Trish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this afternoon to also support the condolence motion moved by Senator Abetz and be part of this contribution today. People might notice that I do not often stand up in this chamber and speak about senators who have departed on their retirement or voluntarily left. I do not think I contributed either to the condolence motion when Jeannie Ferris died. But I do feel compelled to say a few words today.

I guess in my life there are Liberals and there are Liberals. I know the people opposite me will probably say there are Labor Party people and there are Labor Party people. For me, Judith was a colleague more than a political opponent. She was someone who truly commanded the respect of those who worked with her. I did not work with Judith as much as people like Senator Siewert of Senator Moore did. I was not a permanent member of the Standing Committee on Community Affairs but I did have occasion to work with her on some opportunities and on some inquiries—as Senator Scullion said, the Select Committee on Regional and Remote Indigenous Communities—as well as her participation in the petrol sniffing inquiry.

The thing that struck me about Judith was that when it came to Indigenous people, she got it. She understood and appreciated where they were at because she had worked in rural and remote communities and Indigenous communities. I think what people opposite have said about her nursing background is true. It gave her a different perspective about challenges facing Indigenous people. I was certainly convinced that she was passionate about rural and regional Western Australia; you could see that in all of the work that she did.

One of the reasons I wanted to stand up this afternoon was to relate to people what is perhaps a very rare and strange occurrence. Senator Moore, who is beside me, was at my place that afternoon, as was Mark Furner. Members of the community affairs committee were coming through Darwin, and I think you had been on the road for quite a while, although I do not quite remember which inquiry it was. As a warm and friendly gesture, I offered a home-cooked meal at my place on the Sunday night and extended that invitation to not only my Labor colleagues but also Judith Adams. She was a bit surprised, of course, when I rang her and said: 'You're pulling into Darwin at about four on Sunday. There are plenty of great restaurants in Darwin—or I'm offering a lamb roast.' She said, 'Well, there's no choice, really! What time?'

I do remember that evening. The four of us sat around and chatted about lots of things but not politics. I tell that story because, on the day that I heard of her passing, I remembered that night and how she just loved sitting around the kitchen table and how she had, I think, maybe three helpings of meat and vegies—and commented on my gravy! She actually said it was probably better than she made, which was astounding, because she was actually a farm woman and I thought they could cook everything. I also remember thinking to myself that Judith's first love was probably her family and that this was not the first or last time she would sit around the dining-room table having a lamb roast and chatting about everything under the sun except politics.

So what I saw that night was another woman politician who appreciated a home-cooked meal, a mother and someone who was passionate about Western Australia and rural and remote people; I did not see a Liberal political opponent at my kitchen table. That is what I remember about Judith, and that is what I want the people opposite to remember about Judith. I know, if this was being broadcast, some people would be listening to this thinking, 'How bizarre! Labor senators having a meal at home with Liberal senators?' But it was never like that. It was about Senate colleagues extending a friendly invitation to have a home-cooked meal when you very rarely get that chance. I think it was probably one of the most enjoyable nights a number of us have had, when I reflect on it.

The day she died, I thought of a number of things. I thought about the loss of Judith to Western Australia and to her constituents, but I also thought about you, my colleagues opposite, and what a tremendous loss it is to have one of your very close workers depart in such a sad way. I remember, Senator Kroger, us having a conversation in the sittings earlier this year, when a lot of us knew that Judith was very sick but hoped against hope that she would be back. So I was a bit shocked to hear the news.

I also want to pass on my condolences to her staff. How incredibly hard it must have been to keep her office going, knowing she was so sick, and how tragically sad it must have been to pack up her office after she departed. I never met her staff, I am not familiar with them, but I can certainly empathise with them about what they had to go through.

There are three other things I want to say in closing. The day she died, I tweeted the fact that I was sad that she had passed on. I want people in this chamber to know that quite a few people, a number of whom actually worked in this building, replied to my tweet and made comments about what a wonderful woman she was. Former senator Natasha Stott-Despoja emailed a number of us this afternoon—Carol Brown picked up her email in her contribution—and she wanted us to pass on her condolences too. I know she would want to be part of this contribution. So that is another contribution out there.

I have an email here from Jane Singleton, who is the former CEO of the Australian Reproductive Health Alliance. This is what she had to say, back on 3 April:

I wanted it to be known as a part of the remembrances of her, the brave and effective role she played in the ru486 campaign—

of which she was one of the leaders. She goes on:

You will remember that Get Up did a petition, but in fact it was a 'PR' petition, effective but not able to be tabled in the Parliament.

The family planning organisations in each state under the umbrella of SHFPA—

that is, the Sexual Health and Family Planning Association—

did their own.

I was the one of those who worked with the organisations and coordinated the campaign for SHFPA whilst I was working for Family Planning NSW.

We created a web site all but overnight which met all the requirements of a petition to be tabled in the Australian Parliament

We got many thousands of signatories.

It was Judith who tabled it in the Senate.

This action greatly improved the lives of Australian women and their families. Importantly also it created a precedent.

It is a precedent that people may not remember, but it is important to remember it today. As Ms Singleton says:

It was the first electronic petition to be tabled in the Australian Parliament. and a great service to democratic process.

With that I say: vale, Judith. Lest we forget. You were a wonderful woman and a great colleague; thank you. My condolences to her family and her colleagues.