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- 23 November 2006
Seasonal Felicitations
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Mr DAVID CAMPBELL (Keira—Minister for Water Utilities, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Regional Development, and Minister for the Illawarra) [10.00 a.m.]: I move:
That the House take note of Christmas felicitations.
Mr Speaker, I take this opportunity to wish you and yours the very best for this festive season and thank you for your efforts in the Chair. I have said this to you privately and I say it now in the House that I believe yours is sometimes a very lonely task and a very challenging task in keeping the Opposition—and, from time to time, the Government—in some sense of order. I am confident I can say on this occasion on behalf of the whole House that we appreciate your efforts in your role as Speaker.
Honourable members know that my appointment as Leader of the House has been recent and, to this point, brief. I appreciate the support and encouragement that many people have given me, but none more so than the Government Whips, Gerard Martin and Alan Ashton. They have supported me in my role as Leader of the House and they have worked very hard throughout the year on behalf of the Government to make sure members understand the time constraints and issues in the House. I thank the Whips for their hard work. I acknowledge also the Opposition Whips, Thomas George and Daryl Maguire, who play a similar role.
I acknowledge particularly Barry O'Farrell, the Manager of Opposition Business,He who is mostly co-operative, sometimes challenging and sometimes repetitious; nevertheless, he plays a role that makes the Parliament work. I thank the Opposition members whom I have mentioned—Barry O'Farrell, Thomas George and Daryl Maguire—for the way they have worked with me in my capacity as Leader of the House and worked with the previous Leader of the House, Carl Scully. In relation to the support I have received, I acknowledge Stephen McMahon, who has continued the challenge of working with the Leader of the House. I particularly thank him for his efforts and advice, and I am grateful for the way he has taken my advice and decisions on board and implemented them.
I make the point that the community may see the drama of this place but may not see that often both sides of the Chamber work together to put in place legislation. Much of the legislation that passes through this place is supported by both sides of the Chamber because it is sensible and sound and for the benefit of the State. The process often involves a great deal of time constraint and people get a bit frustrated; nevertheless, the work of the Parliament goes on in a mostly constructive way in its major role of introducing, debating and passing legislation, that is, new laws for the benefit of the State.
Of course, none of that happens without the great support of many professional staff of the Parliament, and none more so than the Hansard staff. Sometimes I wonder how they record what is said under the din of this place. I see Hansard reporters nodding to that comment. Three of the Hansard staff members are in the Hansard gallery, and I say a big thank you to them for their efforts and interpretation of what people say in the House. I am sure they will pass on those sentiments to the rest of the Hansard staff. I wish all of them and their families the compliments of the season.
I spoke a minute ago about legislation, most of which comes from the Cabinet Office. In these seasonal felicitations I acknowledge and thank Leigh Sanderson and Don Colaguiri, the Parliamentary Counsel, who have worked very diligently under a heavy workload for this entire year, particularly in the past couple of weeks, as the Government has gone about its task of implementing legislation and having a strong reform and legislative agenda. The Parliamentary Library also gives great support in meeting members' requirements for research. I say to the Parliamentary Library staff: congratulations and a very big thank you.
The administration and Building Services staff are very helpful, and so are the dining room staff, who are led at the moment by Carlos Andrade. This year has been a challenging time for many departments of this Parliament, and I appreciate and I am confident that all members of Parliament appreciate the professional way in which those people have gone about performing their tasks.
The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, Russell Grove, has a challenging role, which he discharges most professionally, courteously and diplomatically. I thank Russell Grove, Mark Swinson, Les Gönye, Ronda Miller and Greg Kelly for their terrific work throughout the year. The Legislative Assembly procedure office staff also deserve mention for their hard work—Cheryl Samuels, Jeff Page, Rebecca Cartwright, Jenny Lamont, John Hatfield and Joe Bardetta. To all the people who contribute to the running of this place, I say thank you on behalf of members and the Government.
I divert from the general aspects of discussion in this debate to extend my heartfelt thanks to my personal staff, both ministerial and electorate. This has been a challenging year for us due to my having taken on greater responsibilities. All those people have responded positively, strongly and brilliantly in supporting me. Any words I might use could not adequately express my thanks to them for their support. Ryan Park stepped up to the role of Chief of Staff particularly well, and I say a very big thank you to all of my people.
Many Government members appreciate the support they receive from the Premier's office, and particularly from the Premier's Chief of Staff—a strong, forthright, hard working and professional woman, Davina Langton, who along with a whole range of others in the Premier's Office provide support to the Premier but also to other members of the Government. I take this opportunity to say thank you to them, acknowledging, as I am pleased to do, the strength I get from being able to work with them.
Seasonal felicitations at this time of the electoral cycle is a time not only to thank the staff of the extended Parliament but also to mention a number of members who have indicated they intend to resign from this place or not seek re-election—some by their own choice, and some by the choice of their parties although they would prefer otherwise. I am pleased to acknowledge the contributions those members have made to the functioning of this Chamber and to their communities. I might say, being as positive as I can, that I expect some members on this side and the Opposition side will not return to this place by choice of their electorates. I wish them well also. I mention in particular members who have taken a decision to move on to another phase of their lives, and I trust that they will have the opportunity to enjoy the company of their families much more than they might have been able to do in their time in this place.
