue to his own experience, saying earlier sun-safety messaging might have reduced his cancer risk when he was younger.
ABC News reported on Read’s death and final VicHealth campaign, including his reflections on preventive health after his cancer diagnosis.
Public health and integrity shaped his parliamentary record
Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell credited Read’s advocacy with contributing to reforms involving pill testing, tobacco licensing, public drunkenness laws and measures targeting HIV and congenital syphilis transmission.
Read also chaired parliament’s Integrity and Oversight Committee and pushed for stronger accountability and anti-corruption safeguards. His work formed part of a wider Victorian debate about political transparency, including recent scrutiny of Victoria’s IBAC system following the Operation Richmond report.
Tributes came from across Victorian politics
Sandell remembered Read as a doctor, scientist and local MP whose strong convictions were accompanied by humour and humility.
Victorian Premier Ben Carroll praised his contribution to public debate, while Opposition Leader Jess Wilson highlighted his commitment to integrity and respectful engagement across political lines.
The tributes reflected the relationships Read developed beyond his own party despite regularly challenging governments and political opponents over policy.
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Brunswick will not hold a separate by-election
Read’s death will not trigger a separate Brunswick by-election because Victoria is already scheduled to hold its state election on November 28, 2026.
ABC reports that the Greens hold Brunswick with a two-candidate-preferred margin of 13.7 percentage points against Labor. Read had already announced his retirement, meaning the electorate was preparing to choose a new representative before his death.
His family has asked people wishing to honour him to consider donations instead of flowers, nominating Friends of the Earth and the Inner North Community Foundation. Read leaves a public record spanning medicine, health research, anti-tobacco activism, preventive healthcare, political integrity and eight years representing Brunswick.
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