Nationality Australian Name Greg Barber | ||
 | ||
Constituency Northern Metropolitan Region Born 31 August 1966 (age 57)
Auckland, New Zealand ( 1966-08-31 ) Role Member of the Victorian Legislative Council Political party Australian Greens Victoria Office Member of the Victorian Legislative Council since 2006 Profiles | ||
Education Melbourne Business School | ||
Gregory John "Greg" Barber (born 31 August 1966) is an Australian politician, and Greens member of the Victorian Legislative Council since 2006.
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Early career
Barber obtained a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the Melbourne Business School and was a successful investor.
He became a corporate campaigner for The Wilderness Society. He was involved in the community campaign which led to the creation of the Plenty Gorge Park. Barber was also media manager for Cities for Climate Protection, and Bicycle Victoria. He has also campaigned for Environment Victoria, the Tenants' Union, and the Medical Association for Prevention of War.
He is brother-in-law to Senator Dr Richard Di Natale.
Local politics
Barber was elected to the City of Yarra Local Council in 2002. He was Chair of Finance of the Council, and in 2003 was elected Mayor. He was the first Australian Greens Mayor of a local government in the country. During his time as Mayor, Barber and his Greens colleagues accomplished an increase in spending on bicycle paths and conducted soil contamination surveys of playgrounds and child care centres. He also organised the planting of street trees, worked on disability discrimination issues, and spoke out against exploitation in the sex industry.
State politics
Barber won a seat for the Greens in the Northern Metropolitan Region of the Victorian Legislative Council in the 2006 State election. He received 59,360 primary votes and was elected with 16.48% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2010 with 18.51% of primary votes and in 2014 with 17.43% of the votes.
Greg Barber holds the Aboriginal Affairs, Agriculture, Employment, Industrial Relations, Industry, Trade, Ports, Regional Development and Treasury and Finance portfolios for the Victorian Greens.
In December 2010 he was made leader of the Victorian Greens.
On 13 June 2017, it was announced in an email to party members that Barber, and Colleen Hartland, would not be seeking reelection at the 2018 Victorian state election.