Marilyn Shepherd
Marilyn Shepherd was born in Pinnaroo SA in early 1953 to children of migrants from England, Wales, Silesia, Scotland, Cornwall, France and possibly Ireland - a Heinz 57 variety. Single mother to Rebeka, aged 30 and Myles aged 22, nana of Stephanie and Justine both 13, Zachary, aged 9 and Mikaela aged 3.
Marilyn was an anti-war activist from the Vietnam era, Franklin River campaigner, former staffer to Senator John Coulter during the ATSIC negotiations and war crimes legislation, in the days before refugees were criminals, before the concentration camps.
In forced "retirement" due to severe ill health until the TAMPA arrived, decided there was no time to be idle and became active after the horrific drownings on what she called "the drowned refugee boat" to hundreds of politicians and newspaper editors, all to no avail.
She has played small parts in the initial SIEVX investigations with the original team of Tony Kevin, Marg Hutton, Helen Tait, Kate Wildermuth, Kay Kan and Mary Dagmar Davies.
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