Tuesday, 16 August 2022

Olivia Newton-John and Judith Durham

Mr DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan—Leader of the Opposition) (12:47): Today I want to talk to the chamber and the community about two great Victorians and two great Australian singers in Olivia Newton-John and Judith Durham. I think they were people we grew up with and people that we loved. Their music was world standard.

The Seekers were the original band that went from Melbourne to the United Kingdom and then to the world, and they led the way. That beautiful voice of Judith’s sings out into history. When you put on the YouTube video or when you listen to the sound on your records, on your CDs or on your streaming service, you cannot mistake Judith’s amazing contribution. She will be terribly missed.

Olivia, in a similar way, made a huge contribution to Australian music, both as an actor but also as a remarkable singer, crossing over from country into a much more popular music mode—again, a huge contribution to Australian music and to the world. She will be terribly missed. I also want to note Olivia’s work with the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre at the Austin Hospital. As health minister I was proud to work with her and to bring some of that to fruition. I should note that when I came in as health minister there was a huge black hole—a $135 million black hole—that John Brumby and Daniel Andrews, the then health minister, had failed to fill. We filled it and fulfilled the dream of Olivia’s— (Time expired)