Praise for Bright and Vital

Ferris South Australian Liberal Senator Jeannie Ferris has died after a two-year battle with ovarian cancer. Born in NZ, Ferris studied agribusiness and worked as a journalist and political adviser before entering Australian parliament in 1996. She had been government whip since 2002. Fellow Liberal Senator Nick Minchin described her as an “energetic and bright person” to the ABC. “She was quite a remarkable human being,” he said. “She’s had adversity and difficulty in her life but approached her tasks of representing South Australia in the Senate and working as Government whip and on various parliamentary and party committees with enormous energy and vitality.” Ferris was particularly admired for her cross-party women’s work and her establishment of an ovarian cancer research facility.

Jeannie Ferris: 14 March 1941 – 2 April 2007