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  4. 5 December 2002

Special Adjournment

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SpeakersEgan The Hon Michael; Gallacher The Hon Michael; Gay The Hon Duncan; Dyer The Hon Ron; Jobling The Hon John; Samios The Hon James; Jones The Hon Richard; Pezzutti The Hon Dr Brian; Sham-Ho The Hon Helen; Saffin The Hon Janelle; Cohen The Hon Ian; Chesterfield-Evans The Hon Dr Arthur; Breen The Hon Peter; Moyes Reverend The Hon Dr Gordon
BusinessAdjournment


    SPECIAL ADJOURNMENT
Page: 7912


    Seasonal Felicitations and Valedictory Speeches

    The Hon. MICHAEL EGAN (Treasurer, Minister for State Development, and Vice-President of the Executive Council) [10.08 a.m.]: I move:

    That this House at its rising today do adjourn until Tuesday 25 February 2003 at 2.30 p.m., unless the President or, if the President is unable to act on account of illness or other cause, the Chairman of Committees, prior to that date, by communication addressed to each member of the House, fixes an alternative day and/or hour of meeting.

    I take this opportunity to thank all of those who have assisted the Parliament in its work during the year—especially the Clerks, the table officers, the staff of the Legislative Council and the staff of all departments of the Parliament. Each and every year they do a superb job, very often in difficult circumstances. This year is the end of the four-year parliamentary term and I thank them for their work not only during the year but, indeed, throughout the Parliament. I also thank my own staff for the tremendous assistance they give me. I am sure that on behalf of the House I can thank every member's staff in this place because they also work very hard and assiduously to ensure that the Parliament operates as well as I believe it does.

    I thank my ministerial colleagues, my backbench colleagues and the parliamentary secretaries for the superb assistance they give me and for the superb job that I think, by and large, all members of the House do. In particular this year I thank the Parliamentary Secretaries because they have certainly lightened the workload of Ministers. Sometimes I look back and wonder how the Ministers operated when there were only two or three Ministers in this House and no Parliamentary Secretaries. Going way back to the days when I was first elected to the other place, this House sat for only a couple of hours of an afternoon, and perhaps it was easier in those days.

    However, now that we probably sit longer than the lower House it would be completely impossible for a small number of Ministers to cope with the workload in this place. So I particularly thank the Parliamentary Secretaries. The Hon. Ian Macdonald has shouldered a huge amount of the legislative work this year and I am appreciative of that, as I am appreciative of the co-operation of all members of the House, including the Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the National Party.

    I again thank the Whips for a superb job. As the Premier pointed out at a Government caucus meeting recently, too often we are not aware of how vital the role of the Whips is in the running of the place. In the Hon. John Jobling and the Hon. Peter Primrose, the House has been very fortunate to have two excellent Whips assisting it. I thank all honourable members for their assistance and co-operation throughout the year. In particular, I thank the eight members among us whose terms are expiring at the end of this Parliament and who are not seeking re-election.

    There are two on the Government side, the Hon. Janelle Saffin and the Hon. Ron Dyer; there are three crossbenchers, the Hon. Alan Corbett, the Hon. Helen Sham-Ho, and the Hon. Richard Jones; and there are three Opposition members, the Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti, the Hon. James Samios, and the Hon. John Jobling. All of them can be proud of the contribution they have made to the Parliament. I do not intend to make comments about each of them specifically, other than my colleague the Hon. Ron Dyer.

    As honourable members will be aware, the Hon. Ron Dyer is the father of this House. I am one of the few members who was a member of Parliament when he was elected, so I remember his election to this place, taking the seat of the Hon. John Ducker. It is 23 years since John Ducker left this Parliament. To some of us who were here at the time, it seems like only yesterday. I have known the Hon. Ron Dyer for a lot longer than he has been in Parliament. In fact, he was one of the first faces and names I got to know when I joined Young Labor in about 1965. We were on different sides; he was a right winger and I was a left winger, and I thought the only thing worse than being a National or a Liberal was being in the right wing of the Labor Party. Young Labor, or the ALP youth conference as we then called it, was a very unusual organisation. There were only about 100 of us in the whole of the State, and that was at a time when we thought, at least in our saner moments, that the Labor Party might be doomed and might not even see out the decade.

    Young Labor comprised an unusual bunch of people, all of whom in their late teens were convinced that the world was in dire danger and most of whom were convinced that we could save it by the time we turned 30. We not only had to save it amongst all the external forces; we had to save it amongst one another, so we fought bitter battles. But I must say that the Hon. Ron Dyer—and he probably does not appreciate this point—was my first introduction to economic rationalisation. We used to meet every second Tuesday in Labor Party headquarters in Elizabeth Street. One evening the Hon. Ron Dyer moved a motion supporting the containerisation of our ports. I remember that my faction vehemently opposed that because it would cost jobs on the waterfront. So when the Hon. Ron Dyer moved the motion I was outraged, like all of my other left-wing colleagues. I even took a point of order.

    The President of Young Labor, whose name I think was Paul Keating, asked me what my point of order was. I said that the motion was out of order because it would cost jobs. He said, "That is not a point of order. Sit down!" However, during the course of the Hon. Ron Dyer's speech I saw the sense of what he was saying. I had never heard the term "containerisation" before—I just knew it was bad because it was being moved by a right winger—but by the end of his speech he had not only convinced me that our ports needed to be containerised, he had also convinced me for the first time to break ranks with the Left. So that was the beginning of my life of economic rationalisation.

    Throughout the Hon. Ron Dyer's parliamentary career he has exhibited the good sense that he exhibited on that occasion. He has been an extremely valuable member of Parliament and an extremely valuable member of the Australian Labor Party. He has served his party, the Parliament, and the people of Australia and New South Wales with great distinction.

    I also pay tribute to the other seven members who are leaving us at the coming election for their contributions to the Parliament. This House will certainly be a very different place and, I think, a poorer place for their departure. They are all leaving at an age when, at one time, one would only begin to contemplate a parliamentary career. So they all have a lot of life left in them, and I am sure they will distinguish themselves in whatever new activity or occupation they take up, just as they have distinguished themselves as members of this Parliament. On behalf of all members I thank them. I also wish everyone a very happy Christmas.

    The Hon. MICHAEL GALLACHER (Leader of the Opposition) [10.17 a.m.]: I have pleasure not only in offering felicitations for the season but also in putting on record my thanks to honourable members who are retiring for the contributions they have made to the Parliament. Indeed, I have been able to develop a good personal relationship with a number of them. As we reflect on the past 12 months, we think of the loss in our ranks with the passing of Doug Moppett. He was a great contributor to debate in this House, not only in the current Parliament but, indeed, throughout his time in the Parliament. I am sure that not only National Party members but all members of the House will reflect with sorrow on his passing. I suspect that it will be a long time before this House sees someone with Doug Moppett's ability and his real passion for the issues that made him synonymous with country New South Wales. Other members are retiring. I think all of us will miss the Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti's intellect.

    The Hon. Jan Burnswoods: Some of us won't.

    The Hon. John Della Bosca: She has just made the Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti's day.

    The Hon. MICHAEL GALLACHER: As the Special Minister of State points out, the Hon. Jan Burnswoods has just made the Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti's day. The Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti should be aware—not naming names—that some opposite have wanted to seize any opportunity to have him removed from the House in recent times, but the Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti has resisted challenges by taking very sensible and learned points of order during question time and during debate. His intellect showed out again. He was too smart for them and they could not trip him up.

    We are going to miss the Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti but, as he will detail to the House shortly, he will be replaced by a very capable person who will continue the intellectual debate that he has engaged in so often in this Chamber. I suspect we will all miss him when we get ill during the parliamentary session. He is the first person we go to for medical advice, and if we need help he ensures we get it. Many people in this Chamber have availed themselves of his assistance.

    What more can be said about the Hon. John Jobling beyond what has been said about him in previous farewell speeches. I have wondered at times who makes the decisions about the way this House runs—both for the Opposition and the Government. The Hon. John Jobling is undoubtedly a man of ability. At times it appears he has a never-ending source of ability to ensure that the House operates properly and freely. When we come back next year I am sure that his absence will be reflected in how the Legislative Council operates.

    I am pleased that the Hon. John Jobling will be only a phone call away if at any time we need advice about the best way to proceed. He will be sorely missed. I am sure the Hon. Jan Burnswoods will miss the Hon. John Jobling. I will never forget that great day when the Hon. Jan Burnswoods came across the Chamber to tell the Hon. John Jobling what she really thought of him. It was one of those really warm moments! It was an emotional side of the Hon. Jan Burnswoods that we did not know was there! It was very succinct and I am sure a number of us will remember that day.

    Without a doubt the Hon. James Samios is one of the real gentlemen of the Legislative Council. Over the past decade in particular, when there has been a greater reliance on members of the Legislative Council getting out into the community and interacting with various groups and stakeholders, who has been a greater advocate for the ethnic communities of New South Wales? One has only to go with Sir James, as we often call him, to any ethnic function around the State to see the way Jim is welcomed—and the respect he has for the ethnic communities flows both ways. He, too, will be sorely missed, not only by members on the Opposition side but by members of the Legislative Council in general. We will miss his advice and guidance on the sensitive issues that arise from time to time that require the expertise that he possesses.

    I am going to miss the Hon. Richard Jones's humour. I am sure the parliamentary garden staff are happy that they will be able to keep their hoses intact now. Be that as it may, there is no doubt that members of this Chamber will miss his humour and the unique way he has purported to represent the business community and the small business community. It is amazing how he has managed to get away with it for so long. I will miss his friendship in this place.

    The Hon. Ron Dyer has been a great contributor to maintaining the respect that the Legislative Council deserves. I came into this place when the Hon. Ron Dyer was a Minister and I will never forget his knowledge of sandstone and the way he was challenged on many occasions. At that stage I would sit on the backbench next to the Hon. Virginia Chadwick. The working relationship he had with the Hon. Virginia Chadwick was absolutely fantastic. I used to look forward to the times when the Hon. Ron Dyer and Virginia would go head to head. It made being a member of the Legislative Council very enjoyable.

    The Hon. Janelle Saffin is an absolute lady. She will be greatly missed by members on this side of the Chamber. We look forward to the contribution she will make later today and, beyond that, to the role she will continue to play on the North Coast. I am sure that with Hon. Janelle Saffin and the Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti out of Parliament, the mischief they will get up to on the North Coast will be something to be seen.

    I wish all members of the Legislative Council staff, who have been absolutely invaluable to all of us, the best for the Christmas season. Members of the Government have been challenging on issues but from time to time they have been prepared to accept the Opposition's reasoning for reform and for the way things should proceed through the Legislative Council, and I thank the Leader of the Government for that. I particularly thank Virginia Knox for her preparedness to work with the Opposition to smooth the passage of legislation. In this Chamber we have a far better working relationship with ministerial staffers than do members of the Legislative Assembly. There is not that adversarial approach in this Chamber, and that is the hallmark of how the Legislative Council works. I thank all ministerial staffers who are here and those listening upstairs for the work they have put in over the past four years and their preparedness to work with us. Of course, I wish them all the best in their new careers next year!

    The members of the Opposition behind me have put up a fantastic fight for the past four years. If there is any fairness, next year they will have the sun shining on their faces instead of on their backs when they take their seats in this Chamber. I look forward to working in government with all of you who are remaining next year. I look forward also to working with those of you are leaving, in the role you will play as community leaders. The Legislative Council staff have been our friends in ensuring that everything we do in this place works smoothly. I thank Lyn, in his absence John, Warren and all the members of the Legislative Council office for their assistance and guidance during the past 12 months in particular, which have been very challenging, and during the past four years. To all, thank you very much.

    The Hon. DUNCAN GAY (Deputy Leader of the Opposition) [10.28 a.m.]: On behalf of my National Party colleagues I join with the Leader of the Government and the Leader of the Liberal Party in wishing everyone well. I congratulate my small team, Jenny, Rick and Melinda.

    The Hon. John Della Bosca: It is going to get smaller too.

    The Hon. DUNCAN GAY: It will not. It is about to get bigger. The National Party is the first party to achieve gender equality in this House. The sad thing is that our impending success next year will mean we will lose gender equality, but at least we got there first. We could not talk in this Christmas Felicitations debate without expressing our sadness at the loss of Doug Moppett during the year. Everyone in this place and in Doug's area has expressed that emotion. The words spoken about Doug will linger. I am sure that Melinda, who has joined us in this place, will make a great contribution.

    I have two members of staff, Ben Hamilton and Jane Simmons. I shadow four Ministers and therefore, like many others in this place, rely heavily on my staff. What they produce, sometimes under the stress of a very heavy workload, not only makes us look better but is quite outstanding. I thank my colleague the Leader of the Opposition, Mike Gallacher, who has demonstrated a great ability to work with me. I concede I am not always easy to work with, particularly as I have very definite views on many matters. But Mike has been terrific to work with, as have the Coalition team. If our Victorian colleagues could have learned a little bit from us, perhaps the election result there would not have been nearly as catastrophic.

    I thank Government members for the way in which they work in this Chamber. This House is different from many other Houses of Parliament. Whilst the Coalition and the Government disagree on many things, there are times when we can lean across the table and talk to a Minister—Michael Egan and John Della Bosca in particular but other Ministers as well—on matters of interest to the people of New South Wales and take a bipartisan stance or, in conjunction with Ministers' staff, agree on how to fix a problem. I have appreciated that attitude of Ministers in this place. It is a practice that the Coalition, in government, would implement as well. It is a practice of this House that should continue. I think it happens only in this House. I have no knowledge that such goodwill has been extended across the table in the other place.

    Congratulations to Lynn Lovelock, the Acting Clerk, Warren Cahill and Mike Wilkinson, and the Legislative Council staff. My appreciation also to Madam President and the Deputy-Presidents. I always remember the Deputy-Presidents, because when I was a Deputy-President the President at the time, who never did much work, always forgot to congratulate the Deputy-Presidents. I hasten to add that I am not referring to the current President, who, I am sure, does a lot more work than the President at the time I was Deputy-President. He never did much work.

    The Hon. Michael Costa: That was Johno!

    The Hon. DUNCAN GAY: No. Johno did a bit of work. Madam President, congratulations. It is not an easy job, and, as a result, recognition of Deputy-Presidents is often overlooked. As a former Deputy-President, I certainly will not forget them. Special thanks to Stuart Lowe, who has to help all of us with our logistic support allocations. His achievements are incredible. I really do not know how he does it. Thank you to Hansard. We listen to many contributions made in this House, but the next day's Hansard proof of our speeches have an intellectual rigour that we cannot remember them having had at the time they were delivered—so much so that one of my former colleagues always circulated his Hansard speeches; he rarely spoke. People said he was terrific. They could not believe how such a great orator never spoke out of the House. Those of us who were there then would know why.

    Many thanks to the office of Parliamentary Counsel, which often has to sort out in a hurry what we send over. David Draper and the catering staff work incredible hours and are always friendly. Ian Pringle and the attendants are a good crew; they are just terrific. Katrina has just left and gone to Broken Hill. Her terrific personality has been much appreciated. Our thanks to the security staff—although some of them, peculiarly, do not seem to know who members of the upper House are!

    The retiring members have been a great group. I have enjoyed friendships with all of them, even though disagreeing politically with some of them. Richard Jones has always kept me entertained. I have carried around a bottle of Round-Up, and whenever I see Richard in the parliamentary gardens we ensure that the Round-Up is used effectively to get rid of weeds!

    The Hon. Richard Jones: You have not got at my balcony, though.

    The Hon. DUNCAN GAY: No, I cannot get onto your balcony. But we can look forward to kangaroo stew from now on. It is a taste sensation that will soon be enjoyed in Parliament House. Not all the good guys are on my side. Ron Dyer and Janelle Saffin are two people of great integrity. I just could not fault you. I have enjoyed my time here with you. Congratulations, and all the very best. Following the Hotel California incident I travelled to China with Janelle Saffin, to a place where no member of Parliament may ever have travelled. We were the death squad that the Daily Telegraph was going to take to. I led the trip, along with people from State Development and—

    The Hon. Janelle Saffin: Joe Tripodi and Grant McBride.

    The Hon. DUNCAN GAY: Yes, from the Labor Party. They were terrific, and worked like you would not believe! I really appreciated that time with them. I now turn to my Coalition colleagues, first John Jobling—Mr Machiavelli. I do not know why he would deliberately take the Parliament from one stage to another and then back, except to prove that he can. I will miss his friendship and the friendship of Jim Samios. You have been great friends. "Sir James" is an underestimation: it really is "Lord James" as far as I am concerned. There is no other way to regard him.

    Brian Pezzutti and I entered Parliament on the same day. We have agreed to disagree on quite a few things, but most people opposite would be surprised how many things we agree on. I love his wit. He has a great sense of humour. He is irrepressible and totally convinced and passionate about his beliefs. That, I think, is just terrific. I will miss him as a doctor. Some on the other side of the Chamber rather unkindly say, "Did you go to a real doctor or did you go to Pezzutti?" The advice and care I have had from Brian have been terrific. The alternative was Dr Refshauge!

    The Hon. Ian Macdonald: Or Ace!

    The Hon. DUNCAN GAY: Or Henry Tsang! I thank all members for their co-operation and friendship during the year. This has been a hard year, and we are about to embark on an election campaign, which is always a frenzied time. Today we have rain in the city after a lengthy drought. There is good rain on the tablelands. I am unaware at this stage whether it extends to the Western Division. I certainly hope it does.

    The Hon. Michael Egan: Is it raining at Crookwell?

    The Hon. DUNCAN GAY: It was raining at Crookwell this morning. I was talking to my mother, who said we had had terrific rain there.

    The Hon. Richard Jones: Run-off?

    The Hon. DUNCAN GAY: No run-off yet, but there would not be at this stage. This rain is a start at places like Inverell. It has been patchy across the State, but nonetheless there has been good rain. Last night I drove back over the Blue Mountains, where the effect of rain on the bushfires has been quite dramatic. So that is good. This has been a year when we have faced threats of terrorism as well as terrorist acts in Bali. These have not been pleasant times, but they have brought the community together. As we go into the Christmas period we will think of those affected by drought and bushfires and the families of those affected by the incidents in Bali.

    The Hon. RON DYER [10.38 a.m.]: I would like first of all to thank the Hon. Mike Egan, the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition for their kind remarks about me and my retiring colleagues. I have known the Hon. Michael Egan, as he indicated, for a very long time. I did not realise that this morning he was going to enter into a pre-emptive strike and reveal to the House, first of all, that he was a left-winger, which is a notorious fact so far as I am concerned. My first meeting with the Hon. Michael Egan is almost lost in the mists of time. And I did not realise this morning that I was going to be blamed for economic rationalisation.

    The Hon. Michael Egan is someone with whose views I have usually agreed over the years, but I believe that he is profoundly wrong regarding one matter. The Leader of the Government has said that he will remain as a member of this House until 2016 or as long as it takes to abolish the House. I happen to believe in the bicameral system of government, and I think that this House, in particular the committee system of this House, plays a useful role. Although I agree with Mike on most matters, that is one point of departure. I actually thought that containerisation was an issue advocated by our mutual friend Paul Keating many years ago, but I am being saddled with economic rationalisation. I thought I was a follower of the Chifley legend. Mike Egan is perhaps partly rewriting history, at least to the extent of blaming me for economic rationalisation. Some of my left-wing colleagues are saying that I have a lot of blame to carry if I am responsible for that change.

    My term of service as a member of this House commenced on 14 September 1979, obviously a long time ago. As has been mentioned, I am now the father of the House. My successor in that role will be Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile, who was elected two years after me in 1981. In case Fred is overawed by the awesome responsibilities of that office, I say to him that the fact he is to become the father of the House does not mean that the Hon. Michael Costa becomes his son. I have been here a long time and I have seen a lot of amusing things happen. I will tell just one story. I cannot tell you any more because my colleagues might not speak to me again.

    Shortly after I became a member, I was among the first group of members who moved into the parliamentary office building fronting the Domain. The Labor members had to decide how to allocate our parliamentary offices. A ballot, or perhaps more correctly a drawing of lots, occurred and was performed by the Hon. Johno Johnson, with the late Hon. Kath Anderson and the Hon. Dorothy Isaksen as the scrutineers. The outcome of that drawing of lots was surprising. The right-wing members of the caucus, including me, found themselves with offices along the Domain side of the building. The left-wing members of the caucus, plus the Hon. John Morris, who was offside with Sussex Street at the time, found themselves with offices on the other side of the building. The Hon. Peter Baldwin, later a Minister in a Federal Labor Government, was one of those disadvantaged left-wing members. Peter, who was quite a whiz at maths and statistics, worked out that the odds against that outcome happening randomly were many millions to one. From that time on we decided that the seniority principle was the better way to go.

    I sincerely thank my wife, Dorothy, who is in the public gallery, and our children, Andrew and Elspeth, aged 24 and 21 years respectively, who cannot remember me as a solicitor, only as a member of Parliament. A couple of months ago I was asked to speak to a group of social work students from the University of Western Sydney. They asked me to address three questions, the first of which was why I decided to go into politics. On that day, which was a sitting day, I was driving to the city with my wife. I said to her, "What do you think I ought to say?" She said, "Tell them you were insane at the time." I did, and they thought it was very funny. However, the serious answer I gave to the question was, "You cannot change the world but you can make a difference." I will come back to that shortly.

