CONDOLENCES

Senator CASH (Western Australia—Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (15:48): I rise on behalf of the opposition to acknowledge the life and service of former senator Kay Janet Denman, who passed away on 20 April this year at the age of 88. On behalf of the opposition, I extend our condolences to her family, friends and former colleagues and in particular to Kay's daughter Janet, to her son Paul, to her grandson Angus, to her nephew Clinton and to her son-in-law Trevor, who join us here today as we give the condolences.

Kay Denman, as we have heard, was a Tasmanian through and through. She was born in Latrobe on 22 July 1937 and raised at Railton in the north-west of the state, where her father worked in the local asbestos factory. She attended Railton Primary and Devonport High School before completing a Bachelor of Education at the University of Tasmania.

She later completed a Diploma of Special Education and spent more than two decades, from 1968 to 1989, as a teacher—much of that time working in special education. She also lived with a disability, and that experience informed her later passionate interest in disability issues and support for carers. Kay joined the Australian Labor Party in 1980 after moving to Devonport with her two children.

She served as President and later Secretary of the Devonport branch and became a member of the party's national executive in 1990. In 1989, Premier Michael Field appointed her as a private secretary—a role that she held until 1992. She subsequently managed the Devonport Community Legal Centre and was an inaugural member of the Mersey Leven Family Day Care committee.

On 24 August 1993, a joint sitting of the Tasmanian parliament chose her under section 15 of the Constitution to fill the Senate vacancy created by the resignation of Michael Tate. She became the 435th senator to serve in this chamber and the 62nd senator for the state of Tasmania. In 1998, she was elected in her own right and served until the expiry of her term on 30 June 2005, completing almost 12 years in the Senate.

Senator Denman's parliamentary career included substantial committee work. She served as Government Deputy Whip in the Senate from September 1995 to March 1996 and as opposition deputy whip from September 1997 to November 2001. She chaired the Employment, Education and Training Legislation Committee and, for nine years, the Senate Standing Committee of Senators' Interests.

She also served for many years on the community affairs committees as well as committees examining whistleblowing, foreign affairs, defence and trade, treaties, the National Crime Authority and later the Australian Crime Commission. Among the issues she pursued were disability rights, support for carers, access to justice, community legal centres and asbestos related disease.

The latter had a particular connection to her upbringing in Railton, where she had seen people she knew affected by mesothelioma. She was also known for maintaining friendships across political lines including in particular with former Liberal senator for Western Australia Sue Knowles. Since her passing, former colleagues have spoken warmly of her contribution, in particular, to Tasmania's north-west coast and to the causes she pursued during her time in public life.

Again, to her daughter Janet, to her son Paul and to her family and friends, the opposition extends its condolences. Kay Denman gave many years of service to Tasmania and to the Australian Senate. May she rest in peace.