After almost causing state election shock, independent Liz Habermann is running for Grey – spurred on by her son’s life and death

The hardest part of Liz Habermann’s life was videoing her son as he took his own life to escape terminal cancer. Running as an independent in a federal election won’t faze her.

A political campaign for a federal seat that covers almost one million square kilometres is never going to be easy – but Liz Habermann doubts it will throw up any tougher challenges than life has already aimed at her.

Ms Habermann’s son Rhys died five years ago aged 19. He had terminal cancer and took his own life. And she was there when her son died.

“I’ve done the hardest thing now,’’ she says. “Actually videoing your son take poison because he said, ‘You need to do this or you are going to be in trouble’.’’

Ms Habermann is the independent candidate for the seat of Grey, which covers more than 90 per cent of South Australia.

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It starts north of Gawler, then stretches to the borders of NSW, WA, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

It’s a very safe seat that has been held by the Liberal Party since 1993 and has been occupied by Rowan Ramsey since 2007.

But Ms Habermann has high hopes. She ran for Flinders in the March state election and came very close to winning.

It was the death of Rhys that led Ms Habermann to politics. Rhys was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, when he was 17.

Grey independent candidate Liz Habermann with her late son Rhys. Picture: Supplied

He endured the many painful treatments, lived with the knowledge he was going to die and eventually made the decision to end his suffering.

On one trip to Adelaide for another round of treatment – it was also Rhys’s 18th birthday – mother and son were walking down Rundle Mall and saw a stall advocating for voluntarily assisted dying legislation.

“Rhys had previously asked what I thought of it and I said ‘I haven’t really thought about it’ and I said ‘What do you think about it?’ and he said. ‘It should be a God-given right’.’’

Ms Habermann, 51, wrote a letter that day to her local state MP telling the story of Rhys. It was a first step.

She has lived in Wudinna, on Eyre Peninsula, with her husband Brett and children Zac, Lewis, Jorja and Charlie for the past 15 years having moved from Tanunda to buy the local bakery.

As Rhys endured his illness, mother and son would talk. Sometimes about death.

“There was nothing taboo,’’ she says. “It was just us having a chat.’’

Rhys believed he should have had the right to peacefully end his own life. Voluntary assisted dying legislation had been presented to the state parliament many times but had never passed. Rhys considered his options but understood his parents could be in legal trouble. It was his idea that his death be filmed.

But, still, it takes a certain strength from any parent to let a child go. To not hang on to the illusory promise of ‘Where there’s life, there’s hope’ right until the end.

“A lot of people said they couldn’t do that,’’ Ms Habermann admits. “It’s that unconditional love. He absolutely taught me unconditional love.”

And there was another thought. “If I had said ‘Oh my God, no’, he would have killed himself on his own.’’ Rhys died on January 11, 2017, surrounded by family.

There was an 18-month police investigation and that final video was crucial in clearing the Habermanns. Ms Habermann holds no ill will towards the police who were “just doing their job’’ but she says the process was “unnecessary’’.

When assisted dying legislation was again introduced to the SA parliament in 2021, Ms Habermann became involved.

She admits she was naive about how politics worked, unsure of even the differences between the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council.

By then she had told Rhys’s story publicly and she believes that may have shifted some votes in favour of the legislation.

But as she watched the debate unfold, she was appalled by some of the speeches made by MPs, including one which “made my skin crawl’’ and reduced her to tears.

But the legislation finally passed last June.

Liz Habermann, with her husband Bret, holds a photo of their son Rhys at a Parliament House vigil, during the height of the assisted dying legislation debate last year. Picture: Kelly Barnes

“I always thought Rhys never left a legacy, there were no kids, there was nothing left of him, but he’s got this and that’s fricking awesome,” Ms Habermann says.

Ms Habermann’s initial idea was to run in federal politics but she decided to have a tilt at Flinders during the state election.

There was a 23 per cent swing against the Liberal Party and Flinders is now a marginal seat.

Ms Habermann describes herself as a traditional Liberal voter but one who has become disillusioned with the party and how politics works.

“I think people are waking up now and then realising ‘Hang on, these people, they’re not normal’,’’ she says. “They’re not like not your everyday person. They have lost touch with what it’s like to earn a buck and get out there and work your arse off.’’

Ms Habermann believes regional towns in particular have been ignored. That they have been left to die. That health services, aged care, communications, roads all have been neglected. That farmers are selling up and increased mechanisation means fewer workers are needed.

She would also like to see management of regional rail brought back into public hands.

Eyre Peninsula’s rail line was closed in 2019 but Ms Habermann sees freight and tourism potential there.

She thinks the government should junk its nuclear waste dump and concentrate on renewable energy.

It’s possible the election will end with a hung parliament and if Ms Habermann wins she will be courted by both Liberal and Labor for support to form government.

“I don’t like either of them particularly at the moment but I know I’m going to have to pick one,’’ she says.

Ms Habermann says she will not be looking for “promises’’ but “guarantees’’ on those issues that concern her.

Independent Grey candidate Liz Habermann. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Occasionally, Ms Habermann wonders if this hectic lifestyle she has chosen is to “distract’’ herself from the reality of Rhys’s death.

But, conversely, she knows she has been through a lot in her life and wants to use that experience to help others. She also believes Rhys wouldn’t want his family to drown in grief.

“It’s pretty incredible, really, because you can come out of it on the other side really bitter and angry but he would be really pissed off with me if I did that,’’ she says.

Which is why she believes that no matter what the next few weeks throws at her, it’s not going to faze her. How could it? She has already done “the hardest thing’’.

“So this while not a walk in the park, it’s like, ‘What have you got? Throw it at me’,” Ms Habermann says.

“I might stumble with my words and say ‘um’ and ‘aah’ but, you know, I have done something that hopefully most people will never experience.

“I have done the hard thing now and I will be really pissed off if there are other hard things.’’

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