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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-06-15 Daily Xml
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Lawrie, Ms J.L.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (16:02): I rise this afternoon just to provide some brief remarks on the passing of Jean Louise Lawrie, who was a significant contributor to her community in Adelaide's western suburbs and was particularly a stalwart within the Liberal Party of South Australia. Jean was a much-loved mother to Sue and an adored grandmother to Robert.

She joined the Liberal Party of South Australia in 1968, and in the 1970s she was instrumental in the establishment of the Woodville branch of the party and of the Price State Electorate Convention, also known as an SEC. Jean was the Liberal Party's candidate for Price and for the federal seat of Port Adelaide on seven separate occasions. When not involved in campaigns as a candidate, she was capably assisting our candidates in the seat of Cheltenham and other electorates in our western suburbs, including previous candidates, now members of parliament, who saw Jean as a mentor. These include the member for Frome and the member for Bragg.

Jean's service to the Liberal Party was not always visible. In the lead-up to each electorate day, she was a champion fundraiser, establishing and hosting for some 25 years the well-regarded annual Australia Day luncheon. As the longest serving president of the Woodville branch of the Liberal Party and a delegate to state council for some 50 years, she was an icon of the party who received our Meritorious Service Award in 1998, and in 2016 she received the Distinguished Service Award, only the 20th recipient of this award.

However, Jean's influence in South Australia actually extended well beyond her involvement in the Liberal Party. She was a fierce advocate for the western suburbs and a strong supporter and champion for imposing the 25 km/h speed limit restrictions around our schools, ensuring that schools were as safe environments as possible for young people to navigate. Despite being a staunch loyalist to the Liberal Party, Jean personally called each member of parliament to advocate for these changes, which are a significant legacy. She also had a very significant role in the Women's Memorial Playing Fields. Along with May Mills, she was a founding member of the trust that looked after those fields and was a contributor at many of the services of remembrance held there.

Jean's legacy is significant and her contribution to the Liberal Party was gratefully received in a part of the city where we would not necessarily do electorally well but where it is so important for a major political party to continue to fly the flag. We could not have done it in the western suburbs without Jean. I want to thank her publicly for her contribution to our party and particularly pass my sympathies to her children, Rae, Sue and Jock, and I also acknowledge Jo, who has now passed away. Vale, Jean Lawrie, a great servant of the Liberal Party.


At 16:05 the house adjourned until Tuesday 27 June 2023 at 11:00.


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