Dana Wortley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to associate myself with the comments that have been made in the condolence motion before us today. Authentic, decent, straightforward, dynamic, irrepressible, intelligent, effervescent, energetic, wise, dignified and vivacious are just some of the words that have been used to describe Senator Jeannie Ferris. It is fitting that such thought has gone into the many words chosen to describe her, as it is words that built Jeannie’s pathway to politics—with her appointment as a journalist on the Rotorua Daily Post in New Zealand.

Jeannie moved from New Zealand to Australia in 1963 and began work at the Canberra Times in 1967, followed by a stint with the ABC. She worked at the Yass Post as editor and, as Senator Minchin mentioned earlier, claimed the title of first female newspaper editor in Australia in 165 years. Her ties with her early career as a journalist remained with her. Only last year, while battling cancer and attending to her parliamentary duties, Jeannie’s sense of duty and commitment exceeded the expected boundaries when she accepted an invitation to be a judge for the South Australian Media Awards—a task which she carried out with an expert eye and dedication. Somehow, even with everything else happening in her life, in true journalistic form she managed to meet the deadline.

Jeannie was a passionate advocate on issues affecting women. In her support for the swift implementation of vaccinations against cervical cancer, her position on IVF and RU486 and her support for stem cell research she was unwavering. Jeannie’s work with the Senate Community Affairs References Committee, in particular her role in the inquiry into gynaecological cancers, was certainly a significant achievement in her parliamentary career. It says something of the woman Jeannie was that, following the diagnosis of her cancer, she not only helped set up a parliamentary inquiry into gynaecological cancers but then sat through the many gruelling hours of evidence from others with cancer, from their doctors and from their families. The report, Breaking the silence: a national voice for gynaecological cancers, and the implementation of its recommendations will impact significantly on the lives of thousands of families. The work she did, along with that of the other senators on the committee, deserves the recognition afforded it today.

Jeannie was a passionate advocate for the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil being made available to young women in Australia. It did not go unnoticed that she passed away on the eve of the first vaccination taking place in her state of South Australia. Jeannie pushed hard for this vaccination against cervical cancer to be fast-tracked so that today’s generation and future generations of young women would not have to experience the suffering that thousands of other women and their families have endured. Only weeks before her death, Jeannie put her energy towards the inquiry’s key recommendation that a national centre for gynaecological cancers be established.

Senator Jeannie Ferris was one of eight female South Australian senators who made history when, in the 41st parliament of Australia, South Australia became the first state to have a majority of women representing it in one parliament—in the Senate. Her contribution was significant, and her contribution in the parliament and particularly as an advocate for women’s health will benefit future generations of women and their families. She achieved what many of us set out to do. Jeannie did make a difference. My condolences to her colleagues, her staff, her boys and the other members of her family for their loss.