- Entry type: Person
- Entry ID: AWE4081
Ferris, Jeannie Margaret
(1941 – 2007)- Born 14 March 1941, Auckland, , New Zealand
- Died 2 April 2007, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
- Occupation Journalist, Parliamentarian, Political staffer
Summary
A member of the Liberal Party of Australia, Jeannie Ferris was elected as a Senator for South Australia to the Senate of the Parliament of Australia in 1996. She died in office in Canberra from ovarian cancer in 2007. During her parliamentary career she was appointed Government Whip in 2002.
Details
Using her parliamentary position to increase awareness of ovarian cancer, in 2006 Ferris formed a parliamentary inquiry into gynaecological cancers with Senators Lyn Allison and Claire Moore. The outcome of this inquiry resulted in a unanimous report across party lines calling for increased research and awareness of the cancers. The Commonwealth Government later agreed to the report’s recommendations.
Ferris succumbed to the disease in Canberra, on 2 April 2007.
Following her death, a DVD produced by Kay Stammers with support from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing was dedicated in her memory.
Originally from New Zealand, she settled in Canberra in 1967 where she worked on The Canberra Times. She moved to the ABC later, working in the parliamentary gallery. She worked for Liberal Party Senator Nick Minchin before entering the Australian Parliament.
Published resources
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Resource
- Trove: Ferris, Jeannie Margaret (1941-2007), http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-720084
- Book
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Resource Section
- A strong voice for women's health (Jeannie Ferris 1941-2007) - obituary, 2007, http://www.smh.com.au/news/obituaries/a-strong-voice-for-womens-health/2007/04/03/1175366237688.html
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Site Exhibition
- From Lady Denman to Katy Gallagher: A Century of Women's Contributions to Canberra, Australian Women's Archives Project, 2013, http://www.womenaustralia.info/exhib/ldkg