Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to pay tribute to Professor Margot Prior, who, sadly, passed away on 24 August. Professor Prior was a trailblazing teacher, researcher and clinician and is remembered for her warmth, enthusiasm, acute intelligence and generosity of spirit. Margot initially worked as a classical musician, playing piano, oboe and cor anglais. She suffered a tragic loss when she was 27 when her first husband drowned going to the aid of fellow musicians, leaving her with three children under the age of five.

Margot retrained as a clinical psychologist and excelled as an academic and teacher, particularly as a pioneer in the field of autism research in Australia. She published the very first Australian journal article on autism in 1973, took up an academic post at La Trobe University in 1976 and became Professor of Clinical Psychology at Latrobe in 1989—the first woman appointed to such a role in Australia. She was Director of Psychology at the Royal Children's Hospital and the University of Melbourne from 1994 until 2002.

Professor Prior's interests grew to encompass many other early childhood conditions, including attention and language disorders and clinical and developmental child and family psychology, and led to her research in childhood temperament. She is well recognised as the architect of the Australian Temperament Project, which began in 1983 and continues to this day. Professor Prior was honoured as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2004 and was Victoria's Senior Australian of the Year in 2006. The Victorian Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centre is based in the Margot Prior Wing of the La Trobe University Community Children's Centre, named after her in recognition of her work.

But Margot's contribution to the world didn't stop at her impressive academic work. Margot was an activist for a better world. She loved life and wanted to see everyone and all the other species that we share this planet with given a fair go for a good life. Margot was one of the founding members of Psychologists for the Prevention of War and co-established the La Trobe Institute for Peace Research.

Margot's leadership, scientific contributions and advocacy for child welfare and social justice were reflected in her chairing the social and human sciences network for UNESCO in the mid-2000s. Margot travelled on missions to countries including India and Vietnam to undertake development work, including training clinicians to support children with developmental challenges. She was a huge supporter of Oxfam and she supported the Alola Foundation in Timor-Leste. She was involved in Landcare activities at Strath Creek and supported the ACF, bush heritage and various other environment organisations. She had a keen interest in Indigenous affairs and volunteered in an inner-city Aboriginal health service for many years.

Margot mentored, encouraged and inspired so many. I got to know her when I was a Maribyrnong councillor and I was inspired by her life as a high achiever, as a mother and as an activist working for the protection of nature, for justice and for peace, and her trademark warmth and generosity. She was supportive of me and supported our Greens campaigns for many years. When I was preselected to stand for the Senate, Margot emailed me saying she was delighted with the news.

My heart goes out to Margot's family: her husband John and her three children, Yoni, David and Sian, her stepchildren and her grandchildren, and all our friends and colleagues whose lives she touched and changed. Her last months in lockdown in an aged-care home were not easy for her and her family. Yoni shared with me a few months back how this was really hard but that luckily her room was at the front of the building so they could shout at her over the fence and they could write daily—staff printed it all out for her. It was very hard not to be able to give her a cuddle.

It is so hard with the restrictions of lockdown to not be able to gather properly after her passing, to fully celebrate such an amazing person who lived such a meaningful life. I look forward to being able to attend the celebration of her life at a future time when face-to-face gatherings are once again possible. Professor Prior's passing was a tragic consequence of this pandemic, but her legacy will be felt for generations to come.