Greg Barber is no stranger to the challenges of government. In 2003, after one year as a councillor on the Yarra City Council, he was elected Australia's first Green Mayor. Greg and his fellow Greens councillors were instrumental in restoring public confidence in the council. Their achievements include: the planting of over 1,500 street trees, a massive increase in spending on bicycle paths, soil contamination surveys of playgrounds and child care centres, a ban on building works on Sundays and before 9am on Saturdays, tackling disability discrimination, closing illegal brothels and speaking out against exploitation in the sex industry cracking down on illegal development, and encouraging the community to become more involved with the direction of their local government.

“We’ve had fantastic feedback on how much the council, and the City, has changed for the better since The Greens arrived.”

Greg has strong experience in financial matters – he was the Chair of Finance at Yarra City Council, and successfully worked to rescue the city from the financial difficulties into which it had fallen. Under his Mayoralty, administration costs were cut, and the management restructured. The skills Greg learned whilst studying for his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in the mid 90s allowed him to take a hands-on approach where the council finances were concerned.

Before he was elected to the Yarra City Council, Greg was active in the community campaign which led to the creation of the Plenty Gorge Park. In the past he has been media manager for Cities for Climate Protection, and Bicycle Victoria. Greg Barber has also campaigned for the Tenants' Union, Environment Victoria, the Medical Association for the Prevention of War, and was until recently a corporate campaigner for the Wilderness Society.

Greg Barber's years on the Council provided him with an in-depth knowledge of local community needs, such as health, housing, childcare and transport. He has either lived, worked or studied in six of the eleven lower house seats which make up the Northern Metropolitan upper house region and can therefore identify with local issues across the seat.

Greg Barber is the Victorian Greens' spokesperson for Economic Development, Finance, Gambling, Education, Governance, Aboriginal Issues, as well as handling the Budget Response.

To contact Greg Barber, please send an e-mail to greg.barber@vic.greens.org.au or call 0433 044 771.

The Northern Metropolitan Region covers an area from the Melbourne CBD and Richmond in the south to Humevale, Whittlesea and Yea Yean in the north, and from Christmas Hills and Smiths Gully in the east to Broadmeadows and Somerton in the west.

For more information on the new electoral system for the Upper House, visit the Victorian Electoral Commission's website: http://www.vec.vic.gov.au

Download the PDF version of this document (113kB).