Jenny (15/9/1936-27/6/2023), led the establishment of IDEAS, an independent information service for people with disability and their families based in Tumut in NSW from the early 1980s. A computerised service from the start, it now operates nationally.
Many people within the disability community recall Jenny as a guide who assisted them in finding their path to meet the goals they had for their daily living. The tireless Information Officer would not rest until the last stone had been turned. The groundwork laid by Jenny in her founding and development of IDEAS remains the benchmark for the service all these years later.
Jenny became well known as a strong advocate for people with disability and represented people with disability on numerous committees and consultative bodies through the 1980s, retiring from IDEAS in 1997 and moving to Tasmania.
Jenny was one of the movers and shakers in the 1980s forging a disability rights movement that led to the setting up of groups like Disabled Peoples International and People with Disability Australia.
Years down the track, these groups were powerful advocates for the passing of the Disability Discrimination Act in 1992 and the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability in 2007.
In 1998 Jenny was awarded an AM for her services to people with disability.
Locally, Jenny had a close relationship with ParaQuad Tasmania for almost 20 years, acting in various roles on the Committee of Management, including the Association Secretary, for many years.
Jenny was a fearless advocate for people with disability and contributed tirelessly to the Association, freely sharing her wealth of experience from the disability and government sectors and mentoring new Committee members.
While not actively involved with organisations over the past few years, Jenny remained an active and engaged advocate making submissions on a range of issues, including the NDIS, Aged Care home packages, accessible housing, access to transport and employment for young people with disability.
Jenny was one of those people with a disability who shaped the disability rights movement as it is today, and we owe her our thanks and greatest respect.
(Information collated by IDEAS and Disability Voices Tasmania)
