I was born in Toowoomba, Queensland and I am the youngest of seven children.  My mother and father were typical Aussie battlers who worked hard to feed, clothe and educate their kids. My father worked most of his adult life at Defiance Flour Mill as a miller and baker and for extra cash he sowed bags at harvest time in Dalby. We did not have a car in those days so Dad used to ride 3 hours each way on his push bike to earn money to save for their first house. After 20 years they finally had saved enough to buy a home in a housing commission area in Harlaxton. My mother stayed at home and took care of business as well as cared for my brother who was born with Spina Bifida.

My older brother and sister did not even finish primary school because when my mother was expecting my twin sisters she spent most of her pregnancy in hospital. My older sister and brother took over the care of my other sister and brother while Dad went to work.

I went to Our Lady Help of Christians Primary School and was taught by the Good Samaritans Nuns. It was a small school, almost a country school, and my primary education was rich with sports days, concerts and of course reading, writing and arithmetic. I won a bursary to attend Mater Dei High School and completed my high school education in 1970. I was on the swimming team, netball team and tennis team.

My first job was at Myer as a shop assistant, and after 6 months I was one of 4 employees selected for a management training program. After 12 months I was promoted to Assistant Manager in the Miss Teens Department. I then moved to New Zealand where I lived independently and worked in clerical positions in both clothing manufacture and international shipping. I was married in New Zealand and returned to Australia in 1974 and worked as a live-in house mother at Hamewith, a home for disabled children. I cared for 6 children who were intellectually disabled until my daughter, Shay Louise, was born in 1976.

At the age of 32 I studied martial arts and at 34 was a black belt in Zen Do Kai and a black singlet in Muay Thai Kick Boxing. I assisted in instructing women and children in self-defense techniques and also in awareness training after 2 children were abducted and murdered in our area. I also worked in the hospitality industry for 10 years and spent 7 of those years in various management positions. 

I moved to South Australia in 1994 with my partner and three sons and began studying natural and traditional medicine in 1996. In that year I learnt that my daughter who had remained in Queensland was a heroin addict and as a result I turned my attention to learning as much as I could about addiction and the various treatments available.

Sadly my daughter died of a heroin overdose in 1998, just two days away from coming home to her family. This was one of the hardest times of my life and when we buried my daughter there were so many kids who were addicted to heroin at her funeral that I felt a responsibility to continue to work with what I had learnt.

In 1999, the Hon. Dean Brown, Liberal Minister for Health, provided premises that could be used as a drug treatment and rehabilitation facility, now known as Shay Louise House. In 2000 Mr Brown also granted funding for this facility and DrugBeat has gone from strength to strength ever since.

Shay Louise House was built with family cooperation and a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Dedicated staff continue to work with any person who wants to stop using drugs. The facility also provides support by way of counselling and parent groups for family members who want to give their kids the kind of support that will assist them to recover from their struggle with addiction.

I was elected in 2006 to the Legislative Council of SA after going on Nick Xenophon's ticket. It was a shock to be elected but in the last two years I have worked hard for the people of SA in many areas other than drug reform. I am passionate about drug reform because of the damage that is done to people of all ages who simply do not have the tools to live drug free.

Contrary to the beliefs of some I do not consider drug users to be criminals. Intervention, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation should be our focus and these services must and should be available for addicts whose lives have become unmanageable because of drug use.

I am a "social justice" person who believes that governments should be measured by how they treat their most vulnerable.