It’s hard work to tackle the tough issues, the issues so often on the margins, and deliver what’s fair, just and safe for the people and communities I represent.
Working for fair communities
Making sure Victoria’s 5000 female career and volunteer firefighters can be compensated for work-related reproductive cancers in the same way male firefighters are covered.
Pushing the government to deliver a fair share of public funding to maintain and develop regional and rural roads, hospitals and vital community services.
Championing solutions for local communities –
- reinstating Kiewa Valley kindergarten funding
- diverting West Gate Tunnel super-loads away from Longwood and Locksley
- funding Wangaratta’s Borinya School expansion and Corryong College sensory play equipment
- funding Swan Hill hospital, Bright hospital and aged care, and Daylesford hospital redevelopments to strengthen patient and community health care
- funding Mansfield Autism Statewide Services’ ‘Gamechanger’ farm development to help families living with autism, and Tomorrow Today Foundation’s early childhood intervention program
Pushing Parliament to make sure all politicians and staff are held to the same standards as anyone in the community accused of workplace bullying, harassment, and sexual assault.
Working for just communities
Supporting in Parliament victim-survivors’ demands for a public sex offender register, strong online offending laws, justice in sentencing, and mandated lifetime monitoring of serious perpetrators.
Changed the Prisoner Compensation Quarantine Fund to ensure victims’ fair access to compensation.
Extended protections for people harmed by crime so they no longer face their offenders at Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal hearings.
Won parliamentary colleagues’ support to expose the extent of coercive control behaviour in family violence and to direct government to review how courts take offender history into account.
Changed the law so juries in child abuse cases are told of an accused offender’s prior convictions and interest in children.
Strengthened sentencing laws for offenders who assault emergency service workers.
Pushing the government to provide redress for adults who, as children, suffered physical, emotional and psychological abuse in state care.
Working for safe communities
Pressing the Health and Ambulance Services Minister to deliver more resources to speed ambulance response times, reduce hospital ramping, strengthen local health services and support qualified community care solutions.
Moved for an independent monitor’s appointment to make sure Victoria’s child protection agencies keep children safe in care.
Advocating –
- better police service infrastructure, including $28.9m for Benalla’s new station
- a specialist family violence court and Legal Aid office in the North East
- a Mildura drug court and residential alcohol and other drugs rehabilitation centre
- an ultralight vehicle for Beechworth CFA
- CFA ‘first responder’ funding to provide accident and emergency first aid before paramedics arrive
- prevention programs to deal with adolescent violence at home
- Hume Freeway Avenel intersection traffic safety works
Strengthening legal responses to serious offending –
- securing a formal review of Victoria’s responses to stalking
- proposing ‘no body, no release’ laws for convicted criminals who refuse to reveal the location of victim remains
- allowing courts to deliver appropriate guilty findings when offenders plead mental impairment
- making non-fatal strangulation a standalone offence
Secured a review of retail tobacco regulations to stop organised crime funding sex-trafficking and child pornography from illegal tobacco farming, processing and sale.
Pushed for safer roads by expanding drug-driver roadside testing and changing the law so accused hit-and-run drivers’ licences are suspended immediately.
Exposed system flaws that allow assault and abuse of older people in residential care to go unreported.
