Her weekly column ‘Last Word’ has appeared in Saturday’s CourierMail for 14 years. Raised on a sugarcane farm in NQ, Kathleen did her early news reporting in the Mackay district. After working in South Africa through the dying years of apartheid and the transition to democracy, she returned to Australia, working as a senior features writer, sub-editor and section head with various newspapers. Kathleen is chair of Second Chance, the only charity in Australia that raises money exclusively for homeless women. It also supports at-risk women and children in domestic violence shelters.