Last Thursday afternoon was the Third Reading of the Yarra River Protection (Willip-gin Birrarung murron) Bill. For those who do not appreciate the full complexities of the Parliamentary system (as I did not), after the third reading of the Bill, it is put to the vote. The bill was passed unopposed. I was present in the public gallery for the vote. The Bill requires a Yarra Strategy Plan to be commissioned (from Melbourne Water as the lead agency) and this plan begins with building a 5o year community vision for our river. The Bill is innovative and is a new way of thinking about the green places that thread through our city. Among its innovative features are that it includes traditional owner ‘caring for country’ management for our river in an urban context. The bill is the first in Australia to include ‘language’ and the preamble is in Wurundjeri. The Bill receives royal assent on 26 September 2017 and comes into effect on the 1 December 2017. The Act will consider the Yarra and its parklands as one single living entity and it will co-ordinate the work of government and government agencies along the river.