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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 2 Hansard (25 February) . . Page.. 356 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

It was that preparedness to take a careful risk that I think was a mark of Norm Fisher and part of the Norm Fisher that I really liked. It seems to me, Mr Speaker, that if there were more people in Canberra like Norm Fisher, with the leadership, the energy, the enthusiasm and the willingness to take some risks, we probably would not be in the recession that we are in at the moment. Mr Speaker, I join with other members in extending my condolences to his wife, Maureen, and to his family. Norm Fisher is a person that I am going to miss.

MS McRAE: Mr Speaker, 10 years ago, I got a phone call. The phone call was an invitation to join an advisory board, and the advisory board that I was to join as the community representative was the forerunner of the now established CIT. It was then that I met this remarkable individual called Norm Fisher. Those 10 years have seen a roller-coaster ride which has ended so tragically for Norm Fisher, and I hope not quite so tragically for me. I think that, if any individual sparked my interest in actually moving from community representation into the more serious side of politics, it was Norm Fisher. His legacy is far greater than any list of achievements you could add up on a piece of paper or any qualities you would like to enumerate. He was one of those rare individuals who touch everyone and who are remembered for what they can spark off in others as much as for what they give of themselves.

I think those three qualities that I met 10 years ago have overridden everything that Norm has done and have awakened us all to our own potential to measure up against this incredible person. The three qualities that I encountered 10 years ago, and that only grew in stature from that time, were professionalism, adaptability and enthusiasm. The enthusiasm was not just an abounding enthusiasm like that of a young puppy, but an enthusiasm that had a depth of integrity and honesty that I have met in very few people. The professionalism was evident from day one - in Norm's attention to every detail; in Norm's capacity in every dealing to make sure that all of us, including a very new and raw community member called Roberta McRae, knew what was going on, understood and was able to participate. We were moving from this scraggle of TAFEs, as they were at the time, with campuses all over Canberra, people with vested interests, frightened people, and people concerned about what the future held. Norm held it all together in a totally professional way, so that everybody was informed, so that everybody was kept together, so that some inkling of the adventure that was to come was sparked, rather than fear.

Over the 10 years, we have seen this ragbag of schools, this ragbag of interests, united into an extraordinary CIT which holds its own internationally. His professionalism was what shaped that from the beginning. It shaped the board; it shaped everyone who was involved from the very beginning. It was a 10-year battle, a 10-year development, which still has not stopped. I was involved in that process until 1991, when I was preselected as a candidate. From 1987 to 1991, we had monthly, if not more frequent, board meetings. Norm never dropped that professionalism. Each progressive stage of the process showed us his next quality, which was that of adaptability.

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