Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On 8 August all Australians mourned the very sad passing of Olivia Newton-John, and I'm sure we all continue to miss her. She touched every Australian's life. She was an Australian icon. She died after a long battle with cancer. She was first diagnosed with cancer in 1992. Since then, she'd been a tireless fighter. She not only fought the disease privately, but put her dedication and fame into raising awareness and better cures for cancer.

Aside from bringing us endless joy, as we just heard the member for Riverina remind us about, with her music, films, smiles—how can you forget the movie Grease, and some of her songs as well. Olivia Newton-John was a tireless campaigner and a tireless fundraiser, especially in health and cancer research. She also launched the Olivia Newton-John Foundation to advocate for kinder treatments for cancer, including using everything from plant based treatments, research et cetera. She also lent her name to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute based at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne. This foundation aims to help people live better with cancer and to defeat it.

I had the honour of visiting this research centre in Melbourne a few years ago, when I was chair of the health and ageing committee, through the request of one of their directors that I met here while Olivia was here promoting the cancer research centre. I received an invite and saw firsthand the great work that they do. They work so hard to discover and develop breakthrough cancer therapies, and are treating people here in Australia—and all through Olivia Newton-John's tireless work to get this centre up and running.

It provides the best health outcomes for patients. At this institute, researchers work just metres away from where people receive treatment. So you've got the research centre and the hospital where people receive their treatments is right next door, so there is a connect between the researching and the people seeking this treatment. This means that these scientific discoveries are rapidly translated into breakthrough clinical therapies. This was Olivia's vision, to give kinder treatment to people with cancer through research, through ensuring that every facility that may have been required by people that were receiving treatment for cancer was at their fingertips.

I remember walking through and it was like a family atmosphere. It was a centre that was set up with kitchens, lounges, libraries—a whole range of things—so when people were there receiving their treatment they felt at home. There was space for family members as well. Speaking to some of those patients that were there, they couldn't speak highly enough of Olivia and the research centre. Olivia Newton-John was a tireless supporter of this foundation and of people living with cancer. She was also an activist for environmental and animal rights causes, so she was an inspiration to so many of us, whether it was through her movies or through the songs that she sang or through her advocacy for cancer research—she inspired all of us.

She was known for her energy, kindness and commitment to improving the lives of people living with cancer, and this was a source of light, encouragement and hope to many. When we heard people speak about Olivia Newton-John, the words people used over and over were warm-hearted, enthusiastic, dedicated, committed, full of energy, positive and joyous. In an interview she gave in 2022 she said:

I'm healthy, I'm strong … I think it's very important to keep that positive message in your head. You know, if you have a difficult moment, music is always a great healer.

I couldn't agree more. I had the honour and pleasure of meeting her, as many people in this place did, when she visited our parliament to promote her cancer research. I spoke to her on both occasions and found her to be very humble and she basically gave you all the time in the world to have a discussion. I remember mentioning to her that we had a mutual friend in Adelaide, another actor, Chantal Contouri, who was very good friends with Olivia, and Olivia asked me to pass on her regards. When I did, no-one could speak highly enough of her. I know that she will continue to bring joy and happiness through her music, through her videos and through her movies. Vale, Olivia Newton-John.

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