Ron Boswell (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of my National Party colleagues I too would like to support the condolence motion moved by Nick Minchin and supported by Senator Evans. Australia has lost another great political identity in Jeannie, and a very brave woman. The Prime Minister at her memorial service said she was a woman of courage, principles and decency, and I agree with all those sentiments.

Jeannie as a whip tried to bring us all together. Everyone’s birthday was always observed. There was a cake out there for anyone that had a birthday or if someone had some significant event happen in their life, such as 20 years service in parliament, she took it upon herself to organise some sort of celebration. She took that part of her job very seriously, welding us all together. Through the long nights she made sure that we had coffee and other things we needed. She did a great job as a whip and I would imagine she was very thorough in any other pursuit she undertook.

Prior to being elected to the Senate in March 1996, Senator Ferris made a significant contribution to public life as a journalist, lobbyist and political adviser. She was the editor of the Yass Tribune and also a very significant figure in the National Farmers Federation. I am one of those people that attended that rally of 45,000 farmers that massed at the front of Old Parliament House, I think it was, and she organised that on behalf of the National Farmers Federation. Buses came from every part of Australia, and she took a prominent role in organising that.

She was an adviser to Liberal members of parliament at both a federal and a state level before being elected to the Senate for South Australia. She was passionate about issues to do with rural and regional Australia and was a member of the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs Committee for the duration of her time in the Senate. I think that she was more than a member; she was the secretary and she took a very active interest in that.

She was a great advocate for women’s issues. Sometimes I did not agree with her but nevertheless we still remained friends. As a woman in the Senate, she was able to bridge the party divide on many of these issues. Most people when diagnosed with an advanced cancer would cease work to concentrate on their health. Senator Ferris instead helped set up a parliamentary inquiry into cancer and then focused on ensuring that the National Centre for Gynaecological Cancers be established. She was not unlike Senator Cook. She can also claim success for the national program of vaccinations against cervical cancer for young girls, which was launched on the day of her death. She will ultimately be remembered by the Australian public for advancing these causes on behalf of Australian women.

Her talents and strong principles were recognised by her fellow Senate colleagues when she was appointed Government Whip in August 2002. She certainly brought goodwill and good humour to the role and often made the remark that it was like ‘herding cats’. Despite our views diverging on some issues, I will remember her as a compassionate person with a positive attitude and a strong will, and I have great respect for her. On behalf of my National Party colleagues in the Senate, I sincerely extend my condolences to her sons, Robbie and Jeremy, her family and her friends. She will be missed in this place.