Australian Greens Address 

Wednesday 12 October 2022

10:15am – 10:30am

Speaker Bio

Janet Rice, Senator for Victoria, has been a passionate environmentalist and activist for over 30 years.

Janet took her seat in the Senate in 2014 and works with her Australian Greens colleagues in Parliament to be a strong voice for people and our environment.

Growing up in Melbourne’s western suburbs, Janet lives in Footscray with her partner Penny and their two adult sons.

A climate scientist by training, Janet began her working life campaigning to protect our forests. She was part of the 1983 Franklin Blockade, alongside Bob Brown and Christine Milne. Within a decade, she was a founding member of the Victorian Greens.

Janet subsequently led several community-based campaigns, and was the first co-ordinator of Bicycle Network Victoria’s Ride2Work program. These local successes paved the way for Janet to become a councillor and later mayor of the City of Maribyrnong, where she swapped the mayoral car in favour of pedal power as part of her commitment to reduce pollution in Melbourne’s inner-west. Janet positioned Maribyrnong as an innovator in environmental policy with the adoption of a carbon-neutral strategy. Under her leadership, residents enjoyed the benefits of improved cycling infrastructure and planning models that encouraged walking and the use of public transport.