Support Kingston bus campaign
Rachel asked if the government would commit to supporting recommendations from Kingston Council’s ‘Better Buses for Kingston’ report.
Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill: Protecting the right to choose
Rachel spoke on the Voluntary Assisted Dying Amendment Bill 2025. Rachel acknowledges the evidence supporting individuals’ right to choose.
Road Safety in Casey
Rachel asked if the government would commit to implementing safety measures at a road accident and near miss hotspot on the South Gippsland Highway.
Cannabis for women’s pain management
During World Menopause Month, Rachel hosted a forum on women’s health in her electorate. The forum centred around the benefits of cannabis for managing pain symptoms from conditions including endometriosis and menopause. She noted the stigma that many women face when accessing or speaking about medicinal cannabis for pain management, as opposed to other medications such as opioids.
Liberal’s ‘Safer Protest’ bill could prevent peaceful protest
Rachel Payne addressed the Liberal’s ‘Safer Protest’ bill, and spoke on the Safer Protest with a Registration System and a Ban on Face Coverings Bill 2025. Rachel asserted that this bill provides no guidance on addressing the risks of violent protests by hate-groups, instead offering greater move-on powers to police: “This bill does not provide guidance on how we might respond to groups like the fascists, merely on the means to stop any protest.”
Misidentification of family violence aggressors
Rachel asked about family violence aggressor misidentification. With reforms underway to address misidentification of the predominant aggressor in family violence intervention order applications, Rachel inquired about data collection to track the prevalence of occurrences and success of proposed reforms.
Bring back drug infringement trial
Rachel asked if the government would consider bringing back a drug infringement trial that was previously proposed in 2022. With the guidance of an expert panel and working group, the drug infringement trial would have seen those caught with small quantities of drugs referred to education and/or treatment rather than incarceration. Not unlike the recommendations from the inquiry into cannabis law reform, this proposal has since been abandoned.
Meningococcal B Vaccine
Rachel provided a written question to the Minister for Health, asking if the government will consider providing free community access to the life-saving Meningococcal vaccine.
‘Weak and cowardly’ government reject cannabis reform
Rachel spoke on the government’s response to the Inquiry into the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Regulation of Personal Adult Use of Cannabis) Bill 2023. Despite working with the government in good faith, recommendations from the inquiry have been rejected. Rachel called the government out for “lacking courage” and misdirecting a “tough on crime” approach by continuing to waste millions of dollars prosecuting individuals for possessing small quantities of cannabis.
Families left behind after VARTA dissolution
Rachel asked for assurance that donor-conceived children and their families will no longer be left behind following the dissolution of Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority (VARTA).