Rachel spoke about her visit to Wellsprings for Women to watch a performance. Wellsprings for Women is a non-profit organisation in Dandenong, which supports women from migrant, refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds. Their performance entitled ‘Story is Connection’ highlights issues that have affected the lives of these women, exploring their stories of overcoming barriers with strength, resilience and compassion.
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.
Rachel presented a member’s statement on her attendance to the 2025 David Penington Oration. This year’s oration was presented by former Magistrate of the Victorian Drug court, Tony Parsons.
Tuesday the 12th of August was World Elephant Day. This is a day dedicated to the preservation and protection of these beautiful, endangered creatures. Rachel sponsors an Asian elephant named Jokia, who was rescued from cruelty and now resides at an elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Rachel spoke about attending the launch of the new Ozharvest South-East hub launch. The launch of this new hub means an extra 6000 meals can be saved from becoming food waste each week. Ozharvest currently ‘rescues’ 174 tonnes of food each month, working with 137 charities to distribute meals across the community.
Rachel spoke about her recent visit to South East Community Links (SECL). South East Community Links provide a range of services and supports to enhance individual wellbeing and foster a sense of community in the South-Eastern suburbs.
Rachel spoke about her recent meeting with the Greater Dandenong Anti-Poverty Consortium, to focus on sustainable solutions for systemic change.
Rachel spoke in parliament about a recent trip to Canberra to discuss the impacts of cannabis decriminalisation with stakeholders.
Rachel spoke in parliament about a recent visit to Tenants Victoria. Tenants Victoria provide advice to individual renters on a wide range of tenancy issues. With more Victorians renting than ever before, this crucial service requires greater funding to meet community needs.
Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR) is observed annually on the 20th of November. On this internationally recognised date, we honour the memories of trans and gender-diverse individuals who have lost their lives to gender-based violence. In her member’s statement, Rachel Payne MP conveyed a message of hope and solidarity to the trans and gender-diverse community.
