The laptops and devices being loaned to Victorian students by the state government during the COVID-19 crisis should continue to remain available after the crisis is over. Over 50,000 laptops and tablets have been provided to students by the education department so far, allowing them to access the internet and study from home. More than 15,000 SIM cards and dongles have also been loaned out. However, during today’s PAEC hearings the Minister confirmed that while students wouldn’t be asked to return the devices ‘anytime soon’, he reiterated that they were ‘on-loan’ from the department. Victorian Greens spokesperson for education, Sam...

The Victorian Greens have called on the state government to invest in a safe bike network for Melbourne as part of its economic response to the COVID-19 crisis. The network would consist of over 300 kilometres of separated bike lanes and create around 5,000 much-needed jobs in engineering, construction and manufacturing. The network would include a 20-kilometre bike superhighway running from Coburg to Elsternwick which could be fast-tracked with temporary infrastructure to create more immediate space for cycling in response to COVID-19. Victorians Greens spokesperson for transport, Sam Hibbins, said the plan would see Melbourne become a world-class city for...

In an effort to make bike riding safer for the growing number of people and families who are riding their bikes as a result of COVID-19, the Victorian Greens will introduce ‘metre matters’ laws on Thursday during an emergency sitting of parliament.  The laws will require vehicles to give cyclists a minimum one metre passing distance, or 1.5 metres if the speed limit is over 60 kilometres per hour. Victorian Greens spokesperson for transport, Sam Hibbins, said that Victoria was the only state without minimum passing distance laws and that it was time to catch up to the rest of...

The Victorian Greens are calling on the Andrews Government to make sure that any public transport operator bailout guarantees jobs and gives taxpayers an equity stake in the operators. The Greens also want the Government to start planning now for a future boost to train and tram services, along with more investment in the maintenance and renewal of critical infrastructure to assist with economic recovery and to make our public transport network more frequent and more reliable. Quotes attributable to Victorian Greens spokesperson for transport, Sam Hibbins MP: “A bailout of privatised public transport operators shouldn’t mean socialising losses and...

Mr HIBBINS (Prahran): I rise to speak on the COVID-19 pandemic. We are all in this together, and so I urge the government to put in place urgent measures to care for people experiencing homelessness. People experiencing homelessness are not only sleeping rough but are in unsecure and/or overcrowded, substandard accommodation, making it near impossible to practise social isolation or quarantine themselves if need be. They are also more likely to have additional health conditions that could exacerbate the impact of the illness. The government must immediately make available self-contained accommodation to every person experiencing homelessness, using the now excess...

The Victorian Greens have called for the urgent roll-out of permanent automatic pedestrian signals at intersections to help reduce the potential spread of COVID-19. Victoria is lagging behind NSW which is rolling out automatic pedestrian signals near hospitals and across areas with high pedestrian traffic. Victorian Greens spokesperson for transport, Sam Hibbins, said that while automatic signals already exist in some areas of Melbourne’s CBD, the Victorian Government had made no announcements for a further roll out to tackle the spread of COVID-19. Quotes attributable to Victorian Greens spokesperson for transport, Sam Hibbins MP: “Pedestrians shouldn’t have to choose between...