Earlier I mentioned the previous Leader of the House. I want to acknowledge the role discharged so well by Carl Scully as Leader of the House in this Government. He played a significant part in facilitating the Government's dealing with its workload, demonstrating a great sense of leadership to many members on this side of the House. I am happy to express that recognition at this time of seasonal felicitations.
Many of us pause during this time of year to consider what is happening in the world—violence, terrorism and such things. During these times, we reflect on what members of Parliament are about. They are about coming into this place to represent their communities and to put in place laws that make New South Wales a better place in which to live. Members, in that sense, provide leadership in an attempt to make this a better State and, in the wider context, a better world, and so we hold positions of considerable trust. The festive season is a period when we extend best wishes to everyone, no matter what their religious background, in a spirit of personal goodwill. I trust that the community of New South Wales will celebrate this Christmas and festive season with a sense of goodwill, good cheer and good humour. I take this opportunity to thank all staff of the Parliament for their support throughout the year, and wish them and their families, and all members and their families, the compliments of the season.
Mr BARRY O'FARRELL (Ku-ring-gai—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) [10.15 a.m.]: I am pleased to enjoy this one time of the year when we say only good things about our fellow men and women on both sides of the Chamber. Mr Deputy-Speaker, I want to extend to you and your family, particularly upon your retirement, but also through you to the Speaker and his family, best wishes for the Christmas season. Can I also extend the same to the Leader of the House, and say how much I have enjoyed sparring with him in his new role in recent weeks, and how much I enjoyed doing the same with his predecessor, the member for Smithfield.
Can I say in relation to the member for Smithfield that I think he is the Parliament's greatest actor, and that he would leave most Academy Award winners in his wake—occasionally he gives us glimpses that deep down he is a nice bloke. I say to the member for Smithfield that that is the biggest compliment he will get out of me whilst he is in the Chamber. I hope he is in the Chamber after the next election, but I wish him well in the choices that he has to make now and in the choices that he has had to make over the past twelve months.
The Speaker, the Leader of the House, and shadow Leader of the House form perhaps an unholy trinity in this place, but that is an unholy trinity necessary to ensure this place functions. Equally, Steve McMahon and Davina Langton have been of great assistance to me, if only in trying to assist me in interpreting the signals, messages and machinations that emanate from successive Leaders of the House and the Government. I am particularly grateful to Davina for showing the Deputy Premier's office how to consult in advance about legislation that is being rushed through the place. I am delighted that the Premier's Office can always find time to consult on important legislation. Perhaps one day the Deputy Premier, or the Deputy Leader of the Opposition after the next election, will have that same ability.
I join the Leader of the House in thanking the Whips for the jobs they do here. I am happy to acknowledge the members for Bathurst and East Hills. I have to say to the member for Bathurst that I was a bit taken aback on the weekend when one of my jibes was described as cruel. I am one of those who seek to play the game robustly within this Chamber but, when I walk outside, I ensure it goes no further. I certainly do not intend to be cruel to anybody. I recognise the role of Government Whips, and I particularly want to pay tribute to the Opposition Whips, the member for Wagga Wagga and the member for Lismore. They both provide sterling service to the shadow Leader of the House, whoever that person is, and work extremely hard, as all Whips do, to ensure that this House functions as smoothly as is possible.
I thank the Chamber staff and officials for all of their efforts over the past twelve months. I perhaps have a greater insight now, because of the role that I now fulfil. The Clerks and their support staff have been superb. I want to acknowledge the attendants, in particular for their work on sitting days but also for the work they do with school groups that come through this place. To the school groups that come through here—as the member for Epping confessed yesterday in his valedictory speech—I always tell the story about the 12-year-old Andrew Tink coming in here with John Maddison. I do that to encourage the students who come in here to think about coming back, when they are a few years older, to do something good for their community, as the member for Epping has undoubtedly done for his. I thank the attendants for that.
I acknowledge the great effort of Hansard, and members will note that I am speaking a bit more slowly today, as opposed to my normal contribution during private members' statements. I would like to know whether I fitted the most number of words ever into a five-minute speech. I know that Peter Anderson had that record for a number of years and I would happily claim that crown. Hansard does a wonderful job, especially for those of us who speak quickly and get worked up on suspension motions and the like. As the member for Epping said, they make many of our speeches intelligible.
I acknowledge the assistance of Parliamentary Counsel, which, from an Opposition perspective, is often a last-minute attempt to get some amendment from Parliamentary Counsel, but it is always provided with both quality and timeliness. I thank the Parliamentary Library, which does an exceptional job. I am delighted that we have a permanent Parliamentary Librarian in Greig Tillotson. I continue to admire the work done by David Clune, particularly this year with the sesquicentenary of the Parliament, where we have put, in particular, Queensland and Victoria to shame with the extraordinary work, research and publications that were produced to celebrate that significant event in not only this State but also this country's history. The Parliamentary Library does an invaluable job for every member of Parliament regardless of political affiliation and it is integral to our democratic system, as are the Chambers.
