Jane Gerick

Who was Jane Gerick?

Jane Frances Gerick was an Australian politician. She served for one term as a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1998 to 2001, representing the division of Canning, Western Australia.

Gerick was elected to federal parliament as one of several new Labor MPs at the 1998 federal election; her party rebounded strongly from its landslide defeat at the 1996 federal election but narrowly failed to win back government. Gerick defeated one term Liberal MP Ricky Johnston. She won with 53.5% of the two party preferred vote. However, a redistribution during the next term scaled back her majority to an extremely marginal 0.4%. A slight drop in the Labor vote to 49.9% at the 2001 federal election saw Gerick defeated by Liberal candidate Don Randall.

In February 2001 Gerick was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. In 2003 she was endorsed for a re-match against Randall for an election due the following year. However, Gerick died of a brain haemorrhage on Christmas Day 2003.