    I would like to thank the Hon. Peter Primrose, unquestionably the best Whip under whom I have served; he is highly conscientious and efficient. I also extend my regards to the Hon. John Jobling, who is retiring with me and with whom I have always had a good relationship. I thank my former ministerial staff and my present staffer Pam Ball, who was my private secretary when I was the Minister for Public Works and Services. Finally, I thank the Clerks, who make this place tick procedurally; Hansard, who have the facility to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, the Parliamentary Library; the dining room staff; the attendants, who administer to our needs constantly; and the ministerial drivers.

    I would like to extend special regards to my old sparring partner opposite, the Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti. We have said some fairly harsh things about each other from time to time. On one celebrated occasion, when I was admittedly under a severe degree of provocation, I referred to him as "boofhead". The Hon. Max Willis, in considering a point of order, ruled that the term implies a lack of intelligence and that it was on the borderline of being unparliamentary.

    The Hon. Michael Costa: So you can use it.

    The Hon. RON DYER: You can use it at your own risk. I have seen some impressive members pass through this Chamber. I would like to mention the late Sir Adrian Solomons, with whom I had a father-son relationship in some ways. We attended many constitutional conventions together and he was a consummate speaker on legal issues. I also remember the Hon. Richard Bull, with whom I travelled overseas investigating police promotions. Richard Bull is an example of a member who brings into focus what the Hon. Mike Egan said at the end of question time last Thursday, that is, that politics is largely a matter of timing. I regard Richard Bull as a very able shadow Minister and someone who would have performed well as a Minister, but he was here at the wrong time, when the Coalition parties were in Opposition.

    There are some people in the other place who will very much miss my departure from this House. I am thinking of Grant McBride and Paul Gibson, who tell what I would describe as bar stories about me late at night. The bar is not a place that I am known to frequent with any regularity, but I do receive regular intelligence reports. When they are in the bar brainstorming over their constituents' problems, they relieve the tension by telling stories about me. My favourite is that when I was an adolescent I went through a personal crisis when I had to decide whether to be a ballet dancer or a boxer. I resolved this conflict by deciding to be a boxer and ended up as, I think, a world light featherweight champion.

    There is one true story, and that is the Christmas card incident. The Hon. Michael Egan is ducking for cover. When we were in Opposition and the Hon. Mike Egan and I were shadow Ministers, the Hon. Mike Egan, assisted by the Hon. Paul O'Grady, a former member of the House, obtained, to use a neutral term, one of my Christmas cards. They wrote in it: "Bob, get ……, Ron" and sent it to Bob Carr. When he received it, he was more than a little surprised and wondered what he had done to upset me so much. He realised that someone was having a joke at his expense, and at mine as well.

    I said that I wanted to make a difference. Without puffing up my chest too much, I want to say that juvenile conferencing is something of which I am proud, although the Coalition can take some credit for that as well, particularly the Hon. John Hannaford. It gives a fairer deal to young people. I established juvenile detention centres at Dubbo and Grafton—not that I gained any pleasure from constructing such facilities. The rationale for doing so was so that young people would not be incarcerated many hundreds of kilometres away from their homes and be deprived of visits from family and friends. I restored the deleted child protection positions, although. I do not want to make a contentious speech on this occasion. I established what was then the Ageing and Disability Department, which is now known as the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care, and I created 383 permanent supported accommodation places for people with disabilities. Following that initiative, I received some very moving letters of thanks.

    My proudest achievement in public works—and this is partly contentious, or it was at the time—is the Conservatorium of Music, which I believe is a highly sophisticated and very successful building. The Treasurer will know that it was not erected without cost. It certainly does not look, as one critic said when I was going through the trauma of trying to get it built, like a cupcake on a plate. It is a truly magnificent building. However, I consider that my main achievement was not a ministerial achievement, but the contribution I sought to make to the committee system of this House.

    The Hon. John Ryan: The committee on committees.

    The Hon. RON DYER: In 1986 I chaired the Select Committee on Standing Committees, which was commonly called, as the Hon. John Ryan has just indicated, the committee on committees. That led in turn, albeit under a Coalition Government—I want to give credit when it is due—to the establishment of a permanent system of standing committees. In the last four years, since I ceased to be a Minister, I have been happy to chair the Standing Committee on Law and Justice, which in my view has produced some significant reports, of which I will mention only three. The first is the report entitled "Crime Prevention through Social Support. I believe that is the way to go to reduce crime levels and to deal with the problems of neglect, abuse and poverty, which are productive of high crime rates. The Government has partly sought to deal with the recommendations of that report through the Families First Program.

    The Hon. Michael Egan will know that the New South Wales Bill of Rights inquiry was not something that the Premier favoured. In fact, I think he was incandescent with rage the night it was set up. However, I was determined to get something out of that exercise. We recommended that there ought to be a scrutiny of bills function in this Parliament. That led to the Regulation Review Committee being upgraded to a legislation review committee with a scrutiny of bills function. That committee has been legislated for but it has not commenced to sit yet. It will in the new Parliament. I wish that initiative well, and I am pleased with that outcome.

    Finally I mention the recently released report on child sexual assault prosecutions, which contains, in my view and in the committee's view, worthwhile recommendations for reform of court procedures relating to child sexual assault. Among other things we recommend a model court to have more child-friendly procedures so that children are not intimidated in various ways that are inappropriate to their stage of intellectual development, for example, asking questions containing double negatives or hypothetical questions that the child simply does not understand. There are ways to deal with that, and in a detailed report we have made those recommendations. I pay tribute to my deputy-chair, the Hon. John Ryan, for his invariably constructive role, which has permitted unanimous reports during the last four years. The fact that they were unanimous has added an increased measure of credibility to them that has made the adoption of the reports' recommendations more likely, as has proved to be the case.

    I wish to make a final comment that is quite serious. During my parliamentary life, and my political life beforehand, I have always regarded myself as an adherent of parliamentary democracy. I regard that as something that should be guarded and as something that is very precious. I regard the recent raid by the Independent Commission Against Corruption of the parliamentary office of the Hon. Malcolm Jones as an appalling abuse. I believe that legislative attention is required to address that matter. I wonder what is left of parliamentary privilege if such an event is allowed to happen.

    I would like to add that, in arguing for the support and defence of parliamentary privilege, I am not speaking from some elitist perspective in favour of members of Parliament. We should all remember that parliamentary privilege is basically not our privilege but the privilege of the people. Just as legal professional privilege is the client's privilege rather than the solicitor's privilege or the barrister's privilege, parliamentary privilege is there so that we—who, after all, are the elected representatives of the people, not people who are appointed to some commission and who are not answerable to anyone in the way we are—are able to speak openly and fearlessly on behalf of constituents and their problems. We should not be open to the threat of being sued as a result of raising sensitive problems, as all of us have done over the years, that would otherwise leave us open to legal action. I regard that matter as serious. I hope that some legislative attention is given to it, as I have said.

    I thank all my colleagues of whatever party, especially the Ministers at the table, the Hon. Michael Egan and the Hon. John Della Bosca, the latter of whom I have also known for a long time and with whom I have always had a productive relationship. In politics one forms many friendships that are by no means confined to parties but are spread across parties. I convey my best wishes to all my colleagues who are both retiring and continuing as members of this place.

    The Hon. JOHN JOBLING [10.58 a.m.]: Before I commence my address, it is proper that I should move, according to tradition, the standard amendment that has been moved to the special adjournment motion. I understand that the standing and sessional orders may well be changed to include these stipulations and there will no longer be a need to move the amendment. In accordance with longstanding tradition and as the last amendment I move in this House, I move:

    That the question before the House be amended by the addition, at the end, of the following paragraphs:

    2 Notwithstanding the above, the President, on receipt of a request by a majority of the members of the House, that the House meet at an earlier time, must by communication addressed to each member of the House, fix a day and hour of meeting in accordance with the request.

    3. For the purpose of paragraph 2, a request by the leader of any recognised party or group is to be deemed to be a request by each member of that party or group.

    4. A request may be made to the President by delivery to the Clerk of the House, who must notify the President as soon as practicable.

    5. In the event of the absence of the President, the Clerk must notify the Deputy President, or if the Deputy President be absent any one of the Temporary Chairmen of Committees, who must summon the House on behalf of the President, in accordance with this resolution.

    It is a lovely day to make a valedictory address. The rains have come and someone up there seems to be pleased that we are making valedictory speeches, that it is raining, or simply that eight of us are leaving. I do not intend to reflect upon that. Indeed, it is difficult enough to contemplate how one reduces to 15 or 20 minutes almost two decades of service in this House on both sides of the Chamber, having been told that I am not allowed to attempt to reclaim the record. I have enjoyed my time this House, working with many members and facing various challenges. I hope at the end of the day it is said that I have achieved some good and that it is a better place at my going than it was before I arrived.

    I had an early introduction to politics. I recall when I was very young, when Liberal Party support was strong in Coogee and the electorate of Phillip, wandering around with my father letterboxing the area for the then State Speaker, Sir Kevin Ellis, and the Federal Speaker, William Aston. It was an interesting exercise, although I did not know what I was doing at the time; we simply took the bits of paper and put them in letterboxes. It is strange how nothing much has changed; I suspect that all members have done a great deal of letterboxing. I progressed to university, and because the study of pharmacy was what it was in those days I spent time at university and also worked for my master in his pharmacy. Saturday afternoons were dedicated to rugby or surfing, depending on whether it was summer or winter. I did not get involved in university politics, and perhaps that is a good thing. In those days the Student Representative Council was seen as a distant lot of crazy left-wingers intent on reforming the world and destroying the status quo. I wonder what has changed.

    On graduating, I looked at where we might go. We looked at practices in the country—in Cooma, Quirindi, Taree, Dubbo, Grafton or Coffs Harbour—and eventually decided on Scone. That led us to 30-plus years in the Upper Hunter, and I enjoyed every one of them. About 18 months later we moved to Muswellbrook and became involved, as one does in a country area, in every conceivable activity, from joining societies and organisations to restoring old houses and trying to serve the public. As it was in those days, today pharmacy is at the top of the list of professions or trades most trusted by the people. It is alleged that today's politicians join real estate agents, used car salesmen and other funny people at the bottom of the list. I have seen and enjoyed both ends of the spectrum.

    In the mid 1960s I became involved in politics with the Liberal Party at Muswellbrook. It was an interesting time. I recall that the party had an unusual bank account arrangement with the Country Party, as it was then. We all paid money into the account and during Federal election campaigns we drew down for Sir Allen Fairhill, the Liberal member, and during State election campaigns we drew down for Frank O'Keefe, the Country Party State member. I fear those days have vanished; it does not happen that way any more and that is sad. In 1968 I became involved in local government, as one does. Having criticised it for some time, I had the option to put up or shut up—so in my usual manner I put up my hand and was duly elected. I stayed involved in local government for almost 25 years, both with local councils and electricity councils in the Upper Hunter and later, to the shock of some in Newcastle, as the chairman of Shortland County Council for several years. Some of the Labor members in the Shortland and Newcastle areas still wonder how that came to pass, but things did improve.

    In 1969 Sir Allen Fairhill retired as Minister for Defence and from the Federal electorate of Paterson. That was the old seat of Paterson, which ran from Maitland to Port Stephens and Raymond Terrace up to just south of Tamworth to Colly Blue, Quipolly and back down through Merriwa and Branxton. It was a fascinating seat. Although at the time I argued it was three years too early for me, timing being what it was, I put my hand up and I well recall the day that 15 other people and I turned up at Singleton for the preselection process. As luck would have it, two of the nominees claimed to have almost 50 per cent of the votes each, but somehow I managed to sneak through and win. As the Leader of the Government commented, it was unfortunate that I lost the election by about 200 votes out of 66,000.

    At midnight on election day, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation decided I had won and that the then State member could resume his place in State Parliament. Unfortunately, while the ballot papers were being checked the next morning it was discovered that 100 of his votes were in my pile. Damn! Paterson was also one of the three seats in Australia that the breakaway Democratic Labor Party decided to use to punish the Liberal Party. Therefore, I got the party's third preference instead of its second preference. I often wonder what would have happened had the situation been different. I suppose it was beneficial because I stayed at home, got involved in the local community and saw my children and family more than I would have if I had been successful in my attempt to go to Canberra. Instead, I rusticated and enjoyed it.

    It was not until 1983 that I was afforded the opportunity to stand for this House. Originally 32 nominations were submitted for what turned out to be a memorable preselection process. Only four nominees would be successful. One later pulled out, leaving us with 31. In those days we divided the process into segments. In the first round nominees gave a six-minute speech and were subjected to five minutes of questions. As a result, 31 nominees were reduced to 20. I was lucky enough to survive the first round. We then started over again with a seven-minute speech and questioning for six minutes. I was nominee No. 13 in the second 20 and I pondered what the heck I could say to attract attention. The preselection team had been listening to nominees since 8.00 a.m. and the process was to continue until 5.00 a.m. the next day. They deserved an award! I told them a fairy tale, which I believe has since become party legend. It was a terrible risk, but it worked and I subsequently arrived in this place. My colleagues the Hon. Jim Samios and the Hon. John Hannaford and I have been accused by some of our Federal colleagues of being responsible for sending them a certain former Senator and now member of the House of Representatives. We have not been forgiven. I will leave members to work out to whom I refer.

    Things have changed in this House dramatically. When I first arrived we had five amanuenses, but that was soon increased to seven. Those seven amanuensis had to serve the then 45 members of the Liberal and National parties. How they worked out what work they should do is beyond me. We were doing very well at the time—our equipment had been upgraded and we had an electric typewriter, although we had no staff. They came later as a result of extensive discussions when we came to office in 1988. I was fortunate in 1988 to be appointed by my colleagues as the Government Whip. That was a risk on their part! I have enjoyed that role virtually ever since, both in Government and in Opposition, with a short break during our first term for about six months to take on the chairmanship of the Standing Committee on State Development. Certainly we produced a number of interesting reports in that time, including the marvellous coastal report.

    The Hon. Richard Jones: An excellent report.

    The Hon. JOHN JOBLING: Yes, it was. However, at that time my leader was not impressed and had some quite rude words to say. It was difficult to contain oneself and not reply, but with a change of 24 words and a change of chairman, Brian Pezzutti achieved the passage of that report and its receipt through the House. I am told that it is still the basis of much of the work of the committee. I also created some degree of fracas in the preparation of the first committee report on tendering. In that report there was a suggestion that I admit did enrage the Deputy Leader and Deputy Premier, Wal Murray. The question was asked: Why do we have public works at all? The bureaucrats reacted in the most astonishing way.

    It is vital that a Whip can count—Whips who cannot count do not survive for very long. Of all the modern scientific technologies that we have, the current pagers are absolutely marvellous. Honourable members would remember the first pager—we now have the third version and it still does not work! On 3 December I received an email, from an officer who will remain nameless, that stated:

    I have the test unit now. If you could give me a time and place I will demonstrate its functions etc.

    It struck me that that would be a lot of work, and I shall leave it to my successor to see whether there is now a pager that actually works. The original pager worked well—it had to because all the old-time colleagues knew every nook and cranny in this place in which to hide. They also knew how to sneak out of this place. It became apparent that the old pagers had a reasonable range—they worked at Government House, the old Hotel Wentworth, the Law Courts in King Street and occasionally a degree beyond. I recall many a member coming into this Chamber in short pants and flushed in the face, obviously having snuck out without telling anyone and just making it back in time for a division.

    As a Whip one has to keep one's eye on one's colleagues—to keep an eye on the sheep. Given a chance, those sheep will escape out of the paddock—and they do. However, most of them have been very good and I thank them for their concurrence in that regard. I think "Baa" might well be the response! The Hon. Ron Dyer commented on the number of committees that we have structured, and I am quite proud of that. We have a bicameral system; the Leader of the Government and I will continue to disagree on the desirability of a monocameral or bicameral system. He can keep his views; he will never succeed in changing the system. Nevertheless, I am pleased to have seen the introduction of the five general purpose standing committees. They were established for very good reason. They also sit as estimates committees. I believe that their range of inquiry will continue to increase.

    I have downloaded my maiden speech, which I delivered on 12 September 1984. I was considered to be rather pushy in those days. Not long before I became a member of this place new members had to wait two to three years before they were granted permission to make their maiden speeches. They were not allowed to say anything, they were a backside on a chair, they were a cipher at the Whip's call, and they were not allowed to ask questions or to interject. "It just wasn't done, old chap," they were told. So there was I, after about six months as a member, succeeding in delivering my maiden speech. I have since taken the view that we do not have enough members to afford the luxury of allowing even that short time for a member to become an active member of the House. It is interesting to note what has changed since I made my maiden speech in 1984. At that time I commented on the strengthening of the role of the Legislative Council and the reintroduction of legislation that originates in this House. I still concur with that statement. I repeat the words of John Mill, which I quoted at that time. He said:

    The consideration which tells most in my judgment in favour of any holder of power, whether an individual or an assembly by the consciousness having only themselves to conduct. It is important that no set of persons should, in great affairs, be able, even temporarily, to make their will prevail without asking anyone else for his consent.

    A majority in a single assembly easily becomes despotic and over-weening if released from the necessity of considering authority.

    Interesting! Not much has changed in that long time. In my maiden speech I spoke about roads, coal and related freight charges, water conservation, beleaguered dairy farmers, and the attitude of the then State Government in attempting to circumvent its own local government laws, the many ad hoc government departments—it really did not matter whether it was Landcom or Elcom, the names of which have changed and metamorphosed into new names, the list is endless—which were more than happy to circumvent the planning and environment procedures by whatever means were available. That was an interesting proposition, an interesting indictment. At that time I said

    Let me now turn to roads. Roads are, as honourable members know, the link and lifeblood of our country, whether it be in time of peace or war. It does not matter where one travels in New South Wales, whether it be in an urban area or a rural area, the roads are steadily but at an increasing rate falling to bits.
    Things are still about the same! The Treasurer has kept his reputation and carried on wonderfully. As I said at that time:

    No wonder this State has the reputation of being one of the highest taxing States in Australia.

    Treasurer, you have upheld a fine tradition. It is not my intention to go over the many issues I raised at that time, but it is interesting how everything changes but everything remains the same. I take this opportunity to thank my wife, Linde, who is present in the gallery this morning. My time in this place has been a long-suffering time for her—not being terribly sure of where and what and why, and whether I would be home. Living in the country made it more difficult for her and for my family.

    The Hon. Duncan Gay: She was probably grateful at times.

    The Hon. JOHN JOBLING: Duncan is probably right. It was a problem, and I will come back to that. He may have a solution for that problem. I thank all the members of my family, who, equally, had to put up with father's peccadilloes of not being at home and on many occasions not being able to attend the sporting functions that children, reasonably, expect a parent to attend. I did my best, and I think I have been forgiven for those failures. I would like to commend a few people from the Upper Hunter and Muswellbrook areas for their long-term support of Linde and me. I thank John O'Brien, who is now in Newcastle; Anne and Peter Daunton, whom many Liberal members would know; June and John Davies; Paul O'Neill, the President of the Muswellbrook Branch of the Liberal Party; long stalwarts Lou and Nan Craig; and John and Kathy Selcock, current members. It has been difficult to keep the branch together, but I have remained a member of Muswellbrook branch from the middle 1960s.

    I take this opportunity to thank the three leaders under whom I have served on my side of politics. I thank Ted Pickering and John Hannaford, who, in Government, gave me fair leave and licence to take some of the load from their shoulders and gave me freedom in running the House. That freedom continued under Michael Gallacher, whom I thank for that. It has been a joy to work with both the Liberals and the Nationals. Despite his gruff exterior, his well-carved Norman Breton French fishermen face, and a rather standing, yelling, determination to push one right to the limit, and threatening one to put a leg over the cliff—but, as a negotiator, he knows not to take the next step—I thank Duncan for his friendship, his comments and advice, not all of which was taken, as he would readily agree. Frankly, underneath all of that he really is a pussycat, a marshmallow.

    The Hon. Duncan Gay: I've been verballed!

    The Hon. JOHN JOBLING: Try him some time—he really is! I regret that after 22 March I will not be able to come back to the other side of the Chamber. I started in Opposition, I then moved to Government and I then moved back to Opposition. Let me say, it is much more fun in government! I regret that after 22 March I will not be able to be part of John Brogden's government team. I would have enjoyed seeing the now Leader of the Government sitting on this side of the House—one of the most effervescent, ebullient, jump-up-and-down, short-burst-of-energy persons I have ever seen. If the Treasurer is going to be here until 2016, I cannot think of a finer place for him to be in the interests of the State of New South Wales. I have enjoyed Michael Egan. In this House you can do many things—you can have an interrogatory across the table. I recall my first opportunity to engage him when we were in Opposition. He is actually quite good fun. He enjoys the banter; he enjoys the play. It is even more fun when you can get him off the script. What you can get out of him sometimes! He probably regrets it later.

    To my staff I would like to say thank you. I was fortunate to have one of the early staff in the House, and Katrina Hadjimichael has been with me for a long, long time. I thank you, Katrina, for all your work and effort. When Katrina first came to work for me I said, "You simply need to do two things: one, keep me organised; and, two, keep me in order." That is a fair ask. When Katrina took maternity leave it looked like we were starting a dynasty because her husband, Noel, then came to work for me for a period of 12 months or so. During Katrina's absence I was fortunate that Patricia Callaghan came to join me for about 18 months. I have been extraordinarily lucky in the staff I have had. They have always looked after me and done anything and everything I have asked of them—in fact, generally they had things prepared long before I even got round to thinking about wanting to do them.

