Sally Sitou (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To know Felicity Davis Rafferty was to know her fierce strength and compassion for others. Felicity passed away in April and she leaves a huge hole in the hearts of all those who knew her.

I saw up close one part of Felicity—her involvement in the Labor Party. She was a warrior for social justice, determined to make an inequitable world more equitable.

Felicity and her husband, Greg Davis, were a constant presence at every election, volunteering for the Labor Party. Their support for me is the reason I am here in federal parliament, and I am forever grateful.

It was at her funeral where I witnessed how extraordinary Felicity's influence was in so many other aspects of life. The chapel was overflowing with hundreds and hundreds of people who were there to farewell her.

Felicity was a leader in the higher education sector, respected and loved by all her colleagues at Victoria University. She was a community leader, volunteering at her kids' schools and all the community sporting groups they were involved with.

But her greatest legacy, and what I think she would have been most proud of, are her children—truly remarkable people in their own right. She taught them to love and care for others. Vale, Felicity.