I thank the bills and papers office, the security staff, ITS, Building Services and my friend Isaac, who looks after me in the gym occasionally. All those people perform an extraordinary role in ensuring that this place can function. Without them it simply could not function, as has been demonstrated at least once in the last few months. I thank the catering and dining room staff, who look after all members of Parliament and guests who attend the functions we are pleased to host here. It has been a very difficult year for all the support staff in this place. It has been a particularly difficult year for the catering and dining room staff. We have seen many of our best go, and I want to pay particular tribute to Maureen Morgan, who is leaving on 15 December. She is an extraordinary woman, who has witnessed the progress of not just my two young children but that of many members. She has done an extraordinary job and I regret that she is leaving. However, I do wish her well in her Winnebago as she travels this country and enjoys her retirement years.
There are other retirees, some voluntary and others, as the Leader of the House said, who are involuntary retirees. I hope there will be more on the Government side than on the Opposition side. In particular, I acknowledge those on my side in the order of their announcement: Ian Slack-Smith, who came here in 1995 when I arrived, and Andrew Tink, Peta Seaton and Andrew Humpherson. I particularly single out the member for Epping, whose effectiveness as a member of Parliament will remain a matter of record in this place. His skill as shadow Leader of the House and his battles with the then Leader of the House, Paul Whelan, were both legendary and instructive. I will miss his friendship and counsel. I will also miss the expression, "Got a minute?" If he has a media career, it should be in a program called Got a Minute, which would last at least an hour! I always enjoyed that and I look forward to visiting him in his new water-borne Bobbin Head office, down the bottom of Bobbin Head Road in my electorate, at some stage after the election.
Finally, I say something to Madam President that I said I would say. A month or so ago I claimed that she had fled the country during a parliamentary session at taxpayers' expense to go to Africa. I had three parts of that right and one part wrong. She actually paid for her own ticket. I still think she should have stayed here when Parliament was sitting. She did point out to me that she paid for her own ticket and I did say to her that I would correct the record during felicitations. But I would make the point, as I made yesterday during debate, that if Parliament were much more accountable and open about these things in relation to freedom of information and questions of presiding officers, those sorts of mistakes could not be made.
I thank my personal staff and my family. On behalf of all of us, I thank all our families, who put up with much. I say to my son, Tom, who asked me to do this, that I am happy to say to Sterlo, Fatty, to the Chief and Reg Reagan, "That's gold". I say to Wil, Dave and Corrine: if you think that The Glasshouse is unexpected and fast moving, you ought to come and join this place. I am happy to acknowledge the contributions of everyone and to make the point in our 150th year that the one thing that binds us all as members of this place, as some of the hundreds who have passed through here over 150 years, is the desire to improve the lot of the people we represent. The Leader of the House made the point that most of the Parliament's work is constructive and non-contentious and I note the obvious: that it is the contentious and the divisive that attracts all the media attention.
I was bemused in recent times to see that a member of a minor party that will not be represented in Parliament after the next election from the upper House put out some statistics recently bemoaning the fact that so much legislation went through the Parliament with the support of both sides. Frankly, that is a good thing. The community would like to see more of that. It shows that Arthur Chesterfield-Evans does not seem to have learned much during his time in this place. I wish him well for Christmas and for his career after Parliament.
Parliament is an important place and accountability is important. We look forward in the spirit of felicitations to holding the Government to account over the next four months so that we can be a better government after the next State election campaign.
Mr PAUL CRITTENDEN (Wyong) [10.26 a.m.]: I thank the House for its indulgence in allowing me to speak on seasonal felicitations, which I like to call Christmas felicitations. I thank also the Leader of the House, having given my valedictory speech to the House last night. I thank my electorate staff, in particular, Ann Bokkerink, who has been with me for 12 years. She told me recently that when she started she did not like me but over time we have developed a good rapport. As many members are aware, electorate staff become a second family. The most worrying thing is that Ann now anticipates how I think, which probably is a good reason for me to leave. Colleen Michael has been with me for only four years but before that she was a ministerial staffer, which proves that some ministerial staffers are human. I have enjoyed her hard work and diligence. She has complemented our office in a great way.
As with all families, we have gone through ups and downs, but we have been supportive of each other on those occasions. Electorate staff are the unsung heroes of Legislative Assembly members because they carry the brunt of the hard work in the electorate office. There are fantastic people who work in this place. As I have said before, Hansard is the department of good English. If ever I have wanted advice on grammar or syntax, I have gone to Hansard. The Parliamentary Librarian, Greig Tillotson, and his staff are exceptional people, who do wonderful research and I hope that function in this place continues and is not part of the cutbacks. The library is crucial to any member, Government or Opposition, unless the member wants to use a prepared speech from the Minister's office. The cleaners are always cheerful and happy and do a wonderful job. As the Deputy Leader of the Opposition said, a myriad of people in this place do a great job.