    To all the officers of the Parliament, including those under Les Jeckeln and John Evans and his colleagues, I say thank you. I have enjoyed the friendship of most of the members of this House. I can honestly say there are probably only one or two people—I will not say it; I have just got doubts about it. I have been asked whether I will miss the place. I believe that after nearly two decades anyone who is honest must say yes. It has become part of your life; it has become ingrained in you; it has become simply something you do. I am sure that after 22 March I will wonder what I have forgotten to do, or where I am supposed to be, or what was that function I was supposed to be going to. I will think, "Damn it, have we got another committee meeting?" Actually I will not miss some of the committee meetings and the workload involved there. I wish my colleagues who continue all the best in their committee deliberations. There is one question that I suggested to Duncan he might like to ponder. This is one that I am sure Linde would like him to answer. Linde is looking for somebody to tell her: What is she going to do with me after I leave here?

    The Hon. John Della Bosca: National Party—

    The Hon. Duncan Gay: National Party vaporiser.

    The Hon. JOHN JOBLING: The offers are coming already! I am not quite sure that they are quite right. Of things incomplete, there is probably only one. I had intended to put a private member's motion on the notice paper relating to living wills. I had started work on it, but I confess and apologise that I never did get around to dealing with it. I will have to leave that to a successor to deal with, and I hope somebody will take it up. It is quite clear to me that all members who have come into this House have come here perforce of the party system. Because of the proportional preferential electoral methods we have in this House, every member here owes his or her seat to the party under which they stood. It is something that all members need to be reminded of when they forget how they came to be here. Loyalty to one's party and the return of that loyalty is something that should be given freely and taken as rote. But, unfortunately, from time to time that has not been so. In conclusion, I return to a quote that I virtually concluded my maiden speech with. It is attributed to Abraham Lincoln. I have to say to you that that is a false attribution; the quote was given by the historian at Ford's Theatre and more correctly should be attributed to the work of William J. Boetcher, a clergyman from Erie, Pennsylvania. I am sure you will recognise these words:

    You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred. You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money alone. You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence. You cannot help a man permanently by doing for him, that which he can, and should do for himself. But in these days of high inflation and high income tax there is not much incentive left for any of us, whether we be individuals, in big business, or small business. Private enterprise, like we individuals, needs incentives and in its case the profit incentive, the opportunity to earn reasonable but not excessive profits.

    Those words encompass many of my thoughts today, as they did in 1984. I have enjoyed my time here. I wish well those members who are continuing. May you enjoy your service to this Parliament and the people of New South Wales, and the privilege of serving, as much as I did.

    The Hon. JAMES SAMIOS [11.27 a.m.]: After some 19 years in the Legislative Council of the oldest Parliament in Australia, I thank the House for the opportunity of speaking on the occasion of my valedictory speech. Much has happened since my arrival to this Parliament in 1984 as second Liberal on the Coalition ticket led by John Hannaford, followed by John Jobling and Beryl Evans, and including Richard Bull and Judy Jakins of the National Party. Today, only John Jobling, Opposition Whip extraordinaire, and I remain from that Coalition ticket of 1984. Whilst much has happened during the 19 years in Parliament, I believe that possibly the most important thing that has occurred in this Chamber has been the transfer of the balance of power from Legislative Assembly to the Legislative Council, as we had predicted, with the emergence of 13 members on the crossbenches. This has been a challenge not only for the crossbenchers but also for the major political parties and their leaders: for the Leader of the Government, Michael Egan, and the Leader of the Opposition, Michael Gallacher, and his deputy, the Leader of the National Party, Duncan Gay. In Plutarch's Lives it is recorded that Solon, the ancient great lawgiver, reflected that men keep their promises when neither side can gain anything by the breaking of them.

    Solon would fit his laws to the citizens so that all should understand it was more agreeable to be just rather than to break the laws. I believe that our leaders have played a pivotal role in balancing the legislative needs of the State with the pragmatic realities of ensuring the numbers to pass legislation that comes from the crossbenches. The Leader of the House, Michael Egan, has displayed great resilience, diplomacy and political skill in facing the realities of the new balance of power. He has also had to face the reality of being matched on the Opposition side by the Hon. Michael Gallacher and the Hon. Duncan Gay.

    I refer also to the important role that multiculturalism has played in underpinning the social cohesion of our nation. In the 1970s, on the occasion of the Australian citizens conventions in Canberra, when Peter Heydon was secretary of the immigration department, I first came to grips with the move towards multiculturalism. Up until then Federal policy had been a policy of assimilation. The conventions of 1970 in Canberra, under the aegis of Peter Heydon, moved to a policy of integration. People coming to this country were able to relate to their language and culture of origin and contribute the best of that to the core values of Australian society—the values of law and order and the value of a constitutional government in a Westminster system under a constitutional monarchy.

    Subsequently, I became Chairman of the Ethnic Communities Council of New South Wales, a position which I held from 1972 to 1982. I was later appointed by Michael MacKellar as Chairman of the Migrant Settlement Council for New South Wales—a position which I held from 1979 and 1981—and as Chairman of the Community Refugee Committee of New South Wales, a position which I held from 1979 to 1982. Later, in a private capacity, I visited refugee camps on the Thai border and saw, first-hand, in camps like Koi Dun and Sa Kao, the plight of refugees looking to migrate to a safe haven like Australia. I was later appointed by Ian Sinclair as a member of the Special Broadcasting Committee, a position which I held from 1981 to 1983.

    On entry to State Parliament I was privileged, as Parliamentary Secretary, to work with Premier Greiner and Attorney General John Dowd on the racial vilification amendments to the Anti-Discrimination Act 1989 until the review in 1979 when Premier Fahey was leader. I also had the privilege of working alongside George Souris, who was then Minister for Multicultural Affairs. I was able, with Stepan Kerkyasharian, the then Chairman of the Ethnic Affairs Commission, to work on the principles for a culturally diverse society.

    In 1991, when I was a member of State Parliament, I was appointed by Federal Labor Minister Gerry Hand to the ministerial committee for the provision of language services. I believe that that aspect of bipartisanship played a pivotal role for parliamentarians. Another important aspect has been the need for society to reflect on the decision-making process of the changing composition of a multicultural society. Another aspect of multiculturalism is reflected in the inclusiveness of our religious and secular celebrations. Today Australians attending Jewish Hanukkah celebrations would find people of many religions, just as they would find people of many religions if they attended Ramadan feast days, or Lord Buddha's birthday, which is known as Vesak day or Deepavali, the Festival of Lights, for the Hindu community.

    Australia is home to people from some 230 ethnic groups. We can be proud of their contribution. As one would expect, there have been some tensions, but those tensions—to the surprise of many—have been little compared with the great contribution that has been made by multiculturalism. Finally, I want to thank a number of people. I thank my secretary and assistant, Gloria Klein, for her support over the years. I thank the parliamentary attendants who have all been courteous in their assistance. I thank John Evans, Warren Cahill, Lynn Lovelock, and the staff under them for the good service that they have given us.

    I thank Rob Brian, Greig Tillotson and others in the library. It has been said that we have the best parliamentary dining room in the Southern Hemisphere. Tribute must be paid to Mr Draper for that. Last, but not least, I thank members of my family—my wife Rosemary and my son Milton—for their support over the years. I also thank those community leaders who have been so generous in their dialogue with the Parliament in the structures in which I have been more notably involved—the arts and ethnic affairs. I believe that that dialogue with them has extended in a positive fashion.

    Overall I believe that the people of New South Wales must be thanked. They have seen this Parliament undertake a number of new initiatives. They have stood by and watched how those initiatives have fared and how the balance of power has moved. They can be proud that this Parliament has acted positively and correctly in that regard. I thank John Brogden, Leader of the Opposition, for his important contribution to the democratic process. I thank my leaders in this House, Michael Gallacher and Duncan Gay who, over the past four years, have played a significant and important role in our democratic system. I wish everyone in the Parliament a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

    The Hon. RICHARD JONES [11.39 a.m.]: Many things have changed since I was elected to this House in 1988 as a Democrat. That was the beginning of the Greiner era, with its many changes the way in which the State was run. Lis Kirkby and I effectively held the balance of power and we negotiated many changes to legislation. The then Leader of the House, Ted Pickering, once told me that we saved the Government from itself. I used to have regular meetings with Nick Greiner—just the two of us in his office over coffee—and we often ended up arguing about issues. But he did listen. He did some remarkable things, not because I did deals with him—he never did deals nor did I try to do them—but because he believed it was the right thing to do. He once asked me to block a piece of National Party legislation. I tried but I could not do it because the Labor Opposition would not support me! So Nick Greiner missed out on that occasion. There is no doubt that the many reforms implemented by Nick Greiner made the running of this State more efficient and may explain why he is now earning more than a million dollars a year in the private sector.

    Whilst the Greiner and subsequent Fahey governments were not nearly as green as the Carr Government, we still had a number of significant environmental wins, especially under Tim Moore, and some good wins under Chris Hartcher. The National Party was the stumbling block and Garry West swore that he would never allow another stick to be added to the national park system. Unfortunately, any environmental wins in those days were in spite of the National Party. The National Party is of course a very different animal these days.

    It was the state of the environment that led me into politics in the first place. I became radicalised when I saw what was happening to the high dunes of Myall Lakes and I started campaigning on this issue in late 1971 with the Myall Lakes Committee, together with Milo Dunphy and many others. I left a job in which I was being paid more than I am today to campaign full time and it took 16 years to get into this place. I chose the Australia Party at the time, funded and founded by Gordon Barton and Ken Thomas, because it was the green party of the day. This later merged into the Australian Democrats.

    I was twice elected as an Australian Democrat on the preferences of many smaller parties, whom I committed to represent as well. In March l996 just after the Federal election the State Executive of the Australian Democrats voted to have the Federal Executive expel me. The reason was that I wrote personal letters in support of two Labor candidates in the Federal election—one of whom I went with to Tahiti to oppose nuclear testing and the other was a member of the Wilderness Society. The Democrats had done a dirty deal to direct preferences away from them to anti-green Liberal candidates. The Democrat leader, Cheryl Kernot, was also saying disgusting things about two long-term friends of mine, both Greens candidates, Bob Brown and Professor Peter Singer. I was advised that the motion to expel me would be successful so I resigned before the vote was taken.

    I might say that since then I have offered three times to rejoin the Australian Democrats. The last time I sent a cheque and a membership form. I never heard back—not a phone call, not a letter. I heard second-hand that they had rejected my application—mind you, I was happy being an Independent. My workload and my voting pattern did not change: I remained a Democrat except in name. I came into this place an idealist wanting to save the planet. I am still an idealist and even an optimist but I realise it may be impossible to save the planet as we know it today. Huge areas of forest in New South Wales have been cleared under both the previous Coalition Government and under this so-called "green" Carr Government. Countless birds have lost their lives, countless other wildlife species have died and more species are heading towards inevitable extinction.

    This is true in other countries too. Vast areas of the Amazon have been cleared for cattle in the past 15 years. Gigantic areas of rainforest to the north of Australia have disappeared Every time people buy Indonesian teak furniture they contribute to the destruction of the rainforest. The future of the orang-outangs looks bleak indeed—almost all their habitat has been cleared or is about to be cleared. The greenhouse effect is already upon the planet. It is now beyond doubt, although some doubting Thomases still will not believe it even when Pacific islands go under.

    This is the era of the sixth great extinction event. The difference is that these extinctions are not caused by an external event—for example, a giant meteor—but by a rogue species inhabiting the planet. Humans are to the planet what cane toads are to Kakadu—an utter disaster. In the long term it will not matter: Biologists whom I have talked to believe humans are on the road to extinction anyway. Whilst we will take very many other species with us when we go, there will be a re-balancing of life on this remarkable planet just as occurred after the five previous great extinction events. Life will start again with the remnants and after several million years once again there will be extraordinary biodiversity on this planet, different from today’s life forms but just as amazing. With a bit of luck the most intelligent of these new life forms will not set about destroying the other life forms as humans have done.

    On a more mundane level, I am very disappointed with the Carr Government. It had the opportunity of being a genuinely green government and of making a real effort to slow the catastrophic decline in our environmental quality. But it has compromised and compromised down to the lowest common denominator. This may be explained somewhat by the fact that Bob Carr does not actually run this State, as many people believe. The State is actually run by Roger Wilkins and the Cabinet Office, just as he ran the previous conservative Government. Governments come and go but Cabinet Office goes on forever. I was told by one senior ministerial adviser that when a minute goes into Cabinet Office it often comes out the other side unrecognisable. A Minister complained to me that Roger Wilkins sits in on Cabinet meetings, unlike during the Greiner era when he had to stay outside. One adviser told me that they regarded Cabinet Office as the evil empire. I asked a member of Cabinet Office, "If the Premier wants something, does he get it?" His reply was, with a totally straight face, "He does have some influence".

    We have had two conservative governments in a row and this is largely because Cabinet Office and Treasury have an inordinate say in the running of the State Government. From time to time we see the Premier and his Ministers get their way. It is usually when there is a political imperative. Suddenly what Treasury and Cabinet Office say is pushed aside for the greater good—that is, political good. This was evident in the decisions on Callan Park and the reversal of the sale of Hunters Hill High School. Maybe some more correct decisions will be made in spite of Treasury and Cabinet Office. Maybe we will be able to do the right thing by the people of Sydney and put filtration into the M5 East tunnel and into other tunnels in Sydney. The Roads and Traffic Authority [RTA] has been extraordinarily obdurate on this issue. It has constantly misled the Minister. One of the most extraordinary admissions in an answer to a question on notice was that the RTA had no knowledge of the number of tunnels filtered in Japan. Its officers had visited a single tunnel and appeared oblivious to the fact that dozens of other tunnels are filtered in Japan.

    I believe that the RTA needs a good shake-up. It is a nonsense having one entity intent on building more and more roads separate from another government department concerned with public transport. We urgently need to merge these two departments to find the most effective way to move people around the State, in particular in the city of Sydney. Thanks to the RTA, between 1,000 and 2,000 people are dying in Sydney every year from air pollution. Most of the dangerous air pollution in Sydney comes from diesel vehicles. During General Purpose Standing Committee No. 5 hearings the CSIRO gave evidence to the effect that 80 per cent of this diesel pollution comes from faulty vehicles. Yet when our committee asked the RTA to institute a compulsory scheme to check diesel emissions as part of the checks undertaken for re-registering vehicles, the RTA refused. It has an opportunity to save hundreds of lives in Sydney each year with a simple administrative procedure, yet it has refused even that.

    If the RTA was truly serving the people of this State and not acting as a self-serving bureaucracy resistant to change, it would have ensured that compulsory diesel vehicle testing was undertaken as soon as the facts about the dangers of PM2.5s became known. As soon as the extraordinarily high pollution rates within the tunnel became evident, the RTA should have acted—if only to protect its own employees—to fit electrostatic precipitators [ESPs] in the tunnel. Japanese, Norwegian and Australian companies would be happy to tender for ESPs. Terry Metherell once told me that in order to change a bureaucracy you sometimes need to destroy it first—and he had a very good go at it. That is rather like something Niccolo Machiavelli would have written 500 years ago.

    The RTA is somewhat like the Tasmanian Hydroelectric Commission, whose sole purpose in life was to build more and more dams regardless of the effects on the environment or on energy needs. We need a new entity perhaps entitled Transport New South Wales, which would include within it rail—both light and heavy—ferries, buses, cycleways and roads, both private and public. We might then get some sense into the system of moving people and goods around the State. It would also save taxpayers hundreds of million dollars a year.

    Another bureaucracy needing urgent reform is the Department of Health which, would be more aptly named the "Department of Ill Health". The department's latest blunder is breathtaking in its implications. It has set up the Health Claims and Consumer Protection Committee under the chairmanship of Professor Dwyer, of all people. Professor Dwyer has been bluntly outspoken in his attacks on all aspects of complementary health care. His bias is so evident that it is extraordinarily inappropriate to have him chair what can only be termed a witch-hunt. He has roundly condemned traditional Chinese medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine is at least 5,000 years old. The words doctor [yi] and medicine [yao] appear in the written Chinese language at about 2500 BC. Emperor Shen Nong—3494 BC—is accredited with being the first herbal doctor.

    The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic or Huang Di Nei Jing, which was written between 200 and 300 BC, included the first explanations of the pathological concept, diagnostic method and treatment strategy. This 5,000-year-old healing art has been based on empirical data accumulated over millennia at a time when Europeans were walking around naked painted with woad and hitting each other over the heads with the leg bones of mammoths. Chinese materia medica today is the most advanced natural pharmacopoeia in the world in terms of natural substances having medicinal value, whether of plant, mineral or animal origin. Some 5,767 medicinal entries are registered and studied in the three-volume encyclopedia Zhong Ya Zidian, published by the Shanghai People's Press.

    Acupuncture, which is also under attack, may well have been in place for 10,000 years as acupuncture tools have been found dating to that period. Whilst Professor Dwyer may rubbish acupuncture, the World Health Organisation recognises over 40 conditions that benefit from acupuncture. The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic is the earliest book describing acupuncture as we know it today. I have benefited from acupuncture, as no doubt have other members of this House. Ayurvedic medicine, which also goes back over 6,000 years, is the oldest known system of medicine. It is referred to in the Rik Veda, the oldest surviving book of the Indo-European language written in 3000 BC. It was placed in written form by Shaktavesha Avatar of Vishnu. In the sixteenth century Paracelsus, who was regarded as the father of modern Western medicine, practised and propagated a system which borrowed heavily from Ayurveda. Ayurveda is a widely and successfully used system of healing in India today. My wife, Jo, and I will avail ourselves of the opportunity to benefit from it on our trip to Kerala early next year.

    Homeopathy is also under attack, as usual. The royal family has been using it since the 1830s. Use of homeopathy in the United Kingdom is growing at 39 per cent a year. A British consumer organisation surveyed its 28,000 members and discovered that 80 per cent had used some form of complementary medicine and that 70 per cent of those who had tried homeopathy were cured or improved by it. The British Medical Journal recently published a survey of British physicians and found that 42 per cent referred patients to homeopathic physicians. A survey in France revealed that 11,000 French doctors use homeopathic medicines and that 25 per cent of the French public have used or are presently using homeopathic medicines. Their use is widespread around the world, especially in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

    Aboriginal bush medicine, also used for thousand of years, is far more complex and sophisticated than most of us realise. Fortunately, we are all beginning to benefit from those thousands of years of knowledge. Traditional Tibetan medicine, called Sowa Rigpa, has also been practised for over 2,500 years. Professor Dwyer is a Johnny-come-lately when it comes to complementary medicine. He specialises in a small fraction of the total spectrum of allopathic medicine and has no experience whatsoever in traditional medicine. It is true that many of these traditional medicines and practices have not been double-blind tested, but in many cases they have been used for thousands of years and have stood the test of time.

    Western medicine, which is relatively new, has made many ghastly mistakes, for example, thalidomide or the current rash of unnecessary operations. The hard dogma of science can blind some people to other valid sources of information and well-tried and tested modalities of health care. The failings of modern allopathic medicine are precisely the reason why so many are turning to traditional medicine. Allopathic medicine is very crude. People with the flu attend a doctor and receive a prescription for an ineffective antibiotic. The doctor almost never inquires about diet, state of mind or why the immune system is down—he or she almost never takes a holistic approach. Thousands of people die every year at the hands of doctors.

    There is an epidemic of multiresistant golden staph in intensive care wards which is killing untold patients and yet ancient Aboriginal bush remedies such as melaleuca alternifolia, tea-tree oil, or backhousia citriodora, lemon myrtle, might well provide the answer. Have they been tried? I doubt it. Hospital food is so bad it beggars belief. No thought is given to what would hasten the recovery of patients. Unbelievably, hospitals have Coca-Cola machines in them as well as machines selling appalling junk food. What we really need is an inquiry into the tragic failures of modern allopathic medicine, not highly successful complementary medicine.

    Another department needing urgent reform is Agriculture. It is way behind the times and seems to pay little regard to what is happening overseas. I had a fascinating insight into what is happening on the ground after a visit to Nullo Mountain last weekend. A number of land-holders in that area are getting involved in niche crops—most of them organic—and producing their own products for retail sale. They are diversifying away from cattle and mono crops into multiorganic crops. The Department of Agriculture pays only lip-service to organics, not being aware apparently that it is the fastest growing business in Europe. Instead, it has been promoting genetically engineered [GE] crops. I question its motivation.

    At meeting after meeting, both here and overseas, farmers have rejected GE crops. We have the chance to produce genuine clean, green GE-free organic produce for hungry European, Japanese and American markets, which are growing up to 70 per cent a year. However, the Department of Agriculture is spending its energy promoting GE crops, which will destroy the organic growing of those crops. We need a leaner, greener department of sustainable agriculture, which is market-orientated and which does not waste taxpayers' money on already well-established production systems. It is quite extraordinary that the department is still promoting the battery hen industry. It supports other cruel systems that are being phased out in Europe. The department needs a revamp to get it into the twenty-first century.

    Recently, the Minister for Education and Training launched Safer Solutions—integrated pest management for schools and child care centres—written by my wife, Jo Immig, who is in the Chamber, which has been distributed to 8,000 schools in New South Wales. If implemented it will make schools so much safer for our children. Another project that is needed is one in which children are introduced to the cycle of life in the school grounds. Some children have no idea where their carrots come from. A small section of the school grounds should be set aside for the organic growing of vegetables and fruit so that children can gain a connection to the land and develop an empathy with the farming community. I hope that this project is implemented soon in schools across New South Wales because, apparently, pesticide use in schools is still harming our children.

