Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I rise on behalf of the opposition to acknowledge the passing of former senator Mary Shirley Walters, who passed away last week, and to convey, on behalf of the opposition, our condolences to her family and friends. Mrs Walters served in the Australian Senate from 1975 until 1993 and was, significantly, the first female senator to be elected from Tasmania. She was a woman of conservative values, and combined with the encouragement of business as central to employment growth she maintained a strong commitment to supporting families throughout her time in public life. Senator Brandis has outlined in much more detail what I was going to advert too, which it is that she was a woman of very strong Liberal pedigree. Her father, Sir Eric Harrison, was a minister in the Menzies government before resigning to become the Australian high commissioner in London.

Born in Sydney in 1925, Mrs Walters trained as a nurse before her marriage to David Walters. At that point she left the paid workforce to take on, proudly, the role of caregiver in the home. However, she entered politics, spurred on by her negative reaction to the policies of the Whitlam government. Elected in the double dissolution of 1975 that formally swept that government from power following the dismissal, she would go on to be elected again in 1977, 1983 and 1987.

Mrs Walters was well placed to become a consistent contributor on matters concerning health policy and family life during her time in the Senate. This is reflected in her committee service, including the Social Welfare and Community Affairs committees, of which she was a member for virtually the entire Senate career. She recognised the influence she could have on policy from this position. She was not afraid to maintain her strident political positions, even when they conflicted with party policy. She crossed the floor on 14 occasions throughout her career, which seems an extraordinary number in today's world. This inevitably had an impact on her career within the parliamentary party, although she did serve as Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition from 1987 to 1989. She was a loyal Tasmanian and, if you read her speech, she speaks at great length about her home state, saying that it was without doubt the most beautiful of all the states in the Australian Commonwealth and essentially daring anyone who disagreed to have an argument with her.