I will not mention many of the people in the upper echelons in case it impedes the progress of their careers. Nevertheless, they know who they are. Although this place has a whole range of people who fulfil a role, the Legislative Assembly has four or five key personalities who make the place run. To them, my great gratitude. Much has been said about catering, and many of our good friends have taken redundancy, including Stefan Petkov, our Bulgarian mate from the cafeteria; Eric Bradley, who was a chef for more than 30 years; Lois and Gillian, who worked in the kitchen; Jonathan Nicholson, the redheaded fellow who was always good for a laugh; Santiago Rodriguez, a Spanish chap who, and I am not sure why, for the last 15 years spelled my surname with a "t" on the end of it; Ann Leslie, who worked in the Food and Beverage office; Walter Wormald, who was born in Germany and who, I have often suspected, is a very bright man; and Jorge, a Chilean mate. I have a special place for Jorge. When my son was about nine or 10 he was with me in Parliament House because he was too sick to go to school. Jorge found some cough mixture—I am not sure what it was—that made my day a lot easier.
Maureen Morgan, the maître d' of the Strangers Dining Room, is a wonderful person, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition said. Robert Anitelea, Niki and Galena, who work in the cafeteria, are exceptional people who make great milkshakes. It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge David Draper, who worked here for 23 years. A few years ago in Seasonal Felicitations the honourable member for Epping summed it up perfectly when he said that his abiding memory of David was his coming around in the early hours of the morning after a late sitting to collect trays. When we still had room service it was often David who would make a steak sandwich and deliver it to you. Obviously he was doing that to reduce the costs of this place.
I believe what happened to David is one of the more shameful episodes in this whole place. There was much whispering in the back seat, dancing in the shadows, and searching for missing paper clips, but, obviously, none was found missing. Pious words have been spoken in this place about helping Aboriginal people. With the possible exception of the honourable member for Canterbury, David Draper did more to help Aboriginal people in a practical sense than anyone else. He hired young Aboriginal boys and girls, trained them, skilled them up, and gave them self-esteem and self-respect. That is what public service should be about.
Over the past couple of weeks I have been embarrassed by the performance of the Opposition. I think members opposite are happy in their comfort zone, and I think they will remain in opposition when they come back. The other day when we were debating the new standing orders the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, who I am pleased to see in the House today, had a go at me for not making enough prepared speeches. I would have made more prepared speeches in this place if I had as much time on my hands as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has on his, but I have a life.
For the benefit of members opposite when they are back in opposition after 24 March, I make these few gratuitous comments about good governance. First, a good starting point for them, which obviously they have not worked out, is to look at the annual reports of the various government agencies. Second, do not treat the public service as your enemy. The spivs in the public service are only at the top. The people who do the work are generally the grade 8s to grade 12s. They work in the policy engine room; they are the ones who make things happen. They have the tapes, they have the photos, and they know where the bodies are buried. Members opposite should start making some links with those people if they want to be a good Opposition. On that gratuitous note, I wish everyone the compliments of the season.
Ms KATRINA HODGKINSON (Burrinjuck) [10.35 a.m.]: I cannot believe another year has gone by so quickly. It has been an extraordinary year. On many occasions this year I have spoken in this place about the drought in my electorate and how hard it has hit every family, whether they are involved in rural enterprise, as so many people are in my electorate, or a small business person relying on rural people to buy their products; or a service station operator whose sales are affected by the high price of fuel but who also relies on rural producers and small business people to fuel up at the service station. The drought has impacted everybody in rural and regional New South Wales. Probably no place has been affected as severely as the electorate of Burrinjuck. I pay a very big thank you to our drought support workers who have worked so hard this year—Dick Kearins from Goulburn, Lloyd Kingham from Wagga Wagga, and Jan Bruce from Cooma. What a thankless task they have. They have done outstanding work in our communities this year.
I also wish to thank the general managers, mayors and councillors of the regional councils within my electorate of Burrinjuck—Chris Corcoran, the mayor of Boorowa; David Phillpott, the general manager; Robert Gledhill, the mayor prior to Chris Corcoran; Paul Stevenson, the mayor of Goulburn Mulwaree, and Luke Johnson, the general manager; Len Tozer, the mayor of Gundagai, and Graeme Tickner, the general manager; Jan Vanzella, the mayor of Tumut, and Chris Adams, the general manager; Brian McCormack, the mayor of Upper Lachlan, and John Bell, the general manager; Nic Carmody, the mayor of Yass Valley, and Kerry McMurray, the general manager; and Phil Hockney, the new mayor of Harden Shire Council, Chris Manchester, the former mayor of Harden for most of the time over the last year that the drought has impacted the area, and Annabel Miller, the general manager of Harden Shire Council. Councils certainly feel the impact of the drought, as regularly councillors are seen throughout the community and people speak to them when they see them in the street. I thank every councillor, regardless of their political colours, for hanging in there and working hard during this extended drought. We have had only about 12 inches of rain this year when we should have had 22 inches, which is quite devastating.
I also thank the staff of the high schools and public schools in my electorate for serving the public education system so well this year. They include Tom Coll, the principal of Mulwaree High School; Jo-Anne Jones, the principal of Nimmitabel Public School, which is a little further to the south but we have had some contact with the school; Trudy Stephens, the principal of Rugby Public School; Jacqueline Crockford, the principal of Reids Flat School; Jennifer Smith, the relieving principal at Rye Public School; Ray Claydon, the principal of Sutton Public School; Graham Johnson, the principal of Goulburn South Public School; Paul Kenworthy, the principal of Goulburn West Public School; Sue Britton, the principal of Gundaroo Public School; Narelle Lloyd, the principal of Gunning Public School; Lynne Colett, the principal of Laggan Public School; Gillian Anton, the principal of Marulan Public School; and Lindy Ross, the principal of Collector Park School, which recently celebrated its 140th anniversary. What a wonderful day that was a couple of Sundays ago. Lindy does outstanding work. I thank also my mate Desley Rowley, the principal of Crookwell Public School, of which I am a proud patron. The school does wonderful things to promote relationships with the international community by taking in Japanese exchange students every year.
