Page 4127 - Week 13 - Thursday, 2 December 2021
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and find more friends, I hope, within the community to whom I can provide some assistance.
Of course, the Ginninderra electorate is who I work for. Being a local member is actually my job description. I say to all of those members of the Ginninderra electorate: I am here to serve you. I hope you know how to find me. If you see a car with my face and name on it, it can be guaranteed that I am probably driving it. It has my office number and email on it. I want to be found. Please find me and see if I can help you.
In my office I have been fortunate and blessed to have quality people come and work for me. I want to start with a shout-out to the interns from both ANU and Newcastle university, who came in and, hopefully, got some benefit themselves, not just by way of a credit for their course but through the experience of working in my office. I say to Oscar, Sarah, Claire and Tim that I wish you well and I still remain able to assist if I can.
I say to the two outstanding young men, Hamish and Isaac, who commenced with me pretty early on in a part-time capacity: I wish you well in your careers. One is a lawyer and the other is a policy expert. I look forward to continuing our journey together.
My advisers today are Unity and Amy. Amy was with me from the get-go. She even took time off from her work at KPMG to come to induction sessions for the new members. They have all happily taken on, as a group title, the “Cain train”. I keep testing this. I say, “Are you still happy for me to refer to you as part of the Cain train?” Apparently, that is still okay. Amy and Unity are really the brains of the Cain train, and continue to provide me with fantastic assistance. We have a fairly flat structure in the office. They are certainly used to my dad jokes. I get a few laughs, but mostly groans. I would like to say that they are the brains of the Cain train, and my appreciation of them is very high indeed.
I will mention the other Cain train. Sometimes I use that in a different sense. Last year I bought a RAV4, which I had wrapped with the usual “Vote 1 Cain” message. After I was elected, I had my phone number and email placed on it. Sometimes I call the RAV4 the “Cain train” as well, so I do confuse people on occasions. Alternatively, it is the “wrapped RAV” or the “painted wagon”.
I also want to acknowledge my friends and church community. I have tried to continue as much as I can my connection that I had with them prior to being a candidate and prior to being a member of the Liberal Party. I am not always able to meet those previous commitments, but you are still close to me and influencing my journey today.
Most importantly—and this would be the case for all of us here—there is my family. I am indebted to my wife of 41 years, Claire. Without my family, I would not be here. I know that after this political phase of my life they are the ones who will be my enduring community.
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