    Whilst the Government has declared hundreds of thousands of hectares of new national parks—an initiative we all welcome and applaud—we are still a long way off meeting the nationally agreed criteria for the establishment of a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system for forests in New South Wales. As was agreed, the general criterion should be protection of 15 per cent of the pre-1750 distribution of each forest ecosystem. As of now we have only 6.76 per cent of the Janis targets protected in the State and some of that is subject to mining anyway. The accepted international target is 10 per cent of each bioregion. The situation out west is much worse, with protection ranging from as little as 1 per cent to under 5 per cent of bioregions. The Government has squibbed on Pilliga and Goonoo, caving in once again to the forces of destruction, which seem to win many of the environmental battles in this State. Money wins and the environment loses.

    Under the stewardship of Eddie Obeid we are doing better with our marine parks. Currently, 2.2 per cent of our marine coastal environment is protected in sanctuary zones. Whilst that compares with Victoria's 5.3 per cent, we will undoubtedly do better than Victoria eventually, with several new parks on the drawing board. We need to explain better the message from researchers and scientists that sanctuary zones where fish can grow in size and breed at a faster rate mean there will be more fish available in areas outside those sanctuary zones for those who wish to fish. It will become obvious in the years ahead that there are more fish. But if we demonstrate the scientific knowledge now, it will make the battles for these vital sanctuary zones so much easier. It truly is a win-win situation. The National Parks Association has a target of 20 per cent of each habitat in a reserve system, which is extremely reasonable.

    During my term in Parliament grey-headed flying fox populations, which have dropped by 30 per cent, are now threatened. Ten years ago there used to be many flying foxes up north where I live, but no longer does one see them in those numbers. We used to hear neighbours shooting them illegally and there was one report of people having to walk almost knee-deep through carcasses of flying foxes that had been killed in one orchard. Both illegal and legal killing have decimated their populations and, unbelievably, the National Parks and Wildlife Service is still allowing them to be shot. Farmers have had years to net their crops or use proven deterrent devices and many have. There is no excuse to issue licences to kill a threatened species. Flying foxes are vital in the regeneration of forests, as State Forests would aver.

    Recently, I talked to Jerry Coleby-Williams from the Royal Botanic Gardens who informed me that the Royal Botanic Gardens acknowledges that flying foxes are an important and integral part of our ecosystem and that they will not be culled. He told me that he has spoken to the Premier about a system called organic botanic, which will result in the Royal Botanic Gardens soon becoming totally organic. That will provide a model for other botanic gardens around the world. I hope that the Premier and the Minister take up that proposal.

    The Carr Government treats our native wildlife in a very cavalier fashion. Whilst the Government reluctantly passed my legislation to stop the duck season, it brought in another duck season by the back door in negotiation with John Tingle. Just as many ducks are being killed by recreational shooters today as were killed before the end of the duck season, and that is a disgrace. John Tingle and others on the hard right always had the ear of the Premier, and that is why we ended up with the shameful game bill, which promotes the recreational shooting of animals. Anyone who requests a licence to kill wildlife gets it without question. The current situation with kangaroos, wallaroos and wallabies is quite appalling. The drought is killing them in huge numbers, yet the Government is still allowing the survivors to be shot commercially. It is an international disgrace.

    The Minister who can make the biggest positive impact on the environment in the long run, apart from Eddie Obeid, may well be Kim Yeadon. His carbon trading legislation has the potential to create vast new forests in New South Wales and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions more than is happening in any other country. State Forests, which is gearing up for massive plantings in New South Wales, is to be congratulated on its new hardwood forest plantations that are doing so well. Minister Yeadon is to be congratulated on his wonderful efforts. I came into Parliament to do what I could for the environment, particularly for the animals.

    I have also been involved in drug law reform, but still 18-year-olds in this State can be gaoled for having a single joint, which leads to a high risk of their being raped and acquiring AIDS. The hypocrisy of Government members is unbelievable. Most of the Government members in this place have used marijuana at some time in their lives. They admitted that to me, but I will never reveal their names. Even if I were tortured I would never reveal the names. Fortunately, none was gaoled. It is absurd that marijuana is illegal while tobacco, which kills 50 per cent of its users, continues to be legal.

    The Carr Government is just another conservative Government intent on gaoling more and more people, getting tougher and tougher on young people, turning New South Wales into a police State, and not addressing the fundamental causes of crime. Whilst I have found it exhilarating and an awesome privilege to be a member of this place, it has also been intensely frustrating. I have gained an insight into how government works or does not work. Many welcome changes could have made these years an extraordinarily progressive time for the people of New South Wales, but that has not happened. The Government had the numbers to do anything it wanted but did not take that advantage. The ultraconservative view almost always won out. The small progressive changes that have been made have had to be fought for tooth and nail.

    One thing I have learnt in this Chamber is that you should not dislike people merely because they have a different view of the world. Amongst the members of this Chamber there are a number of complete opposites. I understand that in the Wran days Labor party members were not allowed to talk with Opposition members or, heaven forbid, sit with them at lunch or dinner. That at least has changed, perhaps as the two major political groupings have virtually merged. I used to be quite unkind to Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile in the early days, and obviously he and I differ radically on very many issues. Indeed, we are at the opposite ends of the spectrum. Fred and I do agree on some issues, thankfully. I have grown to like and respect Fred and to understand him better over the years. Whilst I utterly disagree with him on so much, I admire what one man has been able to do. I really like his wicked sense of humour, which was so evident the other night.

    I have found it fascinating that I can like and get on with members of this Chamber whose views are utterly opposed to mine. It goes to show that you should not allow people's views to be an obstacle in your relationship with them. Crossbench members represent an extraordinary diversity of interests and are able to present a wide range of opinions. Extremes of community views as well as all shades of opinion in between are represented in this House. All sections of the community must be represented in Parliament, and that is why the upper House is such a valuable forum. The Government generally speaks as one, and the Opposition speaks as one or sometimes two. The crossbench members often speak as 13 when members of the same party express different views.

    It has been a great privilege to represent the people of New South Wales in the Legislative Council for the past 15 years. I thank the Democrats for giving me that chance. I have tried to do what I came to this place to do, but it has been a very difficult task. Recycled paper is widely available, no thanks to me. Hemp clothes are to be found in stores across Sydney. Many more national parks have been created. Recycling has reached Parliament House, and there is even vegetarian food on the Parliamentary menu largely thanks to Janelle Saffin, who was starving.

    I thank all my parliamentary colleagues and their staff for your friendship. I have really enjoyed being here and I have enjoyed your friendship. I admire all of you for what you do. You are grossly underestimated in the media. All the members I have met during my 15 years in this Chamber have worked hard. I know that those who have not been regarded generally as hard workers nevertheless have worked extremely hard behind the scenes. We all have different views, but we can still be friends while maintaining our differences. I would like to thank very much the Clerks, the Legislative Council procedure office, the Usher of the Black Rod, the Legislative Council administration staff, the attendants, and the committee staff. I like these people and I do not want to name individual persons. I have a lot of friends among the staff and if I mention one of them I will miss out on someone else.

    I want to apologise to Hansard for 15 years of torture, which is now at an end. They can have acupuncture now and be ready for the next session. They are the ones who have suffered most from my being in this Chamber, and I apologise to them for that. I wish I could have learned to speak more slowly. I also want to thank the catering staff—David and his staff—security and the cleaners, particularly the woman from Ollantaytambo in Peru, an obscure village that probably no-one else in this place has ever heard of. It is a beautiful little village that I had visited. She is a wonderful woman. I also thank the gardener for looking after our plants on the balcony, which will now disappear to Manly or up north, except perhaps the larger one. That is open for negotiation. Who would like it?

    The Hon. John Ryan: Is it legal?

    The Hon. RICHARD JONES: It is still legal. It is neither a noxious weed nor a—

    The Hon. Duncan Gay: Buy a bottle of Round Up.

    The Hon. RICHARD JONES: You may even get high on it. I do not know. I will find out, if you like. I could do some research on it. Last but obviously not least I want to thank my own precious, hard-working and amazing staff, Jeni Emblem, Christine Black and Barry Davies, and my previous amazing staff, Kath McFarlane, Sally Girgis, Nigel Stanier, Nicole Hertogs, Tanya Van Bosch, Genevieve Slattery, Veronica Green, Aldis Ozols and Jane Millett.

    The Hon. John Ryan: Remember Aldis!

    The Hon. RICHARD JONES: Aldis is fantastic. He is a very bright guy. He is amazing on the computer. And a big thank you to my adorable wife, Jo Immig. And the future? I am not going to retire. The word is not in my lexicon. I am not going to go away. Jo and I will work together on many issues both here and overseas, and may even form our own organisation. Green issues will increasingly hit the news as the greenhouse effect takes its toll. Hopefully, the impact of the Greens will also rise and the Democrats will rise again. The planet needs the Greens to counterbalance the forces of planetary destruction. I want Conservative members of this House to realise that there are no jobs on a dead planet.

    The Hon. Dr BRIAN PEZZUTTI [12.07 p.m.]: In 1988 I came into this House with Virginia Chadwick as my leader. The second person on the Liberal-National ticket was the Hon. Bob Rowland-Smith, followed by the Hon. Marlene Goldsmith, myself, the Hon. Duncan Gay, Helen Sham-Ho, Stephen Mutch, and then Michael Barnes, a very good friend of mine, who missed out by a whisker. The only two on the Opposition side who remain from that ticket are the Hon. Duncan Gay and me. Duncan Gay can report to the Leader of the National Party in the other place: Mission accomplished—Pezzutti is on the way out.

    The Hon. Duncan Gay: He asked me this morning.

    The Hon. Dr BRIAN PEZZUTTI: Did he? I thought he might have. After I came into this House I said in my maiden speech:

    I find it an attractive liberalism that emphasizes mutual efforts, the right of all people to equality of opportunity, equality of access to programs—sometimes extensive—to make that right a reality; a form of liberalism that emphasizes our obligations to respond to needs while we pursue the creation of wealth and the enhancement of human potential. It is a philosophy that values liberty, which dedicates itself to the task of empowering human beings, a philosophy that emphasizes truth, tolerance and generosity. It has ideals that seek to promote empowering individuals.

    I hope that during all of my service in the Chamber and as a member of Parliament I have pursued those goals. At that time I also spoke of how my people came to this country. Last evening I shared with my daughter, who is present in the gallery today, the speech that was given in 1881 by the Colonial Secretary to Italian internees in the Domain. He spoke to them about their need to find a job—it did not matter what it paid so long as they got a job; to get out and go their separate ways, rather than moving together as a group; and to learn English and the ways of the English people because that was the only way they would progress.

    The rules for staying in the Domain—in a wooden exhibition building at the time—were that they had to be there to answer the call at 8.00 a.m., 1.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m. and they were not to go to any other part of the quarters, except with the approval of the superintendent. They were not allowed to leave the Domain unless they got a job. It is fascinating that almost everybody approved of that at the time. The Government had saved these internees from death and was laying down the rules on how they were to operate after their arrival in this country. Under those rules, if they found a job they took up a one-page employment contract, a copy of which I hand to the Minister for Industrial Relations. Under that contract of employment, which referred in part to "the person for the first part, the person for the second part", an internee received £20 per year, paid quarterly, to be a useful person. The contract would also provide for an internee's family, his wife and three children. Importantly, at the end of five years of such service these people were to be granted by the State of New South Wales a house of four separate rooms and, according to the Government Gazette of the day, 20 hectares—not acres—and more land if they were more worthy. What a way to bring people to this country. Sure, it was assimilation, but it was a fair method of dealing with the needs of the day.

    The New Italy Museum is up and running due to the generosity of the Greiner Government and particularly the Fahey Government, and also to a donation from Maurice Iemma. The museum celebrates the settlement of New Italy, which was established by Henry Parkes, and the school was established in 1883 by means of a document signed by my great grandfather—who did not sign with capital As or capital Ps—and a local resident. The form used to establish the school was a one-page document on which there were about three signatures, and that was it. It is quite different these days when bureaucrats have to go through every tumble and turn. The New Italy Museum has been visited by large numbers of people in this Government and other governments. I encourage the Treasurer, who has never come to Lismore when I have been there, or has never let me know he is coming so that I could host him, to visit the museum. Maurice Iemma has been a constant visitor, as have the Governor and Governors-General. The museum should be seen.

    I came to this Chamber intent on fixing a number of things. I wanted to stop the North Coast being the forgotten north, and to an extent I have failed in achieving that goal. I also wanted to cure the problems with health care and to fix the Pacific Highway. At last the Pacific Highway is being given some form of appropriate funding. However, the forgotten North Coast of this State had, and still has, the lowest per capita income of families anywhere in Australia. We have been through a period of terrible expansion and rapid population growth without the benefits of infrastructure development. We were just getting there under the last Fahey Government but again we crashed. I was not successful in getting the Treasurer to produce a North Coast budget statement, even though I asked him every year when we were able to speak in reply. We on this side of the House have not been able to speak in reply to the budget for the past two years because that is the way this Government runs the Chamber. Each time I have asked the Treasurer, "Where is the North Coast budget statement that you promised in 1991?"

    The Hon. Michael Egan: You convinced me it was a bad idea.

    The Hon. Dr BRIAN PEZZUTTI: No, I knew it would be a joke. However, I came here at a time when the doctors were in dispute with the Government. We had seen the crash-and-burn effect of Laurie Brereton, and the very good stewardship of Unsworth. I recall the very decent Ron Mulock having to carry the can at the last minute when Neville Wran and Bob Hawke had to apologise profusely on television, withdraw the section 17 legislation and pay up. I well remember when nurses were in turmoil. I can vividly remember the huge demonstrations before the Coalition came into government in front of Sydney Hospital and at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. At that time nurses were losing heart and walking away from their work, as they are now.

    I have achieved some successes since became a member of this House and I would like to mention a few. One success was in relation to the distribution formula for health funding. I own the idea about a population basis for health funding. That idea came to me following a discussion with Dr Harris, who was the North Coast regional director at the time. Dr Harris said to me: "Brian, if we got our fair share of funding, both capital and recurrent, we would be laughing because we are so efficient up here. Our length of stay is shorter, and a bigger number can be treated." As I mentioned in my maiden speech, we were able to put more people through the same number of beds. Dr Harris made clear that the quality of care would be better than anywhere else if we just had our fair share. I took that idea to Peter Collins and he said it was a fair idea. Eventually Peter Collins wrote to me—action does not take too long when your party is in government and you have got can-do Ministers—on 13 February 1990 and said:

    It is with this in mind that I approve the use of the resource allocation formula to guide funding allocations beginning 1989-90. My aim is to redistribute health resources over a 10-year period towards those areas of the State experiencing rapid population growth.

    I mention that only because this year we are getting there. We were almost there in 1995 but the Government took a step backwards with Dr Refshauge as Minister for Health. This year, for the first time I believe, if I accept the rhetoric of the department, everybody on the North Coast, plus or minus 2 per cent—and on the North Coast it is usually minus 2 per cent—is getting their fair share of the cake. That cake is cut up in a different way to that arranged by Peter Collins but the funding process is more transparent. I was able to achieve that main goal of ensuring that we got our fair share. I was also able to achieve a return to the section 22 committees and peer review in our hospitals, without the information within that review process being discoverable for use in courts.

    I hold a copy of the latest copy of a report entitled "Safety of Anaesthesia in Australia" by the death under anaesthesia committee. Obtaining secret and confidential information is the only way to find out why people are dying, what the morbidity rates are, and what is happening. In 1984 one in 26,000 people died of causes associated with anaesthesia, yet in the 1997-99 report the rate is one in 79,509, most of whom were at the highest level of risk. Nobody under the age of one died in New South Wales of anaesthesia-related causes in that period. That is remarkable, and the co-operation of members and their ability to work in an open and confidential way within the committee enabled us to achieve those results. These are the best figures in the world by a long way, on the basis of the 130 cases being investigated in which anaesthesia played a part in the death of a patient admitted to a hospital in Australia. That is due to the work of Bernie Amos and Merrilyn Walton from the Health Care Complaints Commission in convincing Peter Collins and the Government that notwithstanding Laurie Brereton taking away that protection and privilege we could actually do things that were beneficial. That is the basis of all peer review and all quality assurance programs, and is recognised by the current Minister for Health in relation to risk management.

    I contributed to securing and completing negotiations for Peter Collins on the Mental Health Bill in 1990. Ron Phillips and I negotiated with every community group uphill and down dale for almost 15 months until we reached full agreement. We came into the House with a new bill. Lis Kirkby wanted to amend the bill, but we got it through almost unamended because we had widely consulted on it. It was the best we could do to provide treatment and care to people with mental illness in the least restrictive environment. However, Peter Collins wanted to exclude a couple of things from the bill. For example, he wanted to exclude hypnosis. Ron Phillips and I did the negotiations, and we could not for the life of us find out what harm hypnosis was doing. We could not find any evidence. So we wiped hypnosis from the bill. Peter Collins also wanted to ban psychosurgery, which was in the bill initially. I had that taken out in the party room after a major effort. The party room listened under Greiner. Ministers were locked into Cabinet decisions, sure, but there was a way to get the party room to vote against a Cabinet decision. That was not with Ministers walking out or Ministers being there, but getting views aired and discussed in the party room. We were also able to roll Nick on a couple of other things, like big trucks on little roads, and so on.

    The Hon. Duncan Gay: And conveyancing.

    The Hon. Dr BRIAN PEZZUTTI: Yes, conveyancing. I was able to get a few things done as well. I was able to get funding for the second New South Wales branch of the AIDS Council outside Sydney, which was established on the North Coast because it was necessary. We put up the argument and Peter Collins funded it. Importantly, we were able to get help to fund the collection of information to be included in the worldwide study on intensive care morbidity and mortality, which was called the Apache II trial. That was the first time we were able to get critical care processes in place to collect information on a big scale and to get databases that mean something. In the Apache scoring process we were able to demonstrate that morbidity and mortality rates were better for seriously ill patients in New South Wales than for equally seriously ill patients in America or, indeed, elsewhere in the world. That was one basis of being able to demonstrate that we were better.

    Establishment of the pain clinic at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital was one of my big wins, as was the new hospital at Port Macquarie. I remember John Hannaford and Ron Phillips sending me to face the people of Port Macquarie on the green at Port Macquarie to explain that they were getting a brand new hospital that would be privately owned and operated but look just like other public hospitals. I copped a fair bit of good humoured and bad humoured criticism, but the reality is that that is exactly what was built. The hospital that was built at Port Macquarie is bigger than Coffs Harbour hospital; it cost half the money in real terms, comparing the cost in today's dollar terms; and it operates more efficiently because it is a more efficient building. At last this Government, forced by an inquiry I was doing into value for money and quality of services in country areas, sent Mick Reid to Port Macquarie and guaranteed that the people of Port Macquarie would get their fair share of mid North Coast money, and be properly funded after years of neglect by Refshauge.

    Refshauge kept including in recurrent funding the cost of renting the building not from Mayne Nickless but from another company that owned the building. It is no wonder Port Macquarie was $7 million behind the eight ball. At last it will get its fair share and Port Macquarie hospital will look as it should, that is, a public hospital. The only thing that is missing is quality mental health services. The Government must change the Act to allow a private company to operate public mental health services. I believe I had an impact on the swimming pool legislation. Again, I had the agreement and strong support of Nick Greiner simply to make the bill comply with the Australian standard. In doing that, I lost my friend John Valder along the way. John Valder was appalled—

    The Hon. Charlie Lynn: Did he drown?

    The Hon. Dr BRIAN PEZZUTTI: No, he did not drown. I crossed the floor on the swimming pool legislation without criticism from my party. The vote took place close to preselection but my crossing the floor did not have an impact on my preselection because it was something I believed in passionately. I explained that to the party room and the party room was happy. The only trouble was that when I crossed the floor Ted Pickering said, "It's fine, have a bit of a jolly." I said, "But I'll win." He said, "No you won't, mate. Can't you count?" I said, "Of course I can count." So I crossed the floor and I was sitting where the Hon. Dr Peter Wong is sitting. I was feeling a bit anxious about it all when the Labor Party came in and supported me, thanks to the work of Grant McBride in the other place. Suddenly Pickering stood up and said, "What? What? What?" He did not realise that if one vote is taken from this side of the House and put on the other side of the House that makes two. Poor old Ted could not work that out. Then he had a go at me because he thought it was just a song and dance that would not make any difference, but it did.

    I had to fold on that issue when we ended up with an unstable lower House being controlled by some strange people. The Independents were so bound up in their own persona they could not see the wood for the trees. I helped to open the Jali Aboriginal aid centre on Cabbage Tree Island, which was the first aid centre opened by the Coalition Government. I notice the Government has opened quite a few more aid centres. It was important to allow Aboriginal people to start controlling their own health services after the establishment by the previous Labor Government of Aboriginal medical centres at Blacktown, Redfern and La Perouse. The new centre established at Casino by the Government and Andrew Refshauge was most welcome.

    Let me tell you about the creation of the position of chief nurse. I went to see Peter Collins and said, "What sort of nursing input are you getting into this show?" He said, "I don't know. We have the departmental advisers." The nurses were a critical group for the Coalition when we came to Government in 1988. I said to Peter Collins, "I have had a bit of a look. There are quite a few nurses in your department but they are in human resources or the corporate support section down on levels three and four. You have no internal management of advice on nursing." So Peter Collins said, "Let us have an office of chief nurse." Along came Judith Meppim, who served this State extraordinarily well, and who retired last year.

