Jane Garrett: Inside MP’s cancer battle and what inspired her comeback

JANE Garrett says her passion for politics has never been stronger despite the trauma of the CFA dispute and a battle with cancer. The MP says she has drawn strength from the public support she has received.

former emergency services minister Jane Garrett. Picture: David Caird

JANE Garrett says her passion for politics has never been stronger despite the trauma of the CFA dispute and a battle with cancer.

Speaking publicly for the first time since her resignation from Cabinet, the former emergency services minister told the Herald Sun public sentiment and support from her church had helped her through.

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Her office was inundated with “flowers, cards and messages” after a series of shocks she suffered last year: her resignation in June, an assault on her in the street in August, and the breast cancer diagnosis in October.

“My family and I drew much strength and hope from the beautiful messages we received from all over Victoria,” she said. “In the darkest moments, we felt compassion and love.”

Garrett said she never considered leaving politics despite being on the receiving end of bullying and harassment during the CFA dispute.

It was widely reported that the United Firefighters Union chief, Peter Marshall, had said that he had 300 members ready to “put an axe through” Garrett’s head.

United Firefighters Union chief Peter Marshall. Picture: Mark Stewart

Garrett said her distressing treatment at the hands of a union leader had been “a very difficult thing to confront”.

“I was devastated about it,” she said, adding it hurt because “the treatment was coming from a union, and I believe so much in the union movement”.

“I’m not going to lie. I’ve had times when people have said: ‘Why would you go back?’

“What’s the definition of insanity — doing the same thing over and over again (and expecting a different result)?

“I believe in it. You do change people’s lives. My ­passion (for politics) is absolutely still there,” Garrett said.

Jane Garrett at home with husband James Higgins and their children — Sasha, Max and Molly. Picture: David Caird

She attributes her drive to go on as member for Brunswick and a part of the government to what she learned of community service from her father, a Baptist minister, and her late mother, a teacher.

“You’re kind of guided by how you’ve been raised,” she said.

She also thanked the church for having “been really beautiful to me”.

And she was buoyed by gestures such as the motorcade of CFA vehicles to Parliament House, where volunteers left flowers for her on the steps.

Garrett said she believed that it was important for people in the public eye who faced adversity to talk about it honestly, to reduce the “fear and shame” of others who are facing struggles.