Page 2865 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 21 October 1992
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ADJOURNMENT
Motion (by Mr Berry) proposed:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
Member's Engagement
MRS GRASSBY (4.46): Madam Speaker, this Assembly has counted many firsts in its short history since 1989, and I shall mention a couple. Many people forget that the ACT Government was the first government in Australia to be led by a woman. Our current Chief Minister, Rosemary Follett, formed our first Territory government. Another first that we all remember, for one reason or another, was the great debate on fluoride. First we took fluoride out of the water, then we put half of it back, and finally we put it all back. I am sure that we also recall the saga of the monkey bite, and our esteemed former Speaker unfortunately being trapped in Hong Kong with no visa. In this Second Assembly we are still celebrating firsts. Mr Connolly celebrated a first for the Assembly a couple of weeks ago when he and his wife, Helen, added to the Labor ranks with the birth of their first child, a healthy daughter. I congratulate both Mr Connolly and Helen on the arrival of their beautiful daughter, Lara.
Tonight I rise to speak about yet another first for a member of this Assembly. I am, of course, referring to Mr Humphries's recent engagement. I wish to add my congratulations to the many others that I am sure he has received so far. I would like to say, with thanks to Mae West, that marriage is a great institution, but I was not aware that Mr Humphries was ready for an institution just yet. I am pleased for him, as I was afraid that he might go through life as one of life's unclaimed treasures. However, this is not to be the case. I was so concerned that I started carrying around a photograph of Mr Humphries to show eligible young ladies what they were missing out on. You might say that I was prepared to act as a basadaeir. A basadaeir, of course, is an Irish marriage broker who takes a commission from the dowry for his or her services. I might add that I expected a very high commission for such a difficult job.
Mr Humphries has beaten me to the punch, but I do have some advice for him and for his fiancee. As a veteran of many preselection battles over many years, let me advise Mr Humphries that you can always depend on your family to vote the right way. So, I would suggest that he plan a large family. Do not worry about waiting for your own children to turn 18. Remember that adoption is always a great solution for taking control of the Young Liberals now. From my experience as a politician's wife and now as a politician myself, let me say that Cathie will have to get used to keeping dinners warm or, in these modern times, cooking meals that can be easily microwaved. As for wedding presents, let me suggest an electric blanket for those late night sittings and plenty of mystery books to give her something to do besides waiting for Gary to get home. I remind members of what Zsa Zsa Gabor, the expert on marriage, said: "Husbands are like fires. They go out if unattended". My favourite quote on marriage is: "A woman must be a genius to create a good husband". Finally, let me congratulate Mr Humphries and his fiancee on their announcement and wish them well in the future. We all look forward to the next big announcement they make.
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