I thank the principal of Crookwell High School, Ray Jones, and the principal of Dalton Public School. Dalton is in severe drought at present, and everybody involved with the school needs a big pat on the back. I thank Jeanette Parker at Five Mile Tree Public School—that area is also in severe drought—Richard Batty, the principal of Goulburn Public School, David Sillett at Goulburn East Public School and Dr Phillip Reece at Goulburn High School. Recently we had a lovely women's breakfast club meeting at Goulburn High School, and the food and beverage training unit at Goulburn High School served us very nicely. I thank also Les Percival, the principal of Goulburn North Public School, and Clare Pritchard of Bowning Public School. Clare is doing a great job for the students, as are all the teachers and principals I have mentioned today.
I thank the new principal of Bradfordville Public School, Eric Patatoukos, and Richard Giles at Breadalbane Public School, which is a lovely small school. I thank Col Witchard at Boorowa Central School. Col was integral in organising the Boorowa netball and touch football carnival, at which Boorowa Central School and St Joseph's School put on a dynamic touch football and netball display. About 3,500 students from schools across New South Wales gathered at Boorowa to celebrate their chosen sports. I attended the sports day. We were expecting a Government member to attend but none turned up, of course. The day was hot and windy, and I think more flies were swallowed than food during lunch. Nevertheless it was a great day for sport in the region. Boorowa Central School and St Joseph's School did a fantastic job. Boorowa has been organising that carnival for about 40 years. I can remember as a child at Berinba Public School travelling to Boorowa to take part in the inter-school netball carnival. It was a great day.
Sharon Fahey at Binda Public School is doing a wonderful job, as are the principal of Bigga Public School, Christine Alderton, and the principal of Berinba Public School, Steve Harris. Berinba Public School is my old school. I also thank Peter Westren at Tallong Public School; the principal of Tarago Public School, Ian Quill; and the principal of Taralga Public School, Peter Hull. The Crescent School in Goulburn is a school for children with special needs. The principal, Ian Gallan, always goes out of his way to provide the best nurturing and care for his special students, and I thank him for another year of wonderful service. Sharon Williams is doing a great job at Tirranna Public School, as is Rod White, who is relieving at Wee Jasper Public School. I thank the principal of Windellama Public School, Rosemary Chapman, and the principal of Wollondilly Public School, Pamela Avery. Wollondilly Public School is one of the larger primary schools in the area.
I thank the principal of Yass Public School, John Ford—my mate John. Last Saturday afternoon we had a lovely time at the opening of the Kim Nelson exhibition at the Sheeps Back at Yass. John, we will miss you in the public education system after you retire this year. But you can retire in the comfort and knowledge that your students have performed in the top band of the years 3 and 5 numeracy and literacy exams. You are rightly proud of that. Members of the local community are proud of the job you have done to get the numeracy and literacy standards at Yass Public School so high. Well done! The principal of Yass High School, Paul Bills, is doing a great job.
I thank my electorate staff: the indefatigable David White, who is doing a wonderful job, and Liz Monk, who is always such a smiling, happy voice at the end of the phone and behind the counter when people come into my office. I am fond of you both, and I appreciate the hard work you do. Gillian Bucknell comes in one day a week. She is another bright, smiley, happy face. Gillian is on the land and is feeling the effects of the drought, with her wonderful husband, Sam, and their three beautiful daughters. I appreciate the work all of you do. Thank you for staying with me for so long. Let us hope that the next few months serve us well. I thank Hannah Bushell, who has been coming into Parliament House temporarily. It has been a baptism of fire and Hannah has done a good job.
To the other special people around me—Kate and Peter Walker, Katie and Michael Walker, Romney White, David Hain, Christine Ferguson and Alison Penfold—thank you all for your help this year. I thank Hansard; ITS; the security staff, who always greet us with a warm smile when we walk into the building in the morning; the clerks; the catering staff—I mention David Draper, whom we all miss; we share a birthday—Vanessa, Maureen, Maria, Charlotte and Jenny Sparkes, who have done a great job all year; the library staff; the cleaners; and the staff on the Legislative Assembly front desk. April, thank you for your sunny smile. I thank the staff in the offices of the Leader of The Nationals, the Leader of the Opposition, and all my State and Federal colleagues.
When members representing country electorates are serving their electorates within the confines of this building for so many days of a year their families suffer. I have two beautiful young children—Hamilton, who is nearly two, and Georgia, who is nearly seven—and a wonderful husband, Jack, whom I just adore. Jack, thank you for your tolerance again this year. I know it is not easy. I also thank the ABC Learning Centre at Yass Central School, and Mount Carmel Primary School for helping so much. To the Yass Early Child Care Association, informally known as YECCA, thank you for everything this year. To the Poidoven family, once again thank you for helping me out when I am in Sydney. Sometimes it is not easy for shadow Ministers—or, dare I say, Ministers, as it will be next year when the Liberal-Nationals Coalition attains the status of government—to juggle all the things they need to juggle.
