Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the Prime Minister’s motion of condolence. Jeannie Ferris was devoted to public service—as a journalist, as a public relations director, as a corporate affairs director, as an adviser and as a senator. Jeannie Ferris always worked in pursuit of public service. It is what drove her, it is what motivated her and it is what inspired her—to make a contribution, to serve and to make a difference. Above all, this is what each of us in this building strives to do, each in our own different way—to make a difference. For a decade in the Senate Jeannie Ferris did just that. Jeannie made a difference and delivered for her state of South Australia and for her community. Jeannie had many friends in this building from all sides of politics. Jeannie had a smile which always had a habit of bringing a smile to your own face. Jeannie was feisty, gutsy, warm and gregarious and she drew people to her. You could not help but respect her—you could not help but like her, actually—and you could not help but admire her.

It was a combination of her hard work, her energy and her quick wit which earned Jeannie her appointment as Deputy Government Whip in the Senate in 2001 and Government Whip in August 2002. This was a role to which Jeannie was well suited—that of keeping her colleagues in line and keeping the Senate running efficiently. Jeannie recounted what she told her colleagues back in 2005. She said: ‘I told them that now more than at any other time this parliament turns on the power of one’—this is a message for all whips. ‘I told them missing a vote will make them very famous and very famous very quickly. There will be no excuses. They will be slaves to the beepers and bells.’ She said: ‘When you hear the bells, don’t worry what it’s about; just start walking. If you are over there on the Reps side, walk fast. If you are upstairs in a committee room, walk doubly fast—in fact, run. Use the stairs; don’t rely on the lifts.’ If we had all taken Jeannie’s advice, we would all be much fitter today.

Over the years, one of the things which we on our side of politics always admired about Jeannie was her frankness. She was never afraid to speak her mind, even when it meant disagreeing with her colleagues. And Jeannie did so on a range of issues, such as family custody, drug law reform, abortion, IVF and stem cell research. Jeannie was also an active contributor to the Senate committee process, one often largely unseen and unheralded. There is no doubt that Senate committees play an important role in this place. They have often protected the Australian community against poorly drafted legislation or poor public policy and they have on occasions exposed neglect, administrative failures and corruption.

Jeannie was a very active participant in that committee system. She used her skill and experience not simply to advance her party’s political interests but also to pursue important policy matters. She had a particular passion for rural Australia. She loved the bush. She loved the bush with a passion. She would always be talking about the bush. If you browse through the reports from the rural and regional affairs committee, for example, you will find endless examples of Jeannie pursuing the interests of Australian farmers. You would find evidence of Jeannie criticising poor government policy and you would find her mounting a case for a change to that policy. Jeannie took the same approach to her work with the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs and, in particular, as the Prime Minister has just made mention of, the landmark report Breaking the silence: a national voice for gynaecological cancers adopted last year.

While tenaciously fighting her own battle with ovarian cancer, Jeannie did all she could to help others fighting the same battles. The late and much-loved Peter Cook did much the same. Jeannie described her own journey, like that of many other women, as ‘a largely silent journey’, which was at times, in her own words, ‘quite frightening’. Jeannie described how scores of women were simply unable to find the support they needed, how often women have feelings of—and I use her words again:

... guilt, shame and embarrassment, and as a result their gynaecological cancer journey is often made alone and in silence ...

Jeannie described her own battle with cancer as a journey. Jeannie showed tremendous courage to return to the Senate after undergoing cancer treatment last year. In bringing a new focus to this terrible and insidious disease and advocating tirelessly for more government assistance, Jeannie was an instrument in gaining support for a national centre for ovarian, cervical and other gynaecological cancers. Jeannie lost her personal battle, but leaves a legacy which anyone would be proud of.

For Jeannie’s family, again as the Prime Minister has made mention of, her loss soon became a double tragedy. Just days after Jeannie’s death came the very sad news that Jeannie’s former husband, Bob Ferris, who was a journalist here in Canberra, had died after a car accident. Life can in fact be very unkind to so very many.

On behalf of the parliamentary Labor Party, we offer our condolences especially to Jeannie’s sons, Robbie and Jeremy, her family, her friends and her colleagues. They should know that Jeannie had many, many friends in the parliamentary Labor Party, particularly among Labor women, who loved her dearly. Her life and her legacy will be warmly remembered for years to come.

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