    Linked to that, I was strongly in favour and supportive of Ron Phillips' idea of creating the position of nurse practitioner. Ron bore the brunt of that change—a change we needed to make. He and I are both very disappointed that there are still only two nurse practitioners in New South Wales at present. One of them is at the children's hospital in Western Sydney, which was not the aim at all. So after eight years of Labor Government there are still only two nurse practitioner positions. We fought that through the Australian Medical Association and with the nurses. We got our act together with the College of Nursing, but there are still only two nurse practitioner positions.

    The Hon. Duncan Gay: Where is the other one?

    The Hon. Dr BRIAN PEZZUTTI: The other one is working in mental health services near Gunnedah. Another thing I was able to do was to convince Ron Phillips that we needed a research funding base for infrastructure in New South Wales. The State does not fund medical research or basic research at all; research funding comes from the National Health and Medical Research Council [NHMRC]. However, I was able to convince Ron Phillips that, instead of the centenary institute putting in a big bid to construct the Garvan Institute building or something, we needed a firmer basis on which to move forward transparently so that smaller organisations could get their act together and make a bid. That was driven by Nick Greiner's concern that all the research money was being allocated to Victorian institutes by the NHMRC and the national institute. The only institute in New South Wales that was getting any base grants was the Garvan Institute.

    So the Coalition Government allocated a large amount of money. The current Government, to its credit, has continued that funding under the same arrangements, and the funding is allocated not in a palsy-walsy way but on a proper contracting basis. That is good. I give credit to the Government—I give credit where credit is due—because the current Treasurer has been most generous in funding that infrastructure development so that we can get grants and we can get our researchers doing the work.

    I protected the people of New South Wales from optometrists, who, from 1988, wanted to do just about everything. Fred Hollows, with whom I had worked for many years, said, "Whatever you do, I have got cancer, just don't do it." So, we did not. I was able to protect the people of New South Wales us until this year, when it came to the crunch. The optometrists had to walk away without getting everything they wanted. When I was Parliamentary Secretary I was able to get folate put into bread against the advice of our good friends the food police. They had forgotten they were the servants of the Ministers; they thought they were their own little body. Gai Pinkus, who was Secretary of the National Food Authority, said that we could not do it for a number of reasons. We told her to do it, she did not do it, so she went, and we got it. That will protect a large number of women in this State from having children with spina bifida. I was able to line up with my friend Peter Wong to convince the Liberal Party that the Premier was being as silly as Gai Pinkus about monosodium glutamate. I am pleased we put that to rest. It was a good example of how we can work together.

    When I was Parliamentary Secretary I launched the Hot Water Burns Like Fire Program, which has probably saved children a great deal of misery. That program, which is being restarted, was probably the most effective public health program that has been run. During this Parliament I was able to introduce the idea of ticking healthy foods. We had a quit smoking program, and I was able to convince the Hon. Max Willis that we needed defibrillators in this place, which were installed. The current President is inquiring into whether they need to be upgraded. Immunisation has been a major matter of concern to me and I have asked many questions about it. Things are now improving in New South Wales, thanks in particular to the Federal Government, but a lot more work has to be done by those who follow. Helicopter rescue services are very important. The Hon. Andrew Refshauge created problems by using smoke and mirrors, but we were able to institute a proper contracting basis from which to establish those services across the State.

    There have been a number of reports on health, and one in particular on hospital waiting lists. Bob Carr said he would resign or cut his throat, or something, if he did not reduce the waiting lists. They were reduced, but the Government needed to use every bit of guile it could to convince the Hon. Lis Kirkby that it was even vaguely close to being right. Pat Staunton was horrendous during that inquiry. I am sure that to this day the Hon. Lis Kirkby regrets that she sold her soul on that issue and—being a paragon of debate and discussion—moved on 68 occasions that the question be put. She supported the Hon. Ian Macdonald in imposing the gag at the Committee stage. Each time she moved the gag tears welled up in her eyes, but she was not particularly honest on that occasion.

    As a backbencher I have been interested in Dr Dascolopoulos and the dye that was wrongly injected at Canterbury Hospital. Craig Knowles said he would get this guy and have him for murder. Dr Dascolopoulos has been through a most trying two years. He got a little tap on the wrist from the Medical Tribunal, which again displayed its usual ability not to apply natural justice. The Supreme Court kicked to death the District Court judge who chaired the tribunal, as well as the medical board people, who do not understand the first principles of natural justice. It wiped the slate clean for Dr Dascolopoulos, but two years later Central Sydney Area Health Service has still not reappointed him. This highly skilled professional, through no fault of his own, had to go to the Supreme Court but the service will not reappoint him. It is a disgrace what bureaucrats will do.

    In government it was pleasing to work with the Hon. Ron Phillips and the Hon. John Hannaford. Greiner had the idea that he could have a Minister for Health and Community Services and another Minister who did the work—a policy Minister and a doing Minister. It was a good idea but it did not work. As Parliamentary Secretary to those Ministers I signed 20,000 letters for them—more letters than I will receive in my entire life. That was good for me because I understood what the community was worried about, how the bureaucrats were dealing with them, how the ministerial advisers were mucking around with them, and how the director-general felt about them. One learns an awful lot signing those letters: it is something that every member should do. The Hon. John Ryan is going through that process at the moment for the Leader of the Opposition. I am sure he is learning a lot about what is worrying the people in the State and the solutions that are being offered by his colleagues and whether they will fix the problems. I attended a large number of openings and closings.

    The Hon. Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans: A lot more openings than closings, I bet.

    The Hon. Dr BRIAN PEZZUTTI: A lot of openings. When the Coalition Government opened the extensions to Sydney Hospital, it made a total of 27 new hospitals opened under the Greiner and Fahey governments, against three opened by Labor during the previous eight years. There were many openings, all over the countryside. On one occasion I opened the Cowra Show. We set a national agenda with the Minister for Health in Victoria and the Labor Minister in Queensland. Ron Phillips got them together and they drove a new national agenda. There was an attack on heart disease, which has been successful, an attack on cancer death rates, which has also been successful, and a successful attack on asthma. The State Ministers took that agenda to Graham Richardson, who suddenly realised he was being overtaken. That was because of Richard McKinnon, one of the smartest advisers I have ever met. He worked with Ron's staff, Dr Paul Fitzgerald, Carleen Wilson and Ross Thornton—the three names I remember vividly from those days.

    I believe that the Premier is a man of good intent. He talks about the need for research. He has said that no-one has led to the improvement of human condition more than medical researchers have by relieving suffering and saving lives. That is what drives the current short-term Leader of the Government in this place, the Treasurer, to fund research. I have had the privilege to work on the University of New South Wales and Southern Cross University councils and to start off the latter university as best I could. I worked on the Law Society's complaints process and I think I improved it. I was able to put in place not only the health care complaints legislation but also the joint parliamentary committee that supervises it, which is doing tremendous work at the moment.

    I have served on a large number of committees and I have probably read more papers and distilled more information than any member in this place, because I have had to. The committee on hospital waiting lists was a disaster personally because of the dishonesty of a large number of people—not particularly the Hon. Lis Kirkby, but the department, in being particularly treacherous. The committee that I remember most vividly as the first to produce a report which stepped away from the evidence was the committee that produced the first report on veterinary laboratories. That committee, which was chaired by Patricia Staunton, received 120 submissions stating that veterinary laboratories and the Biological and Chemical Research Institute at Parramatta should stay open. The Hon. Ian Macdonald nods his head, and if the Hon. Eddie Obeid were here he would nod his head wisely as well. The only evidence against those laboratories remaining open was from the department. It was pretty lame evidence, but Pat Staunton went all the way with it. The Hon. Jennifer Gardiner and I, with the help of the Hon. Ian Cohen, wrote a strong dissenting report. That was the first time a parliamentary committee stepped away from reporting on the evidence it received. That was a disgrace and a great shame.

    I come now to a few other matters with which I had some success. I had a few successes with the Gordon's Bay volunteer bush regeneration project at Coogee. During my Commonwealth Parliamentary Association travels I had the opportunity to look at the issue of drugs and drug policy. I learned a lot from visiting places with populations of about seven million, similar to New South Wales, such as Quebec, Washington DC, Sweden and Switzerland. I learned a lot about drugs and drug treatments at that time. I was able to ensure that my party stuck to the straight path, first of all, of having decent repression, as do the Swiss, compassion for drug addicts, and provision of adequate rehabilitation and other services for those who want to get off drugs—neither of which this State has enough of. Michael, if you are still Treasurer next year—or if the Coalition is in office—you should look at those two issues.

    The "Boy" Charlton Pool I believe is one of my great successes. Both Ron Dyer and Michael Egan said I was being tedious in asking so many questions about it. But the pool has been rebuilt, and that is of great advantage to the community. I was also involved with a large number of preselections. I think I was on the winning side in most of those. The new crop of Liberal party candidates is probably the best I have ever seen. Certainly, it has the largest number of bright, new, hard-working people—many of whom left their jobs three or four months ago to campaign full time for the election. That is unheard of. They are getting a lot of support.

    The mental health report that I tabled last Friday was launched today. I thank Michael Egan for letting me speak this morning about it. It is probably the most dramatic report that I have seen. I say that in recognition of the hard work of the secretariat and the members who served on that committee, including Amanda Fazio, John Hatzistergos, Peter Breen, John Jobling and Doug Moppett. Doug Moppett kept attending the meetings up to four days before his retirement from this place. That was how important he regarded the issue. Of course, Arthur Chesterfield-Evans initiated that inquiry. This has been my swan song. I do not think I could have undertaken that inquiry without the experience I had. I thank the committee members for their support. My thanks also to the secretariat, Rob Stefanic and Bayne McKissock.

    Another committee that I was part of, and a committee that John Jobling has served for many years, is Staysafe. It has initiated a number of measures that save lives. The wearing of bicycle helmets by kids has saved thousands of lives. If only that attitude were shown to Staysafe more often! I have not seen a report from Staysafe for a while. It must be hibernating. Another important issue, also mentioned by John Jobling, was the coastal inquiry. I became a member of that committee just before it was due to report on its inquiry. The Premier point-blank refused to restore that inquiry to the committee, which meant it would have died. I convinced the Premier that the committee should continue its work, and he restored that inquiry.

    The committee made a 24-word recommendation—with Ian Macdonald and Richard Jones preparing a brief dissenting report. Everything we recommended is now in place. That is thanks to Robyn Kruk, in particular, for convincing Nick Greiner and Gary Sturgess that this was the way to go. Robyn Kruk was crucial in that respect, as was Robert Webster, an excellent Minister. They made Nick Greiner realise that if he was to go to meetings on the environment with heads of government he had to have appropriate credentials. A depiction of the sun rising over North Head and South Head encapsulated the report. Some time prior Ian Macdonald had pinched that initiative to use as the Labor Party's policy for the election that nearly toppled Greiner. In fact, he stole the title of the report. That was disgraceful.

    I have had a few failures. I could not get the North Coast budget that I wanted. However, I have found in my files a copy of debate on the State Debt Control (Balanced Budgets) Bill, which was introduced by Premier John Fahey on 24 November 1994. So anybody who thinks that Michael Egan is doing this because he wants to should know it is because John Fahey said he had to. I say that because I think it is important. I am very upset that I did not get the budget that I wanted. I know the Hon. Janelle Saffin would agree that we needed that budget and to show how badly we have been treated. The Hon. Janelle Saffin and I have released many joint press releases on a number of local issues. We have always been very happy to co-operate.

    Another tragedy was not being able to ban this document, the Terrorist's Handbook. I directed about 20 questions on the issue to Attorney General Jeff Shaw and other Ministers about banning this document. But it has not been banned and it remains on the web. It is disgraceful that we still have no real method of controlling or censoring what is on the web in order to protect us.

    The Hon. Richard Jones: It is not possible.

    The Hon. Dr BRIAN PEZZUTTI: It is possible. Members will recall my freedom of information request which resulted in a response that if I paid $26,070 I would get the information. I had simply asked what Queen's Counsel had been briefed by the Minister for Industrial Relations and the Attorney General to appear before the Industrial Court. That followed an allegation that only mates were getting briefs. Instead, I was asked for $26,070 to supply the information. Jeff Shaw, to his credit, gave me the answer for nothing.

    Another of my great regrets relates to the Justice Bruce incident. I believe this House did Justice Bruce a grave disservice in allowing him to hang on and hang on. This House should have taken the advice of the Attorney General and judicial officers at the time and allowed him to be cut loose. It was a tragedy to see this man staggering on. My speech in support of Justice Bruce's dismissal put the position fairly. It is sad that eventually he had to leave the way he did. But the way in which the House dealt with that matter was a disgrace. The Independent Commission Against Corruption has been well served by some good people and badly served by others. Justice Roden's belief that Parliament was nothing more than a post box did none of us a favour.

    Of course, Michael Egan had a bad run with his bed tax. Remember that? I do. I asked Mr Egan if he thought brothels should pay bed taxes. His reply was, "I hope it's not a personal concern of the honourable member—they are." I said at the time, "This certainly makes Mr Egan the biggest pimp in the world." That probably summed it up. But, at the end of the day, Bob Carr walked away from the issue. I regret also that we were not able to carry the day in this Chamber on changes to the age of consent. That was because of my absence in East Timor and the absence of the Hon. Dr Peter Wong. That is a matter that needs to be corrected in New South Wales. We need to raise the age of consent for young women, deal with exploitation of young women, and change the age of consent for males.

    I seriously regret that I have had to do so much travel as a member of this place. I note that the Hon. Janelle Saffin keeps being pilloried about how much she travels, but last year I spent $10,000 more than she did travelling backwards and forwards between home and this place. Yet she is subjected to criticism and I seemed to escape it.

    The Hon. Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans: Teflon man!

    The Hon. Dr BRIAN PEZZUTTI: I may be the Teflon man, but I am not the Tutti-Frutti man, as Michael Egan often accused. Where is Michael Egan? I have some good photographs that I want to show him, including a great fruit shop in Kempsey. Helen Sham-Ho found a picture of Tutti-Frutti in Malaysia. The best coffee shop in Florence is called Tutti-Frutti. But I have to say that the winner of the best veggies project was the Northern Rivers Area Health Services' Tooti Fruity Vegie project, run by Aboriginal people to grow their own vegetables. So I am very proud of that.

    I would now like to thank a few people. First of all, I thank my wife and children, who have put up with my absence and the difficulties that has caused. In particular, my wife, who is isolated in Lismore while I am here much of the time, has had a difficult time. She assisted me in establishing the Liberal Party in Lismore and has been there every time I have needed her help. Sadly, often when she has needed me I have been away. My kids have grown up without having a mum and a dad as close to them as we would have liked, but they have turned out very well and we are proud of them.

    I thank some local Liberals: Denys Wynn, Malcolm Marshall, Chris Marshall, Dr Stuart Sillar and Dr Bill Nardi and his wife Pam. I also thank former members of my staff: David Barnes, whom everybody would remember; Anthony Roberts, who now works for the Prime Minister; and Dr Cintina Blainey, who, without doubt, was the highest paid researcher in this place but also probably the best. Dr Blainey was one of the greatest acquisitions for a member of Parliament. I would also like to thank members of my staff who worked with me: Danny O'Sullivan, Mel Gibbons, Andrew Stone and Ainslie Thomas. I have also been assisted by a large number of interns.

    The staff at Parliament House have been my good friends. I have made a habit of using the service lift on level 11 where I have met the catering, cleaning and maintenance staff. They are all great people who are here to help. Every time I have asked, they have come to help with great vigour. I particularly thank David Draper, Joseph and Maureen in the dining room and, of course, Santiago. The security staff have been fantastic. Hansard staff have always had trouble with my speaking and have complained bitterly that I interject in the middle of speeches. They have been very tolerant with me and have been very accurate over the time. The attendants, particularly Maurice, Lucy, Katrina and Ian have been great friends of mine, as have Robert and Charles.

    The Clerks have been helpful and unhelpful. Sometimes they say yes and sometimes they say no, but they have their standards and they stick to them. I thank Les Jeckeln, whom I remember as being very helpful, as well as John Evans and Lynn Lovelock. Warren Cahill has been a difficult person, and I now understand why the Treasurer stays well away from him. Beneath that mild-mannered exterior lie bulging muscles. He is a really powerful person. Stuart Lowe and Glenda Baker have kept me on the straight and narrow from the logistic support allocation [LSA] point of view. Of the public servants I have met I particularly mention Bernie Amos, John Wynn Owen and Robyn Kruk. I believe the most important health public servant we have had in this State was Mick Reid, backed by Bob McGregor. I have had nothing but support and help from those two bureaucrats. I particularly mention Debbie Picconi. Sometimes Deb is helpful and sometimes she plays a bit of politics. Mostly her heart is in the right place. The most recent addition is Robyn Kruk, who without doubt is the most experienced public servant to come to health. I believe she will be a very healing addition to Health and will work well with Jillian Skinner when she becomes the Minister for Health.

    Of the members I have known, the women stick in my mind. In particular, I remember Judith Walker for her strong support in the debate on industrial relations. It was one of the longest debates we have ever had: we had 17 hours of bellringing, with the bells sometimes ringing for one minute. As members would understand, Judith Walker was on her feet for almost all of that time. She presented her arguments clearly and with great style and did not lose her cool. John Fahey was astonished by the breadth of her knowledge and wisdom. He gave her due credit and liked her very much.

    Annie Symonds was a great woman of this Chamber, as was Virginia Chadwick. One day I had a go at Judith Walker. I did it in a most unusual way for me because I got a bit personal. Virginia Chadwick gave me a kick at the table. I said "What was that for?" She said, "That's my mate. You don't mess with her." Marlene Goldsmith was another great woman. A headline in today's paper states "The Liberal Party has plenty of heart but not much head". Marlene Goldsmith was a person who could write well and put Liberalism in its true perspective. We desperately miss her. I am really sad that Marlene was taken from us so early. Pat Forsythe is another of the great women in this Chamber. Pat will go a long way. I will miss Deirdre Grusovin, but I will not miss some others. Max Willis was one of the great Presidents of this Chamber. His leaving the Chair was most unfortunate.

    The Hon. Charlie Lynn: It was spectacular, though.

    The Hon. Dr BRIAN PEZZUTTI: It was also unfair.

    The Hon. Duncan Gay: It was deserved.

    The Hon. Dr BRIAN PEZZUTTI: It was not deserved. I was in the President's chambers having a last drink with Lis Kirkby, and Max was drinking water. He must have had a flu tablet because he was sober when I was in there, yet barely 15 minutes later we saw some unusual behaviour in the Chamber.

    I remember vividly good friends from the other side, such as Johno Johnson, Deirdre Grusovin and Ron Dyer, who has been a good friend to people with disabilities. He gave a lifelong guarantee of support to people with disabilities. Although he did not refer to it in his speech today, it is probably the most significant thing he did in his years working for supported accommodation. Of course, I cannot forget Michael Costa. I love Michael Costa and I reckon you will like having him around. He will be leader in this place very soon. Della Bosca will miss out because he is too nice a bloke.

    Carmel Tebbutt is growing in stature and is doing a good job. I will particularly miss Tony Kelly, who has been a good mate of mine. I have served on committees and travelled with him. He is a very decent bloke, as is the Hon. Ian Cohen. We all worked hard for Ian Cohen's preselection and reselection. We were all very worried about what she would do with him. Ian Cohen is a really decent person. He says how far he will go and how far he will not go. He does not do deals, but he will put his argument and you are able to talk to him and try to convince him. He is always very decent and I like him a lot. I think he will go a long way.

    I have saved the lives of two people in this Chamber. One is Ian Macdonald and the other is Paul O'Grady. I will not tell you how or why, but I do not regret doing it for either of them. Ian Macdonald has started to do some work in the Chamber for the first time in all his years here. I agree with the words of the Leader of the House that Ian Macdonald has worked very hard this year. He has been a very good politician. He has worked against us in many ways on this side, but he has worked for his party.

    On this side of the House Beryl Evans and Dick Evans were the first people I met when I entered politics. I remember John Jobling for all the good reasons I gave last Friday night—I meant every word. John Hannaford was a great leader. He was the second person who came to Lismore to give me support after Peter Collins had opened the Liberal Party branch. John Hannaford was a great inspiration. I was Parliamentary Secretary to Ron Phillips, who got every bit of work out of me he possibly could. He was a tireless worker and was committed to health. That is what I liked about him. Jillian Skinner, the present shadow Minister for Health, is one of the hardest working shadow Ministers. She is very effective and has some good policies that are ready to be released soon.

    Ted Pickering was an interesting person. It was hard to get close to Ted, but much easier to get close to John Dowd. However, I shared with both of them a strong urge to be a little "l" liberal. I really enjoyed Kathryn and Nick Greiner. Again, I found it hard to get close to Nick, but to see him cry about the suffering of AIDS victims told us a bit more about the man. He was a very private and shy individual who wanted to improve the lot of the people of New South Wales. Jim Samios is without parallel in his work with ethnic communities. I commend him and his assistant, Gloria, for their efforts to get us to attend various functions. John Fahey is my favourite politician. He was a person you could get close to, a really nice man who personally cared about what he was doing. John had good people working for him because they liked working for him. I still see a lot of John. He is on to his eighth check and there is no cancer. His voice has improved and he has a bounce in his step. He and Colleen are booming along.

