Rodney Stevens
The Greens have endorsed specialist Emergency Physician Dr Luke Robinson as their candidate for Page in the upcoming 2025 Federal Election.
Luke told the CV Independent he grew up in the Latrobe Valley in Victorian Dairy country, near Traralgon, his father was an engineer at the local paper mill, and his mother was a nurse.
Following Year 12, Luke said he worked in the paper mill in the laboratory testing waste, ensuring they complied with Environmental Protection Authority regulations, while completing a Science Degree at what was then Monash University, after which he worked at the Heart Research Institute in Melbourne as a researcher for 4 years.
“It was then, I figured out where I wanted to go with my life; and I settled on medicine, because I wanted to do something using my head and my heart,” he said.
While studying at the University of Melbourne, Luke said he developed a strong interest in social justice.
“I was very interested in indigenous health, so I went up as a junior doctor and worked in the Northern Territory for three and a half years,” he said.
“After that I went back to Sydney, and I was doing a bit of study on the side in economics, and I developed an interest in politics.
“Then I got itchy feet for the Territory again, so I went and worked in Alice Springs for a couple of years and finished off my on-the-job training, then I went back to Victoria and completed my specialty training in emergency medicine.”
After completing his specialist training, Dr Robinson and his partner, who he met in 2014 in Alice Springs, decided they would move to the Northern Rivers, where he secured a position at Lismore Base Hospital.
“My partner is from the UK, and she wanted somewhere warmer, and we decided it is the perfect balance here on the Northern Rivers,” he said.
For many years, Dr Robinson said he has been interested in politics, experiencing a “political awakening” in his 20s after growing up inspired by his father’s local actions, despite being raised in a conservative family.
“I think that attitude rubbed off on me; he was always a keen recycler, with that waste-not-want-not attitude, always living within your means, while respecting the land around you,” he said.
“I took some advice from Kerry O’Brien on the 7:30 Report when he asked Malcolm Fraser if he had any advice for aspiring young politicians.
“Malcolm said ‘do something else with your life’.
“So, I took that to heart; and I’m still solid with my values and what I believe, so I put my hand up to run for Page.”
The 48-year-old said he still hold the same beliefs, with more nuance, and more wisdom and experience, he feels he is ready for the challenge of federal politics.
“I’m a supporter of all of the major Green’s policies and the thing that I would like to emphasise is we can do a lot better in this country with our health system and our aged care system,” he said.
“I also have concerns around housing and particularly in our electorate, the risk of floods, concerns about where we build, about not making climate change worse by adding fuel to the fire by burning fossil fuels, and as well as the cost-of-living issue, there’s an old issue in Australia where we treat housing as an investment first and a home second.
“I think we need to see housing as a home first, and really have our policies set to make homes affordable for people, and another issue is making it so people can afford the insurance for their homes, and that’s a huge issue for people in this electorate.”
In his spare time, Dr Robinson said he enjoys exploring his creative side by indulging in playing music and writing poetry as a way to express himself about his concerns in the world.
“I’ve played at a lot of folk festivals around Australia, numerous ones in Victoria and NSW, and I’ve performed as a spoken word performer at Woodford,” he said.
Dr Robinson said he looks forward to meeting people throughout the electorate of Page in the lead up to the election.
He can be contacted through the Lismore Greens Facebook page.