We are looking forward to 24 March and I am highly confident that we will win. Frankly, after 12 years of a Labor Government, the people of New South Wales have had enough. They are sick and tired of the bureaucracy and the lack of care and attention given to regional New South Wales. I hear it every day of the week, and that instils me with great confidence for our leadership team. The Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of The Nationals have proven themselves to be caring, good, solid and sturdy leaders. Both of them are strong in their leadership styles and consultative. We are extremely fortunate to have two leaders of that calibre.
Mr Steve Cansdell: We are!
Ms KATRINA HODGKINSON: As the honourable member for Clarence says, we are extremely fortunate to have two such wonderful leaders. I thank the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and the honourable member for Ballina, who has done a great job this year. I thank all my colleagues for the wonderful work they have done. The Nationals are a close-knit group. We are all from far-flung parts of the State. We come together when Parliament sits and we have three-hourly meetings on Monday afternoons. We go out socially together and we have great communication between each other. There is no in-fighting, back-biting or factionalism. One possible reason is that we are so far away from each other when we are not in Parliament, whether in Lismore, Murrumbidgee, Burrinjuck or Wee Waa, so coming together as a parliamentary party is something special to us.
I value the friendships I have with The Nationals. I mention the two other girls in The Nationals, Melinda Pavey and Jenny Gardiner. Thank you for your friendship this year. We work well together as a unit. I look forward to the Coalition winning government next year and to Coalition members taking their rightful places on the other side of the Chamber. Mr Speaker, I wish you felicitations of the season and a very merry Christmas. Thank you for your service to the Parliament this year. Finally, once again I thank my family, Jack, Georgia and Hamilton. I also thank my mother, Rosemary, who has had a difficult year as my father passed away recently. My mother is an amazingly strong woman and has come back very well. Thanks, mum, for everything you do to allow me to make a contribution in this place on behalf of my electorate.
Ms PAM ALLAN (Wentworthville) [10.50 a.m.]: I have chosen to speak during Christmas Felicitations, which is relatively new and not something of which I have seen a lot over the past 19 years, rather than make a valedictory speech because I believe this is a joyous occasion. I think so not just because the parliamentary year is drawing to a close, which invokes genuine joy, but also because after 19 years in Parliament I feel joy as well as a touch of sadness associated with my decision not to recontest the next State election for the seat of Wentworthville.
This morning I will wish people well for Christmas and perhaps make one or two gift suggestions. First of all I wish joyous tidings to the people in my electorate of Wentworthville. My electorate is essentially the same as it was when I first became a member of this Parliament in 1988. I have been through a redistribution or two, but nevertheless the core parts of my electorate, the suburbs of Toongabbie, Pendle Hill, Greystanes, Girraween, Wentworthville and parts of Seven Hills and Winston Hills, have always remained within the electorate of Wentworthville. Like a tide, I have washed over those areas at various stages in the past 19 years. I certainly wish all the people in those areas well for the forthcoming Christmas Season and for the future, and I thank them for their continuous support since 1988.
I have said previously in this House and in other places that it is joyful to visit places in my electorate that were important parts of my childhood. I particularly want to mention Girraween Public School and Greystanes High School, the schools I attended throughout my entire public school education. Those schools are still within my electorate and I am delighted to note that they are still good schools. I wish the staff, students and school community well and all the best for the next school year. I also wish well the local branches of the Australian Labor Party in my electorate and the various individuals who have been supportive of me over the past 20 years or so. My political career has comprised not just 19 years in the State Parliament but also a four-year term as a councillor on Parramatta City Council and prior to that the preparatory period that is associated with all political careers.
In that context, I really only want to mention one individual, and that is Peter Herlinger, who was the first Labor mayor of Holroyd. I have made various speeches about Peter. He received a Premier's Award when the Premier and the Cabinet visited Parramatta less than two weeks ago. Peter Herlinger is a great person. He has a delightful family—his wife, Pat, his son, Robert, his daughter, Julie, and his daughter-in-law, Mary, and of course his precious grandson, Andrew. These people are absolute stalwarts of Western Sydney and the Labor Party. My Christmas wish for them is very good health for the rest of their lives.
There are other important people to whom I wish to send good Christmas wishes: Alan Overton, the President of the Parramatta Leagues Club, and Denis Fitzgerald, the chief executive officer of the club. All they want for Christmas is a wonderful season next year. I will continue to attend the Parramatta football matches and I certainly hope their Christmas wish comes true. I send Christmas wishes to Trevor Oldfield, who is the President of the Wentworthville Leagues Club. David Clark—this is a different David Clark—is the Chief Executive Officer of Wentworthville Leagues Club and he is a great guy. He is very involved in the local community. I wish David and Trevor tremendous success with the club, and I send my best wishes to their families.