    I think Richard Bull and Robert Webster were the pick of the Coalition side, by streets. I also think that Duncan Gay and Jenny Gardiner will make excellent Ministers. I have had lots of disagreements with Duncan over time and, yes, he is a bit of a bully from time to time, but at the end of the day he is a very decent person. As John Jobling said, Duncan is a bit of a marshmallow when you get past the rough exterior. In the Liberal Party I have some very good friends, and some of them—Betty and Lindy—are present today. Some very good friends in the Liberal Party have guided me with their extra wisdom. I mention John Valder, Stephen Litchfield and Peter Kidman, whom I mentioned in my first speech in this place and who is still around, although not working in the party. The women's council of the Liberal Party of New South Wales is an extraordinary group. The guiding lights for my future work are Peter Baume and Chris Puplick—the two who held out the image of our direction. Andrew Peacock and Prime Minister Howard were very great sources of inspiration, as were John Tierney, Tim Moore and Terry Metherell, who told me what I should do but not how to do it properly.

    But the future of this Chamber belongs to Mike Gallacher, the very talented and hardworking John Ryan, and Don Harwin, who knows where all the bodies are buried and who knows more about politics and what has happened before than anybody else. Don has learnt the lessons of history. Greg Pearce is a fearless person and we need some fearless people. He has a lot of integrity and he will go a long way. Of course, with Melinda Pavey being elected to this House and with Catherine Cusack and Robyn Parker coming into the Chamber, we will have a new breed of young women, and we also need them. Catherine Cusack is without doubt the most talented person I have seen during my time in this House. I was thrilled when she moved to the North Coast and I was equally thrilled when the party changed the preselection process to enable preselection to be done by provinces so that I could get someone to replace me who would be passionate about the North Coast. John Brogden will win the next election, as he should. He is, without doubt, one of the brightest people that I have had to deal with; certainly he is the most compassionate, and he has a better grasp than most because of his background and his life experiences thus far. Nick Greiner said four years ago at a Coalition dinner in Coffs Harbour that at that stage John Brogden had more political experience than Nick had when he was Premier in 1988, even though Nick had been Leader of the Opposition for some time before winning government.

    Finally, I want to mention my army career. When I went to Lismore to rusticate and to be a specialist anaesthetist, never in my wildest dreams did I expect to happen what has happened to me and my family. First of all the children came along, and that was great; then politics came along, and that was interesting; and then the Army came along, and that has made me realise that this nation is very well served by democracy, by the decency of the people on both sides of this Chamber who can deal with differences in a democratic way, even though we may disagree violently, and by the rule of law. The Dalai Lama said that a society without order is a society without freedom, and that is what we need—order and freedom, and the right doses of both. I think about people who give their lives for us, especially the Special Air Services [SAS]. I have a poster in my office that many people have seen. It is of Jonathan Church, who was an SAS officer and who helped to protect me when I was in Rwanda. He lost his life in the Black Hawk helicopter disaster, and his death was a great loss. He was a towering fellow but a very gentle person. The picture in my office captured him carrying one of the children from Kibeho. It depicts him accurately, but he was also a tough fighter. These are the people who protect our democracy.

    I have enjoyed many friendships in this Chamber. I would like to make one last comment about the Leader of the Government in this place. When the Wood royal commission was being held I received a number of phone calls and a written message from Dr Vaughan Turnbull, a South Coast physician, advising me that he had lost 11 of his patients to suicide because they had been implicated in the Wood royal commission. Dr Turnbull told me through tears that although there is no death penalty in this State, even for paedophilia, 11 of his patients had died. I tried to do something to get the Department of Health to give people accused of such offences somewhere to go to receive counselling. In the absence of the Premier and the Deputy Premier, who were out of the State at the time, Jeff Shaw and Michael Egan were most sympathetic to my request. Jeff Shaw was the acting Minister for Health at the time, and he and Michael Egan contacted the Department of Health and made sure that counselling services were available, even for people who were being accused of paedophilia, because everybody deserves to be helped. Michael Egan was most fair about that, as was Jeff Shaw.

    I thank also the Premier, who gave me help in my hour of need, when I was having trouble with Mr Speaker. The Premier was more than happy to take my phone call from across the world; he came to my aid in dealing with a most recalcitrant and difficult person. Madam President, I thank you very much for giving me this time. I will not read the classic letter I showed you earlier today: I hope you continue your fight against sexism and racism for so long as you have breath in your body, because we all should. I wish you all the best, but I believe you will be replaced in the new Parliament either by Tony Kelly or by a member from the Coalition. Members on both sides have worked extremely hard in my time as a member of this Chamber. There are many rising stars on the Government side. Amanda Fazio has a great future ahead of her; I am impressed by her commitment and her intellect.

    The Hon. Rick Colless: What about Jan Burnswoods?

    The Hon. Dr BRIAN PEZZUTTI: I do not think Jan Burnswoods has anywhere to go. Madam President, I thank you for the time I have taken today. In conclusion, I wish all members the very best for the future. I would be more than happy to have dinner with any member of this Chamber at any time.

    The Hon. HELEN SHAM-HO [1.06 p.m.]: It is impossible at this time for me to say everything I want to say, but people say that at times some things are better not said. Consequently, I will not speak for very long on this occasion. In goodwill, I ask all honourable members for the last time to bear with me. In 1988 at the beginning of my maiden speech, I quoted the Chinese philosopher Lao Tse, who said:

    (Chinese characters)

    which translates to, "The journey of a thousand miles must start with the first step." My parliamentary journey, which will come to an end in March 2003, has been winding and at times rough. There have been many ups and downs, and often I have had to run in order to keep pace. Looking back, I think that the theme that has run through the last 15 years has been that I have always stood up for the principles I believe in. I have always fought for justice and fairness in all my parliamentary work, and for my passions. I have tried my best. I have never given up, despite the often harsh consequences I have had to face and the personal costs I had to endure.

    As the first Chinese-born member of Parliament in Australia, my election in 1988 was historic. It was a true testimony to Australia’s great democracy, its diverse culture and emerging maturity as a multicultural society. I symbolised the aspirations of migrant Australians to fully participate in public life and the patriotism of migrants who have chosen to make Australia their home and to bring up their children here. I was a pioneer for people of Asian backgrounds to be active in public life. Since then 10 members of Asian background have been elected around the country, including the Hon. Henry Tsang and the Hon. Dr Peter Wong. Richard Lim was the first Minister of the Crown in the last Liberal-Country Party Government in the Northern Territory. I congratulate him.

    I will always feel indebted to the Liberal Party for giving me the opportunity in the first place to become the first Asian-born member of Parliament in Australia. I thank both my mentors in the Liberal Party—the Hon. Justice John Dowd, who was my supervisor in my law studies, and the Hon. John Hannaford, now an adjunct professor at the University of Technology, Sydney, and still my friend. Without their efforts and guidance I would not be standing here today.

    I also acknowledge the Hon. John Jobling and his strict discipline as the Opposition Whip. He certainly never gave me many pairs! However, he was a good Whip. He has been the best strategist in this House. His retirement is a big loss for the Liberal Party and no doubt his knowledge of procedure will be sorely missed in the Legislative Council.

    While I will not dwell on the lows of the past 15 years, it is necessary to mention the greatest hurdle of my political career, and the one that caused me the most personal anguish during my time as a member of Parliament. I am speaking, of course, about one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made—resigning from the Liberal Party in 1998. To this day, people do not realise just how hard that decision was. No-one will ever understand the pressure I was under at the time. With racism raging in the community, which was sparked by Pauline Hanson's racist remarks, the Asian community was absolutely outraged by the lack of leadership and inadequate response of the Prime Minister. The intensity of the anti-Asian sentiment in this country then is similar to the sentiment expressed now towards Muslims. In line with the Asian community's expectations—the Hon. Dr Peter Wong will vouch for that—and precipitated by lack of support from my colleagues, I relinquished my Liberal membership. Becoming an Independent member in 1998 was a major fork in the road for me. In every sense, I have been forging my own path since then. While it was initially frightening to be on the road alone, being an Independent has allowed me to follow my own conscience and to vote according to the merits of the argument. It has enabled me to stand on my principles. I have been able to maintain my true independence and remain non-partisan to this day.

    My passions have always been in social justice, Aboriginal reconciliation, women's rights and multiculturalism. As a former social worker and as a lawyer before becoming a parliamentarian, I know that my experience, my knowledge and skills have helped my parliamentary work. In particular, my commitment to the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation for 10 years was one of the most satisfying aspects of my career. Many honourable members are aware that I have raised many issues about Aborigines in this Chamber. Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile has raised similar issues. However, not many people know that I spend a great deal of my free time and weekends on council work attending meetings and events.

    For me, working on parliamentary committees has also been very rewarding. As speakers have said today, parliamentary committees are a democratic process involving direct community participation. I thank the Leader of the Government for appointing me as Chair of the Standing Committee on Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics, and I thank members of the General Purpose Standing Committee No. 3 for electing me as Chair of that committee. There is no doubt that its inquiry into police resources in Cabramatta has certainly been most significant. John Evans, Clerk of the Parliament, told me that the committee's report was the most high-profile Legislative Council report he had seen during his parliamentary career. We had a picture taken together when the report was tabled. The inquiry has been most effective in terms of bringing about real change to policing policies in New South Wales. I was more than surprised when Premier Bob Carr thanked me personally for the recommendations in the committee report. Only today I received a letter from the Minister for Police, the Hon. Michael Costa, assuring me that his response to the committee's recommendations would be forthcoming out of session.

    At the beginning of the inquiry in 2000, I was attacked from all sides. It was called a "whitewash" by Fairfield Councillor Thang Ngo, and the Hon. Greg Pearce called for me to step aside as Chair of the committee. The then Minister for Police, the Hon. Paul Whelan, even claimed that I had abused parliamentary power—he was later censured in this House for doing so—and the local member, Reba Meagher, criticised me for causing "real and long-term damage" to the Cabramatta community. Throughout all the attacks, I persisted because I knew I was on the right track and I had community support. Indeed, I was vindicated when the people of Cabramatta appreciated the committee inquiry. They have benefited from the Government's positive response to the committee's recommendations. In fact, I am delighted to tell the House that I will be given an award by the community tomorrow night at Cabramatta. I am grateful to the committee secretariat's support for the committee and for me as chair. I thank committee directors David Blunt, who is at the table, and Steven Reynolds, who is sitting in the gallery, who expended all their energies to make the inquiry such a success.

    Other parliamentary duties I have enjoyed include my appointments to the governing bodies of the University of Western Sydney, Macquarie University, and the University of Technology, Sydney. I have participated in the life of these universities and I hope to maintain my association with them after my term finishes. However, the work that I have relished the most as a member of this House has been serving the community. An enormous amount of my time as a member has been spent assisting constituents, in particular members of the Chinese and ethnic communities, with problems and difficulties, making representations to Ministers, attending briefings, meetings, interviews and community functions. Helping people in this direct way has been very rewarding and I have made many friends doing so.

    I would especially like to thank the Chinese community in Sydney and my many close friends in the community who have backed me throughout my parliamentary career and who have been there when I needed encouragement and support. I name just two members of that community: Ben Chow and Frank Chou. The many fundraisers I have organised over the years have been a success because of the community's involvement. It is also very gratifying to know that many ordinary members of the public know the extent of the hard work I have put in over the past 15 years. It continues to surprise me that complete strangers approach me in shopping centres, restaurants, petrol stations and other public places simply to tell me that I have done a great job. In my extra-curricular capacity I am pleased to have been the Charter President of the New South Wales Parliamentary Lions Club and look forward to supporting its many worthy causes in the future. I have also been a member of numerous parliamentary friendship groups, including the Asia-Pacific Friendship Group; Israeli Friendship Group and Friends of Egypt Group.

    On the whole I have always maintained that you do not go into politics to make friends. Having said that, I do share a rapport with numerous lower House and upper House colleagues, too many to name. However, I will mention the Hon. Richard Jones, who has been my bench buddy over the past few years. I was very happy to attend his official farewell party last week. While we are like chalk and cheese, I know that Richard and I can communicate easily. As he put it, we have endured together to the last bill. Now we are still sitting together. Although the crossbench members are by no means united, as the Hon. Richard Jones, we have frequently been a cohesive bunch. There is a sense of camaraderie among members of the crossbench that I have enjoyed. I express my appreciation to them. I mention in particular the newest crossbench member, the Hon. Gordon Moyes. Although we may have been blamed for slowing down the passage of legislation, the scrutiny and criticism of the crossbench has often been very constructive and democratic. In that regard, I particularly mention the Hon. Ian Cohen, Ms Lee Rhiannon and the Hon. Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans.

    I have met Ministers and members in this House who are approachable and friendly and others who have been arrogant and distant. The Hon. Ron Dyer falls into the former category. I have always found him very friendly and co-operative and a real gentleman. I know he had a tough time as Minister for Community Services, but I believe he put a great deal of energy into all his work. He has done a great job and I wish him all the best in his retirement.

    As I said before, friendship among politicians is rare. However, that is not to say that I have not had companions in my journey; fortunately I have always had the support of my personal staff. On that score I thank them all for their commitment and contribution to the work I have done, in particular since becoming an Independent. I name but a few: Jodie Young, Stephanie Lenn and Rachel Roberts, who are present in the President's gallery; Kristyn Wilson; Miriam Moses; Lisa Emanual; and Adam Jacobs. Last weekend a total of 10 attended a staff reunion. Although some could not attend, it was a most enjoyable get-together.

    While I cannot name everyone, I take this opportunity to say "Thank You" to other people as well. I express gratitude to the many colleagues in this Chamber with whom I share mutual respect and understanding, particularly, the Hon. Jim Samios, the Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti, and the Hon. Janelle Saffin, who are also retiring. I appreciate their friendship and I wish them all well. I thank the President, the Chairman of Committees, and the Government Whip, who has been very helpful. It would be remiss of me to not express my thanks to the Clerk of the Parliament, John Evans, who is not in the Chamber at the moment; the Deputy Clerk, Lynn Lovelock; Warren Cahill; and Mike Wilkinson for all their help and assistance. The staff of the Parliamentary Counsel and the Parliamentary Library have always been most helpful to me.

    I thank all the Legislative Council Attendants, whom I will name because many members do not know their names: Ian Pringle, Maurice Rebecchi, Charles Barden, George Moutsos, Mike Jarrett, and Lucy Smith. I thank Hansard, Security, and David Draper and the staff from Food and Beverage. I thank also the staff of Ministers and other members, who have been very co-operative.

    Last, but certainly not least, I thank my husband, Robert Ho, and my family. Robert has always been supportive of me on my parliamentary journey and was present in the gallery this morning. I thank him for his support. When I entered Parliament I had two daughters in high school. Now I have four-and-a-half grandchildren! Much time has passed and an enormous amount of water has flowed under the bridge. Knowing that I have had my family's love and care throughout my political career has been absolutely essential for me. Thank you Nicole, Andrew, James, Emily and Melissa McPherson, and Narelle, Brett and Stephanie Backhouse—such is the nature of multiculturalism. I could not have made it through the past 15 years without their support.

    It has been a privilege and a challenge to serve in this House, and I will miss it. It is with sadness and with a strong sense of pride in my contribution to the people of New South Wales that I complete my parliamentary journey. I would like to end with another Chinese quote, suggested to me by Wilson Ng, Chief Editor of the Australian Chinese Daily newspaper:

    (Chinese characters)

    which means to "retire from political life after great work is done". Finally, I take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I wish all the very best to all members who are continuing to serve.

    The Hon. RICHARD JONES [1.23 p.m.], by leave: The Hon. Alan Corbett is unable to get to Parliament House today because of the bushfires. Therefore, I seek leave to incorporate his final speech in Hansard.

    Leave granted.

    The Hon. ALAN CORBETT: It has been a privilege to be elected a Member of the Legislative Council. I can probably lay claim to have been the person who spent the least money in the history of Australia to get elected. When I first learnt of the possibility of being elected it was only as a result of the Hon Richard Jones whose number crunching skills as it turned out were spot on in 1995

    What followed was an interview with the late Andrew Ollie. An interview I still remember today because he was professional at putting a person like me at ease. Then a media feeding frenzy in which, in a state of shock, I coped fairly well. To Jane Hutchinson, a reporter at the time in '95 with the ABC I would like to say, I noticed you and followed your journeys to China.

    It was all a bit of a dream—unreal, as if it was happening to someone else. I followed the radio over the next few days and of course the print media, curious to see if in fact what was predicted come to pass. It did and with the Hon Ian Cohen and Hon John Tingle, I joined the Hon Richard Jones and Hon Elaine Nile on the crossbench.

    It is amusing to read the Editorial in the then Telegraph Mirror of Thursday, April 27th 1995, in which the Members of the Legislative Council are portrayed as irrelevant, in semi-permanent hibernation and interfering. Over the last eight years this has not been my experience. I know I will cause the Treasurer and the Leader of the House just a slight moment of discomfort, but I do earnestly believe that when the numbers in the Legislative Council do not give the Government a majority, the good of the people of NSW is served. Arrogance is the one trait which the Labor Government needs to combat, lest they have their legs chopped from beneath them in 2003.

    As I write, the power has been off for over 12 hours, I can hear two helicopters water-bombing a fire that threatens Medlow Bath. This fire was started from a cigarette butt or a person who just lit a match in the Megalong Valley. The fire has destroyed a magnificent rain forest at the entrance of the Megalong Valley. I was able to get through this morning to Blackheath to do some urgent shopping and it brought me to tears—the rainforest looks like a lunar landscape—my son and his children will never see it as it was. What is the lesson to be learnt from all this destruction?

    Grab the opportunity you have to do what you want to do, to enjoy the beauty of nature because tomorrow you may not have the opportunity, and tomorrow it may be gone. Members will be aware that I am carer to my wife, who has a chronic and debilitating illness and that is principally the reason I am not here today. There is no-one to look after her other than myself. If I could have been there today I would have because I put so much significance into this occasion. I wanted to look around the chamber one last time as a Member and leave knowing that I would never return. However, as I have learnt life is not predictable and the importance you attach to things is illusory. I do have my memories and accomplishments, however, and those cannot be taken away by fire or circumstance.
    So what do I remember, what do I want my son and his children's children to read in Hansard, if they should ever wonder about the Hon Alan Corbett.

    I want them to remember that I became a Member of the Legislative Council purely by chance, but that the Universe, or God, or whatever, deemed it to be so. I want them to remember that it is important to go with the feeling within them to do good for others and that the energy they put into such an activity will be magnified by powers outside of themselves and they cannot and should not expect anything in return. Therein lies the magic—you do something because it feels right and you never know what might eventuate.

    I could list a number of accomplishments that would argue against the irrelevance of this House. However, these will remain with me because they are special to me. All I would say is that whoever ultimately claims the credit, I have made a difference to the lives of the people of NSW and to that extent have fulfilled the transitory expectations of the 43,000 people who voted No.1 for "A Better Future For Our Children" in the 1995 election.

    In closing, I must say how much I have appreciated the Clerk, Mr John Evans, and all his assistants. John called me early in 1995 to congratulate me and all I had in my confused mind was that was I talking to a Clerk—how little did I know!

    To Hansard, the catering staff, attendants—thank you—I never received anything but the best.

    To my fellow Members all I can say is this: "Your vote counts" and to my fellow crossbenchers I would say: "Go forth and multiply!"

    A warm expression of gratitude to all the staff who have assisted me throughout my eight-year term. I could not have done what I accomplished without them.

    The Hon. JANELLE SAFFIN [1.24 p.m.]: It has been my honour and privilege to serve with all members of this House and to represent the people of New South Wales, particularly country people. When I came to this Chamber I was a community activist, and I leave here as a community activist still. I feel good about that, because it seems that when people come into parliamentary life their activism dissipates, lessens or in some cases disappears. I know there are different roles in life, and this is one I feel good about. At the start of my parliamentary career—note I do not say "political career"—I was given three pieces of advice. The first was, "Wear your hair up all the time, because you look like a hippie with it long." I have had long hair all my life; in fact, it is usually a lot longer than it is now. I did not follow that advice. When I wore my hair up, which I did on a number of occasions, it was as a matter of practicality, not because I was following advice. It takes a lot of effort to have long hair.

    The second piece of advice was "Call yourself Mrs, not Ms." I chose to ignore that advice, on the basis of sexism. However, I do not really care what people call me—Miss, Mrs or Ms. The third piece of advice was "Deepen your voice for radio." I thought, "What? So I can be like a bloke?" That is not why I came here. I ignored those three pieces of advice, which were given to me in all seriousness by some of my colleagues.

    The Hon. Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans: Pure sexism.

    The Hon. JANELLE SAFFIN: Yes, I thought it was sexist advice, so I did not follow it. As I am leaving parliamentary life, not public life, people have asked me, as other members who are leaving have been asked, "Are you still going to do some of the things you do now?"—as though we did not have a life before Parliament and arrived here with a clean slate. I replied, "Of course I will continue to do all the things that I have done before. Indeed, I will be able to do more." When people say, "But when you leave Parliament you will be a nobody", I respond, "It is not quite like that." People come to Parliament, contribute, and leave Parliament, but it is their contribution, whether in the community, in Parliament, in law, or in teaching—the fields that I come from—that counts.

    I have been asked whether I will miss being in this place. The answer has to be yes. I have been a member of this Chamber for eight years. Recently I said in an ABC regional radio interview that, of course, I will miss being here. I will miss each and every one of you in some way—in different ways, but I will not go into any detail in that regard. In that interview I said that being here is like being part of a family. So, I will miss you.

    The Hon. John Della Bosca: A dysfunctional family.

    The Hon. JANELLE SAFFIN: As Della said, a dysfunctional family—but what family is not a bit dysfunctional? We are no different. We reflect the community at large. I thank Michael Gallacher for his comments to me. Yesterday a Liberal Party staffer, in the presence of a Labor Party staffer, said to me, "You are so normal, after eight years." I took that to be a compliment. I am really looking forward to spending more time on the North Coast, my home. As my colleague the Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti said, I get pilloried for the amount of travel I do. However, it is weekly travel, up and down—as Brian so truthfully put in Hansard, it is less than he travels. But we have no choice. It is just ridiculous that it is reported we are somehow indulging ourselves and spending money needlessly.

