It's really a bittersweet feeling to stand here and talk about ovarian cancer today in Australia. Firstly, I'd like to thank very much the member for Lilley for raising this motion. Along with so many others, her advocacy on this important issue is something that I think we could all learn a lot from. It is just one of those things that not enough people know enough about. Ovarian cancer is the eighth most common cancer in Australia, yet it stills claims the lives of far too many women. More than half the 1,800 women diagnosed each year lose their life to this cancer—more than half. There is no reliable screening test to aid detection and prevention, but there are incredible advocates who are pushing for more research, technology and awareness.

Last year, I was approached by Jane Hill from Ovarian Cancer Australia, and I was delighted by the invitation to become an Ovarian Cancer Australia ambassador, along with Senator Hanson-Young and the member for Higgins, Katie Allen, who just spoke a moment ago. Ovarian Cancer Australia was founded by people directly affected by ovarian cancer who wanted to raise awareness of the disease and support those who had been affected. Over time, Ovarian Cancer Australia has built on its founders' aspirations to become a leading national body taking action for Australians impacted by ovarian cancer. As a proud member of this organisation, our vision is to save lives and ensure no woman with ovarian cancer walks alone.

Any life that is taken by ovarian cancer is, of course, one too many. That includes the life of a dear friend of mine, Jill Emberson. Jill lost her battle with cancer earlier this year. Jill and I had known each other since she first arrived in Newcastle over 10 years ago. She was a radio broadcaster and so was I. Whilst Newcastle is a thriving city, it's still a small town when it comes to the media market. I quickly became friends with Jill. We actually did one of the most rare things that neither of us thought we would ever do: we were asked to be in a 'women of the media' photoshoot in a very beautiful, glossy magazine. We laughed a lot that day, and realised just how out of our comfort zone we were. Jill and I just squealed every time they'd ask us to do something, and say, 'Don't you realise we're from radio and what we look like doesn't matter? It's just how we sound and what we say.' That was one of my fondest days with Jill, and we had such a great day. She leaves behind two of the loves of her life: her darling daughter Malia and Dr Ken Lambert. She and Ken were only married fairly recently. She had to have emergency neurosurgery, and in recovery from that surgery she proposed to Ken. She wasn't a big fan of marriage, but she realised that he had probably saved her life. He said, 'Look, we'll just talk about it when you come round a bit more, shall we, Jill?' But obviously he did say yes and they were married.

Jill did an amazing job of being an ambassador for ovarian cancer. One of the big things she was so passionate about was the fact that we know so much about breast cancer—there's been some extraordinary work done there—yet so little known about ovarian cancer.

She said, 'It's time we took, literally, a bottom-down look at this,' and Pink Meets Teal was born. Rather than compete against breast cancer, she wanted to say to the women of Australia, to the medical profession, to the researchers: 'Breast cancer has obviously been a terrific awareness campaign. Now we need the teal side—the ovaries—to be looked at as well.'

Jill has certainly left an incredible legacy: her podcast, Still Jill; the work that she did helping to raise awareness not only here in this building but also through things like Australian Story; and the fact that she had a voice in the media. Rather than just curl up and look after herself, as she was more than entitled to do, she kept a very public life going amidst incredible battles. She really spoke to people on such a deep and human level, and she was able to communicate that message. She spoke at the Press Club with such passion; I'll never forget that day. She wrote to the minister, Greg Hunt, on her deathbed, two days before she passed. She asked him to allocate $20 million annually, reoccurring every year, to ovarian cancer. She didn't receive a response, but I hope that it will come.

The most important thing is that we care for each other and look after each other. In this month of ovarian cancer awareness, I say: vale Jill, and please go to your doctor if you have any of the symptoms which are well known.