Mathew Taylor is the chief executive officer of Keep Australia Beautiful, which is based in Parramatta. His staff, particularly Coleen McSorley, are fine people who deserve sincere good wishes for Christmas. Many honourable members know Mathew Taylor. From 2000 to 2006 I had the privilege of being the Chair of Keep Australia Beautiful, and a wonderful woman, Dawn Fardell, will take over as Chair this year. She will be very useful to that organisation in future fundraising by assisting lots of agencies to support the activities of Keep Australia Beautiful. Mathew Taylor has done a very good job in working with public servants and politicians of all political persuasions to ensure that Keep Australia Beautiful is successful. I know Mathew is sometimes a little weary because he currently lives in Matthew Morris's electorate of Charlestown and is commuting to Parramatta. He has a very young family. I wish him well with his future. I hope he receives for Christmas what he desperately wants.
I have to say that my electorate office at Wentworthville would not have survived without the kind ministrations of the shop next door. Len Dean is the dry cleaner. He and his colleague Christine Sharkey have been wonderful in keeping an eye on my office. As other honourable members have acknowledged—I recall it being mentioned in Bryce Gaudry's wonderful speech last night—there are challenges associated with electoral offices. All honourable members of this Chamber know just what those challenges are. It is sometimes torturous at the coalface when many people with complex problems walk through the door. Most of the electorate office staff across the State are female, and it is always handy to have a nice strong masculine shoulder to lean on. Len Dean has provided that as well as wonderful dry cleaning for many years. I wish Len and Christine well and I hope they have lots of customers between now and Christmas.
I send the Wentworthville optometrist Phil Moss and his delightful wife, Lorella, my best wishes. The glasses I am wearing came from Phil Moss Opticals. Phil and Lorella are a great team. Phil works for Parramatta Leagues Club as well. I wish Phil and Lorella lots of customers, because that is what they want for Christmas. I will slip in a little Christmas wish to Bernie Murphy, who is the boss of the RSPCA. I hope lots of people come to take pets over Christmas. One of the very delightful aspects of being a member of Parliament is that occasionally people like to give us gifts. Sometimes those gifts are great, and sometimes they are not so great. They are usually little gifts and are very symbolic. They are not expensive and they are certainly not worth more than $400.
But it is the little gifts that are sometimes very significant. Earlier this year I visited the RSPCA and Bernie presented me with a little black kitten, which my daughter subsequently named Missy. I have to say that Missy has made a great contribution to my family life this year, so I thank Bernie Murphy for his generosity and I commend the work of the RSPCA. I also commend the Government for this year providing increased funding for the RSPCA that will enable the organisation to work even more effectively. Thanks Bernie. Thanks Missy.
I send very sincere good wishes to my current and former electorate office staff. As many honourable members know, people who work for us have given longstanding service to this Parliament. At least one of my electorate office staff has enjoyed a career spanning 15 years and others have enjoyed careers spanning 10 years. My electorate secretary worked for my predecessor, Ernie Quinn. I particularly thank Kath and Ron Waterson, who worked for both me and my predecessor, and Cathy Parmeter. I wish Cathy greatness. She has a challenging life ahead of her. She may or may not continue to work for the Parliament—obviously the choice is hers—but I wish her good health and happiness with her family. I also thank Fifi Esber, who has worked for me for 10 years, and her family. One does not have a Lebanese staff member: one has a Lebanese family that also becomes part of the staff! I congratulate Fifi and wish her well. One day she will make a great wife and mother, and that is my Christmas wish for her.
I have to say that Bryce Gaudry did an excellent job last night of naming members of the parliamentary staff. That takes pressure off me because I certainly would not be able to remember all the names. I thank all of those he thanked and I completely endorse everything he said about them. I hope they all get what they want for Christmas. Obviously there are a couple of people whom I perhaps know as well as or better than Bryce and vice versa. I wish for Russell Grove a new tracksuit for Christmas. I am tired of looking at the old one; I have looked at it for a long time. I do not look at it closely, but I do see it on occasion when I am running around this place. It is time for a new tracksuit and let us hope that that is what his wife gives him.
I have had the pleasure of getting to know Les Gönye very well over the years. I wish him strong cartilage muscles for all the running he will do in the future. Greg McGill could also do with good cartilages. I wish Ronda Miller more time with her wonderful daughter, who is of a comparable age to my daughter. I know how busy Ronda is. I do not know Mark Swinson's peccadillos, so he is off the hook. Let us hope he does not have any; if he does we do not want to know about them. I hope he gets what he wants for Christmas. Bryce Gaudry mentioned Gladys Kleiner last night. I have only one wish for Gladys: robust health. The Parliament needs Gladys to continue a healthy and active lifestyle. Gladys, if you are listening, look after yourself. Lucy Gonano has provided tremendous service to members over the years and to me personally. I wish her well at Christmas.
I warn the library staff that I will ring next year; I will not be able to avoid it. I wish Greig Tillotson and his staff plentiful resources. I do not want to see cost-cutting in the library, because, as I have said often, it is one of the primary services in this place. It provided tremendous help when I was a shadow Cabinet member. Members opposite do not utilise it nearly as much as we did when we were in opposition.
Mr Daryl Maguire: Stop attacking us.
