Thank you for your warm welcome.

I can’t tell you how delighted I am to be part of this summit – this gathering of lives,  experiences and stories,  so important to us as women.   

It is enormously re-energising to take time out together;  to catch up on one another’s lives,  share some laughs and sorrows;  and to savour the strength and reassurance of fine friendships and working partnerships.

Coming together,  sharing ideas,  listening,  learning,  reflecting as we go.    In our serious and ernest deliberations,  we know and feel how powerful and enriching our storytelling is.

I want to begin with a little of my own,  if I may,  that predates Breast Cancer Network Australia.   

In 1996 I was working in Sydney as Founding Chair and CEO of the National Childcare Accreditation Council. 

Irene Moss,   who’d been my colleague at the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission as Race Discrimination Commissioner,   asked me if I would consider joining a women’s network to support the work of the newly established National Breast Cancer Centre.

Of course I said ‘yes’ immediately.  Because like every woman,  I was conscious of the impact on women’s lives of this very serious disease  – of the incidence,  the risks.

All women share a deep concern,  a compassionate caring and a sense of responsibility about breast cancer,   about support for research,  services,  fundraising,  education,  and understanding.

Every one of us is connected by it and to it in some way.     Unlike you,  I have not suffered from breast cancer,  but I have observed again and again its force and its devastation,  something of what it means to be a woman –  her family,  our community.

I have observed,  too,  the fine human qualities so often associated with it.    Courage,  patience,  tenacity and fortitude.   Great generosity of spirit,  a solidarity,  the camaraderie that shines through this gathering.

Dr Sally Redman,  leading epidemiologist and inaugural director of the NBCC came to see me.   

We got on with setting up the NBCC’s Women’s Advisory Network:  a group of powerful women whose task it was to open any door that would help the National Breast Cancer Centre alleviate the burden of breast cancer in Australia.
We knew that women from all walks of life would play a vital role in confronting and addressing its toll.

I was complimented by the invitation to be chair and I must say that my years in that role were enriching and rewarding. 

Hosting meetings at the Women’s College in Sydney,  where I became Principal in 1997,  I met the most marvellous people:  dedicated to this field of medical research,  diagnosis, treatment, counselling, nursing.   All with clever ideas,  wisdom,  professional skills,  keen to cooperate.  

We all understood that the true experts were women with breast cancer.    That their special needs, views, experiences were paramount.    We recognised that they wanted access to sound,  evidence-based information.

My Advisory Network colleagues were author Di Morrissey; The Hon Justice Margaret Beazley ,  journalist and now politician,  Maxine McKew; Liz Hayes from 60 Minutes; past president of the World Country Women’s Association, Valerie Fisher, the Captain of the Australian Netball Team, Vicki Wilson, Penny Button,  from a sheep station in western Queensland.

One of our first tasks was to help ensure Australia’s First National Breast Cancer Conference for Women,  in 1998,  achieved its primary goal:  to make a difference to the way breast cancer was managed in Australia.

This conference was a turning point. Those of you who were there might recall the conference was built on issues raised by women who participated in state and territory forums across Australia.    

Funded by the National Breast Cancer Centre,  the conference was the first of its kind;  organised by women for women,  with the agenda set by the women themselves.

At the time in Australia 10,000 women were being diagnosed with breast cancer each year.

Big numbers like that raise big questions.    One of the most significant aspects of this conference for me was the courage of the delegates to debate the tough questions and admit they didn’t yet have all the answers.

Justice Margaret Beazley facilitated the hypothetical session.   She was an excellent choice.   Discussion was candid,  robust.   I remember two of the panellists almost came to blows over the significance of Lymphodaema to women with breast cancer.

The strength of debate was indicative of the collaborative process.     

For the clinicians,  researchers,  industry representatives,  bureaucrats, health care workers, and women with breast cancer who attended the conference, it quickly became evident that reducing deaths from breast cancer was going to require a dedicated team approach together with a shared commitment to change.

These qualities became the signature strengths of Breast Cancer Network Australia:  your organisation that grew from those early meetings,  and elicited the voices and advocacy of women with breast cancer.

Women who told their stories honestly and bravely,  and who spoke up for all women.

I often recall Margaret Mead’s observation that “a small group of thoughtful,  committed citizens can change the world.   Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Your group was ably led by Lyn Swinburne – a woman I have admired from the moment I met her.

Of course no one person is responsible for the breadth and momentum of a movement,  but it’s impossible to overlook the contribution of Lyn’s leadership to the successes of the Breast Cancer Network.

Lyn is a woman who was capable of selflessly pursuing a greater good;  who has never lost sight of the bigger picture;  who builds partnerships to combat one dimensional thinking and bridges to protect against isolation;  importantly,  a person with wisdom and insight; whose communication skills are exemplary.

I also want to acknowledge the founding Chair of Breast Cancer Network Australia,   Dr Patricia Edgar AO: a truly remarkable Australian,   one of the most and influential people in the development of Australian television production;  respected and admired for her work in establishing and leading the Australian Children’s Television Foundation,  an untiring champion for women,   children,   families and communities.

Current Chair,   Marg O’Donnell,  a senior Queensland bureaucrat with an extensive background in social work practice and policy development,   and an outstanding contributor to so many fields:  human rights,  health,  law,  music.

Their lives have been touched and scarred by breast cancer. 

They are my lifelong friends:  inspiring women who have been important in my life,  and in the lives of many women in our country.

Their ceaseless efforts ensure that breast cancer remains our high priority.    That the energy and innovative approaches needed to keep it there are alive and responsive.

Almost a decade after Lyn led the launch of the Inaugural Field of Women –
that powerful and graphic display of the silhouettes of women diagnosed,  and those who have lost their lives to the disease – the Field is Breast Cancer Network’s highest profile event.

In 2007 the Field of Women attracted a diverse community of 13,100 participants who demonstrated to Australia with stunning effect that breast cancer takes so many lives away,   and that its incidence continues to increase.

It is predicted that the number of Australian women diagnosed with breast cancer will rise to approximately 14, 818 by 2011.   A potent reminder that our work is not done,  and of the importance of keeping breast cancer on our country’s agenda.

My friends,  in declaring these statistics,  I am accutely aware that they represent women’s lives,  bodies,  families,  neighbourhoods,  communities. 

Behind each number is a person,  a unique narrative,  a story.

Yet beside each one is a friend,  a partner,  a group – someone to listen and understand.

Your Member Groups are a profound expression of togetherness,  and a practical way of caring for each other.

Over coffee at kitchen tables;  in community meeting rooms and in people’s homes,  you provide invaluable support,  vital information,  and companionship along a very hard road.

You tell and hear each other’s stories,  and ensure that they reach into our local and national conversations.  You insist that your voice be heard in the community and at the highest levels when decisions affecting you are being made.

I want to thank you for the contribution you make,  and for the journey you travel.  

I think Lyn summed it up perfectly in a statement she made in 1999,  when she publicly launched the report from the first conference.

She said: “Women living with breast cancer are the inspiration.    They fight their individual battles,  quietly,  patiently,  but with the utmost determination and courage and the support of their families and friends.    May their voices continue to be heard”.

My friends,  may their voices echo in your discussions at this important summit.

It is my very great pleasure now to open officially the BCNA National Member Group Summit in 2009.