Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the very sad passing of a good friend of mine, Viv Maher, on Wednesday 16 August after her battle with pancreatic cancer. Viv touched the lives of many over the years as a teacher, social worker, Aboriginal elder, social activist, mother, grandmother and feminist. She was born in the small Victorian town of Warragul, approximately 100 kilometres east of Melbourne. She married Jim Maher less than 12 months after they met before they made their way to PNG in 1972. Jim had an opportunity to install one of the first computer systems in the country. Viv completed her studies in Port Moresby, where she took on a job as a social worker at the Port Moresby hospital. Her choice to study was a turning point, enabling Viv to pursue her passion in social work.

Viv was one of the special people you hear about in life, a one in a million, who put others first. After returning to Australia, her activist nature was ignited by an issue at the Frankston hospital, which had a policy of not permitting pain medication for unmarried women at the time. Viv quickly took up the issue with the board of the hospital and needless to say she got her way. That's the kind of person Viv was. She would see injustice and act. Viv also worked at the local Centrelink office in Mount Gambier. A story told at her funeral a couple of weeks ago made an impression of many. When Viv worked as a social worker she would often see some of the most vulnerable people requiring help getting food, paying the bills and maybe needing a bit of cash to get through the week. Viv was always there to lend a helping hand, sometimes allowing small loans from a so-called 'special fund' for special cases. She would make the client sign a form, making it formal process, but tell them on the quiet they didn't need to repay the money. You see, there wasn't a special fund for emergency cases. When someone was down on their luck, Viv used her own money to help, but to make them feel better she would tell them that story. That's the kind of person Viv was.

Viv also gave her first-born to the Labor Party, and Kyam is now a minister in the Weatherill government. Her son summed his mum up by describing her as a 'towering feminist, champion of and for the Aboriginal community, fierce advocate for social justice and fierce but terrible singer.' Our thoughts and condolences go out to Viv's family and friends. She will be missed. She's survived by husband Jim; Kyam and Carmel, with grandkids Marley, Flynn and Jai; Cameron and Carol, with grandkids Oliver, Fletcher and Jake; and Gibran and Xiang, with grandkids Felix and Maverick. Her spirit lives on in all of them.