Renee Coffey (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This past weekend, I had the honour of celebrating an extraordinary milestone in our community: the 100th birthday of Sister Angela Mary Doyle AO. Sister Angela Mary has dedicated her life to caring for others after her arrival from Ireland in 1947. Under her leadership, Mater's Neonatal Critical Care Unit was established, and she oversaw the expansion of Mater Mothers hospital, where I was born, into the largest maternity service in the Southern Hemisphere.

In the 1980s, Sister Angela Mary stood up with courage, conviction and love for gay and bisexual men during the HIV/AIDS crisis. Shamefully, the then premier, Joh Bjelke-Petersen, directed a fear campaign on the virus, arguing, 'Nobody must help these men, because their illness is a direct punishment from God.' Sister Angela Mary recalls thinking, 'I don't know what God you know.' The Premier, unbelievably, refused about $100,000 in federal funding, money that Sister Angela Mary secretly accepted and funnelled through the Mater to the Queensland AIDS Council, now the Queensland Council for LGBTI Health. With fear of being discovered by the authorities, Sister Angela Mary met with people living with HIV/AIDS and organised delivery of care. The then federal Minister for Health, Dr Neal Blewett, later said the Sisters of Mercy were 'the most altruistic of money launderers'.

I say to Sister Angela Mary: on behalf of our community and the countless lives you touch, thank you. You are a true gift, and we celebrate not only 100 remarkable years but a legacy of compassion and care that will endure long into the future.

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