By Sarah Russell
LAST Wednesday afternoon (17 June), Denise Hassett died suddenly at home. Denise was a much loved and admired friend who will be remembered for her kindness, compassion, loyalty and life-long commitment to social justice.
Denise was well known on the Mornington Peninsula for her tireless advocacy for so many different causes. Since her death, I have received several phone calls from friends who worked with Denise on causes in 1970s and 1980s, long before I knew her.
In 1993, Denise stood as the Labor candidate against Hon Peter Reith in the federal election. She received 40 per cent of the primary vote, an extraordinary achievement. In 1996, Denise was the inaugural speaker at Southern Women’s Action Network meeting. She encouraged members to get involved in advocating for social justice.
Denise was a regular correspondent to The Age, The Saturday Paper and Mornington Peninsula News Group. However, Denise did not merely talk-the-talk. Denise walked the talk. An example of this was the kindness she showed to a local older woman with cognitive failure.
Denise did not want a funeral. Instead, she wanted friends to have a casual drink together at a local pub. To honour her wishes, there will be a private cremation. In the near future, friends will arrange a celebration of her life at the Dava Hotel. We plan to give her a memorable send off.
A full obituary is to follow in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can listen to an interview with Denise on Joseph Toscano’s 3CR radio show “Radical Australia” in September 2025 here: 3cr.org.au/radicalaustralia/episode/denise-hassett.
First published in the Mornington News – 23 June 2026