    The Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti: It is a great indulgence, isn't it! It is a great pleasure, isn't it!

    The Hon. JANELLE SAFFIN: I cannot wait until I do not have to travel up and down, every week—pack bags, carry them in and out. People are often surprised, and say to me, "You carry your own things, and you do not have a car?" I reply, "Yes, that is how it works." The North Coast is represented by a number of members apart from myself: the Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti, the Hon. Richard Jones, the Hon. Ian Cohen and the Hon. Peter Breen.

    The Hon. Michael Costa: Did someone say overrepresented?

    The Hon. JANELLE SAFFIN: No. It has been well represented. The North Coast is represented also by lower House members, including Thomas George, Don Page, Harry Woods and Neville Newell. That we have so many people who come from the North Coast to the upper House says something about our area. I extend my good wishes to Bill Rixon and Ian Causley, two parliamentary colleagues who are both suffering ill health at the moment. I have had dealings with each of them in different ways. With Bill, it was far more personal. Ian is a person whom I disagree with mightily, but I respect his tenacity. I wish them well. I also thank the Australian Labor Party for its support and the opportunity to serve our community. I came here on a Labor Party ticket, and I thank the party for that. I thank my local Lismore branch, which is meeting tonight. I extend my apologies; I have to miss that meeting.

    In politics you win some and you lose some. I think the important thing is to always be graceful in triumphant defeat; that is the best approach. Equally, I think I represented the ALP well and tried to put our best foot forward at all times. To Della, I would like to say thank you. Before I became a member of this place I spent many years with Della on the campaign trail. I have known Carmel since she was a young girl—she is still young—and she was formidable then and she is formidable now. Carmel is a leader of the future; she will go a long way. I wish her well.

    The Hon. Patricia Forsythe: In which House?

    The Hon. JANELLE SAFFIN: We can speculate as to which House. To Michael Egan, I have to say this. Michael, my mother likes you, and Jeff Shaw's mother likes you. Jeff and I had a conversation about this one night. My mother is a pretty good judge of character, and Jeff Shaw tells me that his mother is also a pretty good judge of character, so I think the two mums cannot be wrong. Jeff and I were ruminating on this. Our mothers like Michael Egan; they think he is a good man. I apologise about the St Mary's Cathedral spires. When Michael allocated the money for the spires, I said—a little uncharitably perhaps—that I would rather the money be spent on legal aid or some social justice area. I apologise to Michael, because the spires look wonderful. The cathedral is a real Sydney landmark and a great tourist attraction. Even those of use who come from the country feel proud of Sydney.

    I also wish to acknowledge Virginia Knox, who is one of the nicest, most competent people I have known in political life. The whole time I have been involved with the Australian Labor Party and political life—it is many years now—Virginia has always been there; when I first met her she was with Jack Hallam. She is well liked, well respected, and well regarded by everyone in this House. Michael is very lucky to have her on his staff, as we all are.

    I would like to say a few things to my colleagues in Country Labor. To Tony Kelly, it has been great working with you, particularly in Country Labor. I have enjoyed it immensely. In fact, I have penned some stories from Country Labor. Jokingly, I penned them under "Carry On Up Country", and one day I might get to publish some of them. We have had some good times; we have done some good things.

    I will miss going on country tours with Blackie. That is an experience. One of the things you probably do not know about Blackie is that frequently when Parliament is sitting he comes up to my office at night and has a coffee with me. People ask, "A coffee?" I say, "Yes, a coffee." He always says, "I like that coffee you serve." It is just the coffee in those little packets that you get in a plane, a motel, or somewhere like that, because I am not a coffee drinker. He usually comes up and has a coffee and a bit of a chat with me, and I will miss that.

    Politics is all about making a difference, and I would like to give two examples of what we were able to do in Country Labor. They are only little things, but they are big things for the community. First, Tony Kelly, Gerard Martin and I went to Warren, and we went out and had a look at the Mundadoo Bridge. The people wanted us to go and have a look at it. So we drove out there. It was flood time, but we drove through. I remember they said to us, "You'll only have to go through a bit of water." Ten flooded crossings later, we got to the bridge. I was hoping we would get there. It is a bridge you would all know about, because it was once shown on a television program. The bus driver used to stop, get the schoolkids off, drive the bus across the bridge, and then walk the kids across the bridge because there were problems with the bridge.

    Tony, Gerard and I looked at the bridge, and I took photographs of it. As we were leaving, Tony, Gerard and I looked at each other and said, "We've just got to fix that bridge." There is no way we could have gone back and faced those people unless we fixed it. And we did: we got the new bridge. I could not attend the opening but Tony did. Originally when we made the request, the department offered only about half the funding. Immediately the three of us said no, we want the new bridge, it is either the whole bridge or nothing, and that is what we stuck to.

    The Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti: What about the underpass at Lismore, and the kids parking?

    The Hon. JANELLE SAFFIN: The same thing with the underpass, the kids parking and the interchange at Lismore. We have done a lot of things in Lismore, and I will deal with some of them. There is a lot more we will probably do in Lismore. I think that is what some of our communities are worried about: having us at home all the time. One fond memory of Country Labor is going to a community with Blackie, Tony and others, and being told, "You are the seventeenth delegation to visit us. We hope you can do something." I said to them, "I promise you, we will."

    When you go into people's lives and their communities, they take you into their confidence; they can reveal quite intimate things to you. So, when you leave you have a responsibility to not just walk away and ignore them but to make sure you do what you can. I believe we did make a difference in that community. I said to them, "We might be the seventeenth delegation, but we are the ones who will make a difference." And we did, and we are continuing to do so.

    Ian Macdonald, my parliamentary colleague and colleague in Country Labor as well, you are formidable. Few could match your political ability and capacity, and also your parliamentary know-how. I have known Ian for a long time. The first time I encountered him he was a bureaucrat. I was trying to get a Department of Housing house for people with disabilities in Casino. When I rang the department I got the runaround and ended up with this man called Ian Macdonald. I finally persuaded him that it was a good idea for the Minister to allow us to keep the house, and he did. That was my first encounter with Ian. I remember that he was a straight talker, he was persuaded by my argument—I would not leave him alone—and I got the house. Ian has a good heart, and he showed it to me at that time.

    Going back to Country Labor, for many years before becoming a member of Parliament I campaigned for lower House seats that I knew I could not win. My motto always used to be: No matter which government is in power, Sydney is in power. That is a reflection of how country people feel, and that has not changed. One person I miss today is Doug Moppett. I would love to have heard his valedictory today, with all of us here. He would have delivered it without a speech note, we would have needed a dictionary to decipher some of the words, it would have been wide-ranging, yet grammatic, and it would have been intelligent, witty and generous. I did not have an opportunity to speak about Doug on the occasion of his retirement, so I want to do so now. When Duncan and I were in China, as Duncan mentioned, I was awoken at 5.00 a.m. by regional ABC radio and given the earth-shattering news that Doug had made a supposedly sexist comment, and I was asked to comment on it.

    I thought, "Doug—a sexist comment? What has he said?" I cannot even remember, it was so inconsequential. They had Helen Dickie lined up to debate me. Helen was ready to argue against me attacking Doug for being this sexist, misogynous person, but when we started on air I said, "It is a fact in public life that we are mostly judged for what we say and not what we do. I know what Doug Moppett does and I judge him by that, so I will forgive him for a moment of stupidity, if there was one." Helen was ready to debate, but we did not have to have it. I thought about that later on and I thought that, perhaps because of things like that, that is why I failed, to some degree, to be a hard-nosed politician. I found it incredibly difficult to seize a political opportunity to have a go at an opponent; I just could not do it.

    To Fred Nile I would just like to say, Fred, another colleague and I—I do not think Madam President would mind me saying that she was the other person—were talking recently about who we would trust in a crisis to look after our interests. We agreed it would be you, Fred. Some of our friends were a bit surprised, given the things that we disagree on. We were saying that we had this innate trust of you, so I think that speaks for how we feel about you, Fred. I can never look at your seat and think of it as anything other than the love seat, because I once sat there with Elaine and she said, "You can join me on the love seat." So every time I look at that seat I always have that picture of it and think about it in that way.

    Reverend the Hon. Fred Nile: Elaine sends her greetings to you.

    The Hon. JANELLE SAFFIN: Thank you. I send mine back to her as well, and good wishes. I would like to say also to Ian Cohen, another one of my North Coast colleagues—I do not think Ian was here when I was first elected—that I echo the comments of Brian Pezzutti that with Ian you always get someone who is straight, and you know exactly where you stand: he stands on principle. I would like to say, Ian, thank you for your friendship. I have had a lovely personal friendship and good support from you, and our friendship will continue away from this place.

    The parliamentary staff—John Evans, who is away, Lyn Lovelock, Warren Cahill, Mike Wilkinson, David Blunt, Glenda Baker and Stuart Lowe, who supported us through the logistic statistical allocation requirements—really do deserve a medal for having to not only administer the Parliament but deal with us. To Ian Pringle and the team—Maurice, George, Charles, Katrina, Lucy and Mike—thank you for all your years of service and good grace.

    Thank you to David Draper. As Richard Jones said, I am a vegetarian. He thanked me for getting vegetarian food in the Parliamentary dining room. In my first three weeks in the Parliament I lost about five kilograms in weight and David Draper got really worried. He said, "You can't afford to take off weight," and became worried about my diet. I said, "There is not much I can eat here," so we talked about changing some of the food served here. I believe we have the best parliamentary library in Australia, and I thank Rob Brian, the Chief Librarian, and all his staff.

    To all my parliamentary colleagues, thank you for your friendship and support, especially recently when I have had both personal trauma and physical illness. I do not recommend typhoid to anyone; it is quite debilitating and takes a long time to get over. I am now 90 per cent well physically and spiritually. I have got my health back and I am ready for new challenges, which means I have got a lot of my energy back.

    I thank all of the staff I have had over the past eight years: Andrew Hegedus, Troy Swan, Veronica Black, Madeleine Doherty, Judy Mannering, Dominique Tubier, Margherita Tracanelli—Margherita is here and Judy wanted to be here but could not get in from Liverpool—Saw Patrick Sein and Cameron Murphy. I have had tremendous staff and I have been very well served. It has been challenging at times, but we are still all friends. They have all gone on to bigger and better things, with my encouragement and support, as no doubt you will too, Margherita, when our time together finishes.

    To my legal colleagues I say thank you for your support, particularly to John Dowd, President of the Australian Section of the International Commission of Jurists. He and I have spent a lot of years working on legal matters and doing things together, and I value his friendship, as well as Jill's. I say thank you. I do not think John has a thick head; I have not noticed it. Greg Pearce, I accept your offer of support. I still owe you coffee and cake and I will not let it be said that you are not generous; you have shouted me.

    I wish my retiring colleagues all the very best. Like Ron Dyer, I support the bicameral system, the committee system and Parliamentary democracy. I also support Ron's comments on the ICAC. I too have heard the Gibbo and McBride stories about Ron. I cannot repeat some of them here, but they are very funny. When new members come in they think, is this true? I have been in the House and seen new members come in and say, "Is this really true about Ron Dyer?" They only have to get to know Ron a little bit to know that everything that Gibbo and McBride say is utter fabrication, but the stories are very entertaining.

    To John Jobling, who is always learned, helpful, and a stickler for procedure, I say thank you for your friendship. He and Macca—Ian Macdonald—undertook the onerous job of choosing the parliamentary liquid refreshment, and they did it with extreme diligence. Thank you to both of you. It was a real chore and it took a whole day, but we were behind you every step of the way. So thanks to Jobbo and Macca for a job well done.

    Thank you to James Samios, a gentleman who is concerned with broader human rights issues, multiculturalism concerns, and our ethnic communities. To Richard Jones, your tirelessness in parliamentary debate, your passion, and your wonderfully creative madness—which I mean in the nicest possible way—has been wonderful. I know that you are going to participate in cleaning up the Ganges. What a job to take on! I know you have already had some successes there. I wish both you and Jo well in that, and I am sure our paths will cross somewhere in Asia.

    To Brian Pezzutti, my neighbour: we have a few things left to do. You talked about Cabbage Tree, and we still need to get community transport there. Maybe we will get that done before we finish up. We have done quite a few things together in our local community as well as in the much broader community. In Lismore alone there is the baseball stadium, the bus interchange, the road sealing between Kyogle and Nimbin, $100,000 for the cycleways—lots of things. Brian, I once opened the Woodenbong Show and I got them $15,000 for painting. I hope you did that for Cowra.

    The Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti: We gave them $50,000 to be the main sponsor for the show.

    The Hon. JANELLE SAFFIN: But Woodenbong is pretty small, isn't it? I got them $15,000 for painting, so have a look next time you go through; it should be painted. It took me a year, but I just did not give up and I got the $15,000. Brian has a reputation for being a very good doctor and I recommend him. One of the things he does is to ring people after they have gone home from surgery and ask them if they are doing okay. Not too many doctors do that, but Brian does. He once telephoned me from theatre. I did not realise it at the time but that night I attended a meeting with Dr Bill Nardi, who is on the local hospital board, who recounted our conversation. So it was obvious from where Brian had telephoned me. Brian, did you know that Bill is a cousin of Greg Combet from the ACTU?

    The Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti: Yes, I did know that.

    The Hon. JANELLE SAFFIN: He is quite proud of that. Brian, I admire your intellect and the fact that you never seem to have any self-doubt.

    The Hon. Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans: That is a compliment.

    The Hon. JANELLE SAFFIN: It is. I am wracked with self-doubt but Brian has none whatsoever. I admire you for that.

    The Hon. Ian Macdonald: That is the most vicious thing ever said about him.

    The Hon. JANELLE SAFFIN: No, it is not vicious. Brian and I know each other. Brian has also given me support that has manifested itself in many ways. He is passionate about people and causes. Brian and I worked together in East Timor and I am sure that our paths will cross again as we pursue humanitarian causes. Brian, I think you are wrong about Justice Bruce. They should have done their job better across the road before they sent it to us. That is the reality. They could have dealt with the matter over there so I was not going to do their job here. Justice Bruce has since retired.

    I first met the Hon. Helen Sham-Ho, a fellow Macquarie law graduate, when she was working as a social worker at St Vincent's Hospital in Lismore and I was working in a women's refuge. I remember her well. Helen is a tireless community and parliamentary worker, and I know she will continue her work outside this place. The Hon. Alan Corbett, who is not present, is also retiring. I congratulate him on his success in championing legislation about children, for which he can feel justly proud, and his later commitment to raising the profile of complementary medicine.

    One of my major concerns is the fact that we are not creating enough job opportunities for young people. I am also concerned about issues such as youth homelessness and mental health. I agree with Brian's comments about mental health. I was concerned about that issue when I entered this House and that concern remains with me today. We have certainly done a lot at government level but much remains to be done. We have the lowest funding base in Australia in this area; funding is increasing but more money must be allocated. We must create more options for our young people. More than 80 per cent of homeless people suffer from mental illness. That is why they are on the streets. I do not think any of us is proud of that.

    It is no secret that I do not like law and order policies and legislation. I have two principal comments about the latest terrorism legislation that has been before Federal and State parliaments. First, by removing judicial review we are removing the umpire, which is rather unAustralian. There must always be an umpire, particularly when people are losing their rights, to scrutinise legislation. By removing the umpire we are undermining the rule of law. Yes, Brian, the Special Air Service helps to safeguard our democracy but the rule of law and the separation of powers under our system of government are paramount. Judicial review is a fundamental plank of our democracy, and it must remain. I flag my intention—I have my practising certificate—to be involved in challenges to legislation that removes judicial review.

    Secondly, I am glad that Parliament is to establish a scrutiny of bills committee. I feel good about the work of the Standing Committee on Law and Justice, supported by the Regulation Review Committee, of which I was deputy-chair. National security legislation is necessary but it is important that it be scrutinised by a scrutiny of bills committee, which would balance our rights and liberties against security measures.

    There is a saying that you either achieve results or you make excuses; the two things rarely co-exist. I have not achieved all I set out to do in this place but I make no excuses. I have achieved in public life many things of which I feel proud. I have made a difference in small ways, which have made a big difference for individuals, and I have tried to be honest in politics. I have enjoyed the support and encouragement of many people. I must mention my constituent—I would normally make this speech during an adjournment debate—Mrs Lillian Eutick. I know that Brian will support my comments. I will read a eulogy about Lillian prepared by Robin Osborne of the Northern Rivers Area Health Service.

    The Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti: Thirty-five years.

    The Hon. JANELLE SAFFIN: It is a long time. It states:

    "LET US HOLD HIGH THE LAMP OF SERVICE FOR THE WELFARE OF OUR HOSPITALS" you will recognise those words as being the motto of the United Hospitals Auxiliaries and Lillian Eutick epitomised that motto.

    The Northern Star recently reported Mrs Eutick as a woman who loved helping people and loved to make friends. It was for this reason that she dedicated more than 53 years to the Lismore Base Hospital Auxiliary.

    The Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti: I think she spent 35 years as president.

    The Hon. JANELLE SAFFIN: No, I think it was 27. The eulogy continues:

    Lillian took great joy in telling how she went to her first hospital auxiliary meeting with her mother at St George in Sydney, and this was before she started kindergarten and has been doing that ever since.

    Mrs Eutick joined the Lismore Branch of UHA in 1948, a membership of which she was rightly proud, and after 53 years, Lillian had only just stepped down as its president after an unmatched 27 consecutive years in that position.

    Along the way, Lillian was awarded the Order of Australia medal for her selfless work as well as the unqualified praise of her many co-workers and friends.

    From selling tickets to organising stalls, selling hospital linen and running the fortnightly euchre nights, Mrs Eutick has been a tireless worker for our hospital.

    Under her guidance and leadership, well in excess of half a million dollars has been raised to buy equipment ranging from fetal monitors to food trolleys.

    Lillian's dedication wasn't to the bricks and mortar that form the buildings of Lismore Base, it was to the people who make up the community of Lismore; the everyday families: the mums and dads: the old and the young.

    That is the debt of gratitude that we as a community owe to Lillian.

    Lillian will be sadly missed.

    She certainly will. People like Lillian make a great deal of difference in our community. My son, Ned, has been my greatest blessing and joy, and I look forward to our spending more time together. I thank him for his support, encouragement, ideas and for his lobbying—despite the fact that he sometimes held me personally accountable for all Government decisions. I found it difficult to explain to him that I was not totally responsible for every decision that came out of Government. I must put on the public record one of the many issues about which Ned feels passionately: the criminalisation of young people for smoking marijuana. He asks me, "Mum, how can you put young people in gaol for doing that? It's crazy. What are you people doing down there?" I agree with him: It is crazy.

    I have learned a lot in eight years but, equally, I feel that I have just got the hang of it. So I say goodbye for now. I am leaving the New South Wales Legislative Council, but not public life. I will maintain some involvement with the New South Wales Parliament Asia Pacific Friendship Group.

    The Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti: You might come back again.

    The Hon. JANELLE SAFFIN: Not here. Madam President, I thank you for your support and friendship. During a meeting last week you introduced me as your political colleague and you said, "But Janelle and I are friends." That was a really nice thing to say. We are friends. Everyone says that it is hard to make friends in politics. I take a different view of friendship. Even though you can make a lot of enemies in politics, you make a lot of friends. I take the Gandhi view of friendship: one does not need to have known people for a long time or to have exchanged deep and meaningful conversations; it can be just encounters and good connections. That is friendship. Madam President, thank you for our friendship, which will continue in the future. I came into this Chamber committed to making a difference, and passionate about human rights at local and international levels and about country people. I have enjoyed and had faith in the political system, and I leave here with the same view and commitment. Thank you to everyone.

    The Hon. IAN COHEN [2.00 p.m.]: On behalf of the Greens I join in this worthwhile debate at the end of the Fifty-second Parliament. I appreciate that my eight years as a Green in this House have caused considerable trauma to Lynn Lovelock, Mike Wilkinson, Warren Cahill, and John Evans, the Clerk of the Parliaments. They have done a wonderful job in supporting me, particularly as I am not a great one for the parliamentary process. The last eight years have been very rewarding. From the beginning John Evans had some trouble with me. I remember very early in the piece he told me that the protocol in the Parliament was to wear a tie. I said, "No, it's not, and if there's any argument about it, I'll have to come into the House wearing a dress." He has not raised that issue again. I gave him a very hard time in the early stages but, despite that, he has done an extraordinary job in supporting members, as has the Parliamentary Library.

    I acknowledge my office staff, Julia Bastable, who has recently left after five years to take up an appointment with the Department of Community Services; Susie Russell; Jan Barnham, who has worked with me for eight years; and Karla Sperling, who has recently joined my staff. The loss of eight members of Parliament at this time is a huge loss of corporate memory, experience and legal and parliamentary expertise. I do not know how we will make that up in the next Parliament. Certainly, it will have a significant impact on those who are left.

    I listened with appreciation to the kind words of Janelle Saffin, who is a good friend. I look forward to that friendship continuing in the future. Janelle introduced me to a wonderful experience when she invited me to go with her to East Timor. Her fantastic contacts landed me right in the middle of a tumultuous and extremely interesting time there. I wonder if the Government fully appreciates the esteem in which Janelle is held in so many parts of the world, in particular East Timor, and the wonderful work she has done.

