THE first day of March marked the 26th wedding anniversary of Victoria Greens lead Senate candidate Janet Rice and her Nobel Prize-winning partner Dr Penny Whetton.
Inside the couple’s Footscray home, their two sons are milling around the kitchen stove as Rice’s mother, Margaret – Hobsons Bay’s 2009 citizen of the year – relaxes on the couch.
Raised in Altona, Rice, 51, is a senior strategic transport planner at Hume Council.
But if Greens voting trends are maintained, she’s virtually assured one of six Victorian Senate seats in Parliament after the next federal election.
The couple met at Melbourne University’s meteorology department.
“She was doing a PhD and I was doing honours,” Rice says.
“Penny was Peter at that stage. It’s our wedding anniversary [but] we’re not big romantics,” she says with a laugh.
To the family, talk about her partner’s transition from Peter to Penny is so “yesterday” and “not a big thing” in their lives.
The couple’s eldest son John was born in 1991 and Leon in 1994. Penny transitioned in 2003.
“It’s a huge thing but, basically, you know, we decided that we still loved each other and we’ve continued to be happy living together,” Rice says.
Her mother says the “all the rest of the family are happy with that, too”.
“It was a bit of a shock to me at first, but it’s just settled down and Penny is Penny,” Margaret Rice says.
“Penny is the same person as she always was.”
And Whetton points out that this is Janet’s story. “Obviously, our lives will change in some significant ways if Janet’s going off to Canberra every other week, but, on the other hand, Janet’s always been very active.
“She was a councillor for Maribyrnong for six years … I feel like I’ve been married to a politician for a very long time.
“Janet would make a fabulous senator because she is extremely passionate about the things she believes in.”
“I mean, listen to Janet and you know what you’re getting. I think she’s the sort of person we really need to have in our public life.”
Margaret Rice says the whole family is “very excited” about her daughter’s preselection for the Greens.
If elected to the Senate, Rice is clear about her aims. “Firstly, to be a really good representative of the people who share the commitment for a fair and sustainable country and a fair and sustainable planet,” she says.
“To be engaging with people across the state as well … and, essentially, to be sharing power with people, not just be up there in Canberra separate from people.”
