Grant Chapman (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is my privilege to join this motion of condolence to a fellow South Australian Liberal senator and colleague in Senator Jeannie Ferris. I was saddened and shocked by the recent death of Senator Ferris. It was only on the previous Wednesday that I inquired of her staff member Simon, during a meeting of our government members’ agriculture committee, as to the state of her health while she was in hospital. He indicated to me that he thought she had picked up a bit during that week, so it was certainly a shock to find on the following Monday, only a few short days later, that she had passed away.

As has already been described by a number of my colleagues this afternoon, a large part of Jeannie’s life was devoted to rural advocacy and the welfare of rural people. This was evident during her time with the CSIRO, with the National Farmers Federation, with the South Australian Farmers Federation, on the staff of the Hon. Ian McLachlan, on the staff of South Australian minister the Hon. Dale Baker and ultimately as a Liberal senator for South Australia.

As a fellow South Australian, Jeannie was a hardworking representative of our state in this federal parliament and served South Australia with distinction. Through our shared interest in agriculture, as I have already mentioned, I worked with her on the government members’ agriculture, fisheries and forestry committee, which she chaired with aplomb, always ensuring that everyone on the committee got the chance to have their say on the sometimes controversial issues confronting the committee, and among some controversial and outspoken members of that committee.

During her first speech in the Senate she talked at length about the contribution of primary producers to Australia’s economy and praised the involvement of women in Australian politics. Jeannie was also a strong supporter of quality health care for rural Australians, firstly in her capacity with the Farmers Federation when she helped fight against the closure of a number of rural hospitals in South Australia. Later she was instrumental in building strong relationships between rural doctors, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Health and Ageing, resulting in landmark legislative changes to support rural medicine. Jeannie also served on the Australian delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Union for the three years from 2002 to 2004, during which time I led the delegation. She was always an effective contributor to the plenary sessions and committees of this international parliamentary body.

Jeannie endured with typical fortitude her treatment for cancer in 2006. She fought valiantly against ovarian cancer for close to two years and her return to the Senate last year, again as has been mentioned by a number of colleagues this afternoon, was courageous and warmly welcomed by all of us here, her parliamentary colleagues.

Indeed, Jeannie, as a senator for South Australia for almost 11 years and the government upper house whip for four years, should be remembered for her courageous and successful fight to secure funding for research into gynaecological cancers as one of the key recommendations of a Senate inquiry that she helped to establish. She viewed her own experience with cancer as a lesson to other women to be active with regard to their own health. Sally and I and our children extend our condolences to her sons, Robbie and Jeremy, and to all of her extended family.