Well-Respected Senator Farewelled

Picton-born Western Australian senator Judith Adams has died in Perth, aged 68. The former nurse, midwife and farmer was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998. “Senator Adams had many friends in the Australian Parliament, on all sides of the political divide, and she will be greatly missed,” federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said. “Senator Judith Adams was a proud and passionate advocate for West Australia (WA), a well-respected senator and a much-loved member of the Liberal Party family.” Before entering politics she worked as a nursing sister in the New Zealand Territorial Army, with a stint as a civilian nurse during the Vietnam War. Senator Adams was elected as a Liberal senator for WA in 2004, becoming deputy opposition whip in the Senate and playing a key role securing changes to wheat laws and Defence Force drug policy. With her husband, Gordon, Adams farmed at Kojonup, in WA’s wheatbelt region, for 36 years with their sons Stuart and Robert.

Judith Adams: April 11 1943 – March 31 2012