Danielle Green, the Member for Yan Yean, has advised me that she will not be seeking re-election in 2022.
Danielle was first elected as the Member for Yan Yean in 2002 – only the second person to hold the seat after it was established in 1992 – and by November next year, she will have worked tirelessly to represent her community for 20 years.
During her nearly two decades of service, Danielle presided over immense change in her area – with Yan Yean going from a semi-rural outpost north of Epping, to taking in Mernda, Wallan and Beveridge and becoming one of the fastest growing communities in our state – and no matter who she represented, she fought tooth and nail to deliver for her people.
That fighting spirit has seen Danielle deliver huge wins for her community – including the return of passenger trains to Mernda for the first time in 60 years.
Whether it’s local roads and rail, schools, access to TAFE or vital health and ambulance services, her advocacy and the outcomes she has secured will be a lasting legacy.
This is on top of a significant contribution to the work of the Andrews, Bracks and Brumby Labor Governments, serving as Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Victoria, Sport, Tourism and Major Events and Police and Emergency Services.
But there can be no true and correct record of Danielle’s time as a Member of Parliament without recounting the devastating events of Black Saturday – 7 February 2009, a day forever etched in Victoria’s memory.
Danielle was a member of the Diamond Creek CFA – as she puts it, she is a “joiner” – and set about, along with hundreds and thousands of other Victorian heroes, to fight that deadly blaze.
In doing so, she did herself, her family, her community and her state proud – and this work has continued throughout the rest of her parliamentary career, supporting those people and communities along the long and arduous road to recovery from both visible and invisible scars.
As she said in a speech to Parliament just a couple of weeks after the day:
“My community lost so many beautiful, creative and passionate people on this dreadful day. I mourn each and every one of you, and I commit that I am dedicated to seeing the beautiful place that we all love for its environment and its people restored in your name. The pond of our grief spreads ever wider and deeper for those we have lost, but we will never forget.”
And she never forgot.
I thank Danielle for her many years of service to the Parliament and the Labor Party, and wish her the very best for the future.
Reviewed 24 November 2021