    I have had a very respectful relationship with Ron Dyer. My first impression of him was immediately after my first speech in Parliament in 1995 when he came up to me and quietly said, "Ian, I don't know if you're aware of this, but you cannot put out parliamentary proofs on what you said in your first speech, it'll get you into a terrible lot of trouble." On that occasion I spoke out against the Roads and Traffic Authority, the Macquarie Bank and consortiums on the M2. I thanked Ron for that advice. On other occasions he has taken the same fair, open and honest attitude. I hold him in high esteem and greatly respect him.

    Helen Sham-Ho has proven herself to be a true Independent. Many times I have had occasion to discuss issues with her. She has always been open and honest in her approach. On occasions we have not agreed but, nevertheless, she has always carried out her job with a level of integrity and sincerity that has been appreciated by the Greens. Alan Corbett has made his mark on children's issues and I support his stand. I also support his efforts on alternative medicine and giving the practitioners of alternative health modalities the right to practise without the unfortunate vilification and bias that is sometimes displayed in this House. I support calls to change the membership of the committee inquiring into complementary medicine, and I express grave concerns about Professor Dwyer being the chair of the committee. The Greens will continue to campaign against an imbalance in the membership of the committee to assess alternative medical practices.

    Richard Jones was my mentor when I first became a member of Parliament. I looked to him for guidance. He took the time to take me through the processes and supported me as the first Greens member in this House. I had little experience of the parliamentary process. Richard is certainly eccentric and mercurial. On issues such as dogs, cats and feral animals we have had differing views but 99.5 per cent of issues dear to Richard's heart are also dear to me and to the Greens. We have worked well together over the years. I guess Richard is best described as a rare bird representing rare birds. He has done a fantastic job and I hope to carry on his good work in the next Parliament, assuming that I am re-elected.

    Interestingly, Richard is fiscally conservative but a radical conservationist. He has been able to use his skills as a businessperson to promote conservation, and has done so effectively. Richard Jones has been a great advocate of his many causes and I know that he will continue to promote those causes with the same enthusiasm. Some might call it fanaticism, but I believe that is what is needed, as long as it is done peacefully. Richard believes in peaceful protest. He will be an excellent advocate outside the Parliament and I look forward to being lobbied by him.

    The Hon. Richard Jones: And working together on issues.

    The Hon. IAN COHEN: And we will continue to work together on issues. I have had many rewarding relationships with both members and staff in the Parliament. Like many honourable members, I came into the Parliament from a sectional background. My background was in the conservation movement, and I had little experience with business and other sectors. Nevertheless, I have made wonderful friends in the oddest of places. Although more often than not I have disagreed with the Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti, I still have a great regard for him. During committee hearings we have had some fantastic stoushes and I am still in awe of his ability to correct grammatical mistakes throughout the hundreds of pages of parliamentary reports. The Standing Committee on State Development will miss his forensic—I might say "surgical"—expertise in its reports.

    The Hon. Tony Kelly: We will have to go back to reading the reports ourselves.

    The Hon. IAN COHEN: That is right, it will put a huge amount of extra work on other members of the committee. Brian, you have always been very up front and honest with me. I have enjoyed thoroughly our banter in support and in opposition, both inside and outside the House. I will not invite you to fish at my secret spots because I want to keep the fish. But I look forward to an ongoing communication and friendship. We will miss the expertise, energy, diligence and honesty you brought to this House. Even though we have had plenty of scraps both inside and outside this House, I have been able to speak to you about medical issues. You have been able to step out of one role into another. You have been very supportive, which I have appreciated. I have trusted you. It has been a wonderful working and personal friendship.

    The Hon. Jim Samios is someone for whom I have a great deal of respect. I seem to meet him more at ethnic functions than I do anywhere else. I always bump into Jim at ethnic events. I appreciate his untiring work for the ethnic community. The Greens hold in high esteem his aspirations for a flourishing multicultural society. We hope that we can share in continuing success. When dealing with what is often a backward-looking attitude that can well up in our society when people are feeling fearful and insecure it is all the more important that people in positions of responsibility, as he has demonstrated by continuing to attend functions and join with the multicultural community, reassert the highest aspirations of Australian culture: a multicultural society. I thank you for your efforts in that regard.

    The Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti: Jim really enjoys it, as well.

    The Hon. IAN COHEN: Indeed, and so do I. It is something we share. The food after Muslim gatherings is fantastic! John Jobling, as party Whip, has done a fantastic job. He has always been very helpful and open to sharing his not insignificant knowledge on process. There has never been a time when John Jobling has been too busy to sit down and explain issues, processes and sequences in the House when it is very hectic, especially at the end of the parliamentary sitting year. John has been patient and always available. I have certainly appreciated that. Both he and I were on the committee considering safe injection rooms. We saw things differently and we disagreed. I respect his point of view, but I will fight it. However, John Jobling has always acted in an exemplary manner. This House will miss his corporate knowledge.

    Doug Moppett was a fantastic orator. It is a terrible shame that he is not here today to share with us his wonderful turn of phrase, expressions and deep knowledge of parliamentary process and personalities. I would like to thank Hansard for their patience and forbearance. I would also like to thank Virginia Knox who, again, has been constantly at the cutting edge dealing with the crossbenchers. She has always been very helpful and extremely supportive. It has been an interesting and difficult time: we have had terrorism, drought and bushfires. These are areas in which the Greens may suffer setbacks. We are attacked, vilified and sometimes blamed, yet we continue to grow. We will go into this election with a clear message for the electorate that there is an alternative. Although we acknowledge the conservation advances made by the Carr Government, no matter how many national parks are promulgated we would be happy with one so long as it was relevant and big enough.

    There is great sadness for bureaucracies such as the Roads and Traffic Authority and community concerns communicated to our offices, particularly about the M5 East. I am sure that many members are aware that I have had a long and ongoing difficulty with Minister Yeadon about forestry. I maintain that he has it wrong. Nevertheless, I give him credit for his recent bill dealing with greenhouse gases. It is excellent. It is an example of what the Carr Government can do if it has the will. It can act proactively on greenhouse gas emissions, forests, wind power on the western slopes and solar power out west. The bill is not perfect, but it is a significant step forward. It shows that erstwhile intractable Ministers in their opposition to good green outcomes can come good on important issues such as greenhouse gas emissions. I have now served eight years in this Parliament. I will face re-election in March next year and I expect to be back in this House.

    The Hon. Brian Pezzutti: That is arrogant.

    The Hon. IAN COHEN: I am sure that both inside and outside the Parliament the likes of Brian Pezzutti will not allow me any arrogance, and that is not the case. I hope that the time spent here as a Greens member of Parliament has opened up debate and added new dimensions to the concept of sustainability and community. I will continue to work on those important environmental and social justice issues. I hope that we will have more Greens in this House in the Fifty-third Parliament, which will enable us to diversify and form portfolio areas to concentrate on issues that are closest to my heart. I thank the House for its forbearance today. I will miss all members who are leaving this House. They have made a fantastic contribution. I have learned a lot from all of you.

    The Hon. Dr ARTHUR CHESTERFIELD-EVANS [2.17 p.m.]: Seasons greetings to everyone: Hansard, Parliamentary Counsel, the attendants, Building Services, the library—which has done so much useful work—catering, stationary and Patricia, the cleaner, who does a good job on the coffee cups in our office each morning, which is important. I would also like to pay special tribute to parliamentary committee staff: Tony Davies, Julie Langsworth and Merrin Thompson from the Standing Committee on Social Issues who have done a wonderful job most recently on the Department of Community Services report, which will be issued in a couple of minutes; and Bayne McKissock, Julia Martin and Rob Stefanic from the Select Committee on Mental Health.

    Today we farewell members who are leaving. I pay tribute to each of them individually on behalf of the Australian Democrats. Ron Dyer had the difficult portfolio of Department of Community Services, which he executed very well. It was such a difficult portfolio that the work and energy he put into it were not recognised as they should have been. His lifetime commitment of service to the people who were deinstitutionalised and disabled was historic. It has been vital in getting a better deal for those people, especially following the development of group homes. The setting up of the Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care was seminal. His work on committees was extremely valuable.

    The Hon. John Jobling is a tyro of parliamentary tactics and knowledge, a walking ways and means committee. At a more personal level, he is a good source of advice in the dining room. The Hon. James Samios—gentleman Jim—is a great advocate for ethnic communities. He has a non-confrontational style and in a taciturn way makes apposite comments, which is unique in this Parliament. The Hon. Richard Jones is a character from way back. As the Hon. Ian Cohen said, he is "a rare bird looking after rare birds". It was unfortunate from the point of view of the Australian Democrats that he resigned from the party three months into an eight-year term. Frankly, I do not believe that the national executive would have expelled the Hon. Richard Jones had he simply ridden through the storm. The Hon. Richard Jones pursued a lot of important issues, many of which were Democrats issues. We usually voted together. The Hon. Richard Jones has championed a lot of issues that are important to us. We have worked together and I hope that we can continue to do so during his retirement.

    I refer to the ever meticulous Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti, whose attention to detail is legendary. He has a strong knowledge of government and his corporate conscience in relation to health was very reassuring. I remember his four-hour speeches when he picked apart every aspect of committee reports. I was impressed by his detailed knowledge and his important and skilful research. He kept documentation of the Government's failings in relation to health. As a person interested in health, I will greatly miss his meticulous manner. The work of the Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti on General Purpose Standing Committee No. 2—which forced ministerial accountability; a struggle that has to be taken on by other committee chairs in future—and on the Select Committee on Mental Health will be missed. I was glad that the Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti chaired the mental health inquiry—I knew he would pursue the issue with tenacity and attention to detail.

    I am sorry that the Hon. Helen Sham-Ho is leaving Parliament. She has taken a principled and important stand on the Standing Committee on Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics. It was a tough job. It is always tougher for a major party backbencher who is thrown onto the crossbenches, where one has to think for oneself. It is much tougher than being elected with a major party, where one puts up one's hand and moves to whatever side of the Chamber the party is voting.

    The Hon. Janelle Saffin: It is not quite like that.

    The Hon. Dr ARTHUR CHESTERFIELD-EVANS: I know—there must be a lot of angst and stress when they have to vote in a way they do not want to. The Hon. Alan Corbett had one objective: to look after the welfare of children. He was somewhat surprised to have been elected. Because he is such a nice fellow everyone gave him the number two position on the ticket, which helped him. The Hon. Alan Corbett achieved his objective by introducing his bill to stop corporal punishment of children. Many people come into this Chamber without a clearly defined objective and are not able to achieve things. To his credit, the Hon. Alan Corbett achieved his objective. His personal life is difficult—his wife has a disease that is inadequately recognised by the medical profession, and it should be criticised for that. It has made it difficult for the Hon. Alan Corbett to juggle his commitment to children with the domestic demands placed on him.

    I thank the Hon. Janelle Saffin who has worked wonderfully for a great many causes, including the people of Tibet, Burma, East Timor and West Papua through the International Commission of Jurists. She is, in a sense, one of the last of the true believers. She fights tenaciously for human rights and the decency and dignity of people all over the world. The Hon. Janelle Saffin will be sorely missed in this Chamber. She is perhaps the conscience of the Australian Labor Party and a tireless fighter—

    The Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti: The conscience of us all.

    The Hon. Dr ARTHUR CHESTERFIELD-EVANS: Yes. I should also remember the late Hon. Doug Moppett, whose judgment, wit, skill and calming influence on committees in recent negotiations is sorely missed. I wish everybody a merry Christmas. I extend my best wishes and those of the Australian Democrats to those who are not returning. To those who think they are returning but are not—well, that's politics, I guess! All the best.

    Reverend the Hon. Dr GORDON MOYES [2.24 p.m.]: On behalf of the Christian Democratic Party and as the most junior member of this Chamber I wish honourable members who are leaving every blessing in their future. I extend to the House and to all those who help us in Parliament House Christmas blessings. It seems strange to be wishing people peace on earth and goodwill to men at a time when the face of the earth is feeling the armed foot of the most powerful nation on earth treading over small countries, when terrorism has crossed international bounds, when families are uprooted from their traditional homes and sent across national borders, when people are forced to become asylum seekers, when many live in fear and terror of unprovoked attacks, when costs are rising and so many people do not have the capacity to pay, and when among so many people there is an atmosphere of despair. It seems rather incongruous to wish peace and goodwill among people at such a time.

    I am not talking about Christmas 2002; I am speaking about the background to Christmas in the first century. In those days, it was the armoured heel of the mighty Roman Empire walking across little nations of the Middle East, when families were forced to flee across borders for their protection, when terrorism had attacked some of the great cities of the ancient world, when Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus were forced to flee as asylum seekers down into Egypt for their own safety from the murderous King Herod, at a time when Caesar Augustus was ordering the whole world around in order to increase taxation, and when poverty and despair among people were widespread. The Bible says that it was at this time, "When the time was right, God sent forth His son born of a woman."

    This is the time when Christmas greetings between people of goodwill need to be at their most sincere. The needs among ordinary people in our community are enormous. Who could possibly decide with any logic that this is a time when the despairing should not receive a word of encouragement, when the depressed should not receive a word of hope, when the fearful should not receive a word of courage and when those who live all of their lives in despondency should not receive a word of life? The whole coming of Jesus Christ into a world of despair, despondency and death was that God might meet us in our need and meet our deepest need with His deepest resources.

    Of course, modern centuries have overlaid accretions of religion, culture and commerce. The religious accretions need to be stripped away that we might see ourselves in our personal need and see God's clear answer. The cultural accretions should be used to help people see the real story behind the events of Bethlehem. The commercial accretions should at least be celebrated for bringing employment and income to so many. Behind the myth of Christmas lies the reality that is needed today. Children, for example, need to be told the real story of St Nicholas—the story of a bishop in Turkey in the fourth century who cared for the poor, visited children and gave them gifts, and encouraged people to provide hospitality for the homeless. In our world every Santa Claus should be used to help people think of underprivileged children, the poor and the homeless. One does not improve society by removing everything that enriches and enables it. We must make sure that it is used wisely for the betterment of people. On behalf of the Christian Democratic Party I wish you, Madam President, and all honourable members the blessings of what we call the real Christian Christmas.

    The Hon. PETER BREEN [2.28 p.m.]: I understand that this is an opportunity for me to say something about the retiring members whom I admire and to say goodbye to others. I asked: What do you say in response to a valedictory speech? That was the explanation I was given. I am pleased to say on this occasion that I admire all the honourable members who are retiring and I will take this opportunity to mention each of them briefly. The Hon. Alan Corbett has demonstrated extraordinary persistence in securing government approval for his legislation to ensure that children are protected from assault. In my time in this place I have seen a progressive reduction in the value ascribed to human rights and individual liberties, but the bill of the Hon. Alan Corbett stands out like a beacon to remind us of the direction we might be taking as lawmakers.

    The Hon. Ron Dyer, who chaired the Select Committee on Law and Justice for the past four years, on which I was privileged to serve, has been a pillar of strength in the House and on the committee. His departure will be a great loss. I have been amazed by his ability to deal with a wide range of issues and to find a consensus. Indeed, the only law and justice committee inquiry where a dissenting statement was published was my own contribution to the bill of rights inquiry. And it is worth recalling that Ron's efforts on that inquiry secured the enactment of the Legislation Review Amendment Act, which ensures that in the future this House will not be debating bills in a human rights vacuum. I was pleased that Ron mentioned that legislation today as one achievement he is proud of.

    I tried to convince Ron that a New South Wales bill of rights would give our judges a legal peg on which they could hang their independence and integrity, as well as a place in history for the chairman of the law and justice committee. Ron would not have a bar of increasing the power of the judiciary or being led astray by base appeals to personal and political ambition. History will now record that the Australian Capital Territory, under its Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope, secured Australia's first Bill of Rights in 2003. None of that diminishes in any way the distinguished service given by the Hon. Ron Dyer to the people of New South Wales since his election to this House in 1979 and for the work he has done on the parliamentary committee system.

    In terms of parliamentary service, I am a youngster compared with Hon. Ron Dyer and with the Hon. John Jobling, who has been a member since he was first elected in 1984. One of my ambitions is to acquire just a fraction of John Jobling's knowledge of the practices and procedures of the House and the rules of debate. I am astounded how long it takes to learn about those things, but for John Jobling they simply seem to be second nature. His store of knowledge will be a loss to the House and a loss to me. I have always relied on his guidance as to the direction the affairs of the House are taking. I have served on several committees with the Hon. John Jobling, and I have never seen him ruffled or raise his voice in anger. Most recently I served with him on the mental health inquiry chaired by the Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti. John Jobling brought compassion and balance to the work of the committee, and he was a good foil for Dr Pezzutti. At the end of his first speech in 1984 the Hon. John Jobling said:

    I look forward to participating as a fully active member of this House from today.

    He has done that, and he has done it with great distinction. The Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti is a fellow traveller on the North Coast, and a man who is widely known and respected from Grafton to the Tweed. Indeed, he is known as far south as Fredericktown, as I discovered the other day when I pulled up at a famous pie shop on the Pacific Highway near Kempsey. There in the pie shop window was a page of Hansard and a Brian Pezzutti speech extolling the virtues of Fredo's pies. One can also find his photograph neatly framed in the terminal buildings at Lismore and Ballina airports. Brian Pezzutti is a genuine local hero on the North Coast.

    Dr Pezzutti's legacy to the Parliament is the great and timely report into mental health which was tabled last week. It was a privilege to work with him on the report and to witness first-hand his compassion and good humour. His knowledge of the subject of mental health is so extensive that sometimes I wondered at the hearings just who was giving evidence, the witnesses or the chairman. For all that, the report is a landmark in the field of mental health, and I hope its recommendations are implemented for the sake of the mentally ill and as a testimony to the work of the Hon. Dr Brian Pezzutti. Two other fellow travellers on the North Coast are also retiring at the end of this four-year session of the Parliament—the Hon. Richard Jones and the Hon. Janelle Saffin. They also scored photographs in the Lismore and Ballina airport terminals. I admit to great affection for each of them, both politically and personally. Richard Jones had a good old-fashioned hippy party in the Strangers Bar the other night and I loved every feature of it.

    The Hon. Ian Macdonald: It reminded me of Nimbin.

    The Hon. PETER BREEN: It did. It included glitter, sparklers, mime artists, streamers and a guava punch that tasted like sewage effluent but was guaranteed to keep you up all night. One thing I learnt at Richard's farewell party is that he has had more success in amending legislation in the upper House than any other member. He likes to party but he also has a huge capacity for work, and I wish him and Jo a long and prosperous future. Janelle Saffin is an icon in the human rights movement. I am proud to have known her for the past four years and to see first-hand the work she does. She is an active member of the International Commission of Jurists and she enjoys wide respect in Australia and overseas. Two international bodies have been established as a direct result of Janelle's efforts. One is the Water Research Training Centre set up in Burma in conjunction with the United Nations, and the other is the Alola Foundation, which sponsors women and young girls in East Timor and whose patron is Mary Robinson. I understand that Janelle will be resuming her legal career. She will make a fine contribution to the work of the legal profession following her experience in this House.

    Today the Hon. James Samios said that the transfer of the balance of power from the Legislative Assembly to the Legislative Council has been the most important development in parliamentary democracy during his time as a member of this House. This trend is consistent with developments at the Federal level of government, where many voters are casting their ballots for the major parties in the House of Representatives but voting for minor parties and Independents in the Senate. James Samios also referred to the important part played by multiculturalism in underpinning the social cohesion of Australian society. When he first joined the Liberal Party its policy towards migrant Australians was one of assimilation. Almost single-handedly, James Samios changed that policy from one of assimilation to one of integration according to the principles of mutual respect represented by multiculturalism. Australia is a culturally diverse society that builds bridges between different ethnic communities. This approach to migrants is now a bipartisan policy. In my opinion the Hon. James Samios deserves a good measure of the credit for the success of that policy because of the way he has influenced the attitude of the Liberal Party. In my experience James Samios changed the thinking of the Liberal Party towards migrant groups, and he is to be forever congratulated on that.

    Like the Hon. James Samios, the Hon. Helen Sham-Ho has also been a bridge builder with the ethnic communities of New South Wales. In her final speech today Helen mentioned that she was the first of 10 people of Asian background elected to parliaments throughout Australia—I did not know that—and she is to be commended for that effort. Today she explained that the Asian community was outraged by the lack of political leadership in response to Hansonism and she took a difficult decision to resign from the Liberal Party. She compared the way that people of Asian background were treated with the demonisation that is being directed towards the Muslim community and people who subscribe to the beliefs of Islam.

    I am not in a position to make any judgment about Helen's decision to resign from the Liberal Party but I note in passing that more than half of the members on the crossbenches were once members of the Liberal Party. In the four years I have worked with the Hon. Helen Sham-Ho I have found her to be intelligent, hard working and committed to the ideals of multiculturalism and cultural integration. I vividly recall in the early days of my membership of this House when the Hon. Helen Sham-Ho gave a speech that preceded the Hon. David Oldfield's first speech. The gallery was packed with Pauline Hanson supporters who clapped and cheered when an interjector called Helen a rat. I was shocked by that display, which had several layers of meaning, but Helen pressed on courageously and with dignity. I congratulate her on her courage, personal integrity and hard work for the Chinese community. Like all trailblazers, Helen has suffered much for her beliefs and ideals, but many people hold her in high esteem and I am one of them. I agree with the Hon. Ian Cohen that the loss of eight members is a great loss of corporate knowledge in this House, and I thank each of those members for their contributions over the years.

    Amendment agreed to.

    Motion as amended agreed to.

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