Ms PAM ALLAN: I cannot help myself. You know that, Darryl. I also particularly thank the committee secretariat of the Standing Committee on Natural Resource Management. We managed to cut a swathe through that committee. The staff have either left for other jobs or are taking redundancy. They are getting what they wanted for Christmas. At least two are taking voluntary redundancy. Louise Armstrong is going to Deniliquin to work. [Extension of time agreed to.]
Louise is getting what she wanted for Christmas, which is a new permanent job in the New South Wales public sector. Ian Thackeray and Chris Papadopoulos are getting their redundancy payments for Christmas. So I suspect they are going to have very good holidays. I will not get the opportunity to talk about Christmas 2007 because I will not be here, but I hope they have new jobs in the public sector as well. I wish retiring members continuous good health. My predecessor in the seat of Wentworthville died less than two years after he left this place. I do not intend to do that. I hope all retiring members a blissful life after politics and good health. Bob Harrison, the former honourable member for Kiama, visited me yesterday and gave me a lovely card expressing that sentiment. That is what it is all about. I wish good health to my fellow retiring members.
Friendship cuts across both retiring and continuing members and it is a very interesting concept in politics. I have had 19 years to think about this. It has had its ups and downs. I refer honourable members to Kim Yeadon's lovely speech last night, in which he referred to this issue probably more eloquently than I can. We have longstanding friends in politics who sometimes become longstanding enemies, and enemies who sometimes become friends. I have both of those at the moment. I have longstanding friends, but I also have longstanding enemies, and more recent friends and more recent enemies. It is something we must get used to, but that takes a long time. There are many wonderful members aspiring to be re-elected. I wish them one thing—the thing they want so desperately: success at the next election, and subsequent elections if that is their choice. We can talk endlessly about the expectations and beliefs honourable members have when they arrive in this place, but there is no opportunity to do anything about them unless a member retains his or her seat. There are so many friendly faces that I cannot possibly name them all. There are some on both sides.
Mr Daryl Maguire: Name them.
Ms PAM ALLAN: I will not name them, because it will go to your head, Darryl. I wish honourable members political success. Like Paul Crittenden, and unlike Katrina Hodgkinson, I believe the Labor Party will win the election. That means honourable members opposite will be in the shadow lands for a lot longer. That creates some challenges for people who have been there probably for too long. My time as a member of the shadow Cabinet was one of the most exciting times of my 19 years in this place. However, I wanted to do it for only seven years. Many honourable members opposite have been in the shadow Cabinet for much longer and it is probably time they did something else with their life.
I make particular mention of prospective members. I wish the Labor Party candidate for Toongabbie, Nathan Rees, lots of doorknocking. Get out there, Nathan. I wish Tanya Gadiel, who is also taking over part of my seat, continued success. I know she has been doorknocking, because she has doorknocked my electoral staff. They were very excited to see her. Tanya's warmth and success in her community will guarantee her success in a seat that we lost in 1988, when I was elected. I do not expect Tanya to be unsuccessful in Parramatta. I thank her for the friendship she has shown me. What a great Premier Morris Iemma has become. I have served under only two Premiers—Bob Carr and Morris. They have both been great Premiers and leaders. What Morris has demonstrated in the past few weeks in particular is a command of this Chamber that many people did not think anyone could achieve after Bob Carr. Morris has become a very formidable parliamentary performer. In addition, he demonstrates great warmth in the community. Unfortunately for honourable members opposite, I do not think they will be able to match that in the electorate.
Mr Brad Hazzard: Is this an objective evaluation?
Ms PAM ALLAN: Yes. I forgot Christmas presents! I do not know what to give honourable members opposite for Christmas because they are not getting political success. If they want to retain their seats, that is fine, but they are not getting any more success than that. I thank my family very much. Politics is very demanding. Honourable members understand it, but unfortunately sometimes our families do not. I thank my Mum, who is 91. I wish her continued good health. She has a wonderful sense of humour. She is delighted that I am leaving politics, although she has been totally supportive. The best gift a parent can give a child in politics is to join the local branch, and that is what my mother did. She joined the Toongabbie branch and I have always loved her dearly for that. She is smart enough to know that it is time I did other things in life.
Of course, I thank my partner, Phil. My daughter, Sidonie, is only just getting used to this place and I am about to drag her out of it. Sidonie and my son, Edward, are both political children—both born in the service and public service. Nevertheless, they are remarkably sane, which is excellent. I wish them all the goodies they would like for Christmas. I also have a prospective daughter-in-law, Alice. I wish her and her family well. She has a casual job as a checkout chick in Coles at Roselands. The other day the Premier visited the centre with a television crew to do some filming. That is where Morris Iemma shops. The community at large is going to be reminded of the fact that Morris is very good person who is very involved and well liked in his community. Your worst nightmare is going to come true next year, Brad! I am sure I have forgotten to mention important people. I mentioned Kim Yeadon earlier and I read the kind words he said last night. Mr Speaker, best wishes for Christmas and the future. At this point of the electoral cycle honourable members are focused not on Christmas but on 24 March. Let us hope they get everything they want for Christmas.
Mr SPEAKER: I congratulate the honourable member for Wentworthville on her valedictory presentation to this Parliament and wish her all the very best for her future career and the Christmas season.
Pursuant to resolution debate interrupted.
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