In all the politically skewed ranting we’ve done in this issue, one thing we haven’t touched on yet is Jeff’s most significant work post politics - beyondblue.

Beyondblue is the national depression initiative dedicated to improving awareness, treatment and prevention of depressive illnesses. In the nearly 10 years since Jeff became the inaugural chairman they have become Australia’s most well publicised source of information about depression.

Many people, including my good self, were surprised by the passion and dedication Jeff displayed for this cause. He never made it personal, I have not been able to find a single mention of whether he himself has suffered from this terrible condition, but he was certainly very aware of the debilitating effect depression has on its victims.

He also made no attempt to portray himself as any kind of expert in the field. He plainly saw himself as an advocate for the two things that could be most effective in treating this condition: ensuring the community was better informed about the condition, thus reducing the social stigma; and helping people suffering from depression to recognise it early and find effective help easily.

Being such a public and charismatic figure he was able to achieve these two things better than anyone else could have. The blunt practicality with which he approached it did more to remove the social stigma than any amount of serious talk from the standard barely-known, very-caring but cardigan-wearing and slightly-patronising doctor doing interviews on Stateline.

The presence of a renowned hard man and head kicker at the helm of this organisation even made it possible for the usually reticent Australian (male in particular) to speak up and admit to a problem.

Beyondblue isn’t a magic bullet, it hasn’t eradicated depression as a major affliction in society, but it’s certainly raised awareness, and who knows how many people are right now getting help and getting over their depression, because of the giant head of Big Jeff?

Well done Jeff, and thank you.

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