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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 2 Hansard (25 February) . . Page.. 358 ..

MS McRAE (continuing):

Norm took that quality of enthusiasm wherever he went, and it was that quality, that honesty, that integrity, that enabled people to trust him and follow him into unknown waters, into new adventures, into remarkable achievements. I have met very few people in my life who combine those three qualities in a way that makes you feel that you are special, that that individual you are meeting is special, and that life itself is something very precious. Norm's early passing has shown just how precious life is. I cannot begin to say how much sadness I feel for his wife and children at a time when they would have enjoyed his company most.

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister): Mr Speaker, previous speakers have certainly made a lot of very important comments and very important statements about Norm Fisher. I think the three words that come out of the speeches that we have already heard this morning but also from others who knew Norm Fisher are "commitment", "energy" and "enthusiasm". Those are the words that have come out of everybody's speeches this morning, and certainly they express the general feeling that you always had after a session with Norm.

I think one of the things that need to be elaborated on a little bit this morning is Norm's commitment to Canberra and his vision for our city. I suppose that one of the greatest ways to ensure that Norm's memory is not forgotten - that all of that hard work, all of that enthusiasm and all of that energy do not in any way go to waste - is to ensure that his vision of Canberra as a centre for excellence in education, as a place that can and must and will be able to sell its education services in the international market, as a city that will be able to attract more and more international students in the future, with a CIT that will be able to continue to change with the changing requirements of the work force, the changing requirements of the private sector and the public sector in the future, continues to happen. They are things that were very important to Norm, things that Norm did very well in his time with the CIT. As we have heard, his capacity to change, to grab hold of opportunities and to make those opportunities work was very impressive. I suppose, Mr Speaker, it is now really up to all of us to ensure that Norm's vision for the CIT and Norm's vision for Canberra, as a centre for excellence in education, continues and becomes a reality.

I also would like to pass on my condolences to his wife, Maureen, to his sons - Stephen, Craig and Rohan - and to all of those people who knew and loved Norm. Mr Speaker, it is a tragedy that somebody should die so soon after retirement, when he had so many other things to do. Let us make sure that we, in this Assembly, can do some of those things that I know Norm would have wanted to happen as a result of the things that he started.

Question resolved in the affirmative, members standing in their places.

MR SPEAKER: I inform members of the presence in the gallery of a delegation from Teheran, headed by the Mayor, His Excellency Mr Gholam Hossein Karbaschi. On behalf of all members, I bid them a warm welcome.

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