Jocelyn Newman

Jocelyn Margaret Newman (8 July 1937 – 1 April 2018) was an Australian politician.

Born Jocelyn Mullett in Melbourne, she was educated at Mont Albert Central School and Presbyterian Ladies' College, and practiced law before entering Parliament. She married Kevin Newman in 1961; their son, Campbell Mullett, was the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, and later Premier of Queensland.

Newman was appointed to the Senate on 13 March 1986. She was a Senator for Tasmania for 15 years, and a minister in the Howard Government, notably Minister for Social Security and two stints as Minister assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women. She retired from politics in 2002.

In 2005, Newman was made an Officer of the Order of Australia "For service to the community through contributions to the development of government policies in relation to social security reform, as an advocate for women's issues, particularly in the health and welfare areas, and as a supporter of local organisations in Tasmania."

When speaking against the Euthanasia Laws Bill 1996, which sought to prevent the Northern Territory, the ACT and Norfolk Island from passing laws allowing euthanasia, Newman described her radiation treatment for cancer in 1993 as ‘excruciatingly painful’, and her subsequent surgeries occasions ‘of deep soul-searching’. If ever she was to be faced with a long and painful death: ‘I wish to have the right to knowingly choose the time of my death and the circumstances in which I die. Even more so, I passionately want to have that right for those I love’. (quoted in the Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate).

She died from Alzheimer's disease in 2018.

(via Wikipedia)

Newman, Jocelyn Margaret. (2017). The Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate Vol. 4, 1983-2002, Department of the Senate: Canberra. pp. 366-371.