2026-09-28
Just days after the Greens revved up their campaign alongside thousands of community members to ‘Free the Strip’ - Premier Ben Carroll has moved to intervene in Yarra Council’s controversial picnic and drinking ban across Carlton and Carlton North’s iconic median strips.
The Greens say that it’s no coincidence the Premier has said today that he would step in to reverse the ban if Yarra Council does not.
Just this week, the Greens took the community campaign to the next level - raising it in Parliament and launching an Open Letter calling for the decision covering Canning, Rathdowne and Drummond streets to be reversed - backing locals who deserve to have the iconic strips remain as community gathering spaces.
Today the Premier caved to the pressure and said that he would intervene - the Greens say that the timing of this announcement is no coincidence and that their pressure has forced Labor to move on this issue.
The Greens welcome the Labor Government continuing to copy their homework this week - first cohealth, then some - albeit slight - movement on data centres, and now these median strips.
The Greens have encouraged the Premier to take a few more notes while he’s at it - he can cap rents, build not demolish public housing, and stop approving new AI data centres and gas projects like his government has been doing obsessively all term.
The Victorian Greens candidate for Brunswick Adam Pulford is planning a social gathering on the strips alongside the community in peaceful protest of the decision from Yarra Council Officers at 4:30pm today, Grand Final Friday. Greens Yarra Councillor Edward Crossland will move a motion at Council to reverse the ban.
Quotes attributable to the Victorian Greens candidate for Brunswick, Adam Pulford:
“Welcome to the party, Premier. Thousands of community members have rallied this week to free the strip in Carlton and Carlton North and the Greens have been behind them every step of the way.
“Prohibiting one of our favourite Melbourne summer pastimes — having a relaxed drink with your mates on these beautiful grassy strips in the sun — is a massive overreaction to some of the issues raised over a particular part of the strip.
“Greens on Yarra Council are moving to reverse the ban and it’s great the Premier has said he’ll intervene if the Council doesn’t. We’ll be keeping the pressure up until locals can sit on the grass, have a picnic and enjoy a drink with their neighbours without breaking any laws.”