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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 5033 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

Mr Speaker, I would also like to thank Paul Osborne and Michael Moore for having a sense of humour. It often does help, and I am sure we are going to see a bit more of that in a little while. My thanks also go to Michael Moore and
his staff. I would like to particularly thank Michael Moore and his staff for generating some ideas and enthusiasm, and even more Bills than the Labor Party all put together.

Lucy and Kerrie, the Greens, thank you for coming to the realisation that the Liberal Party does not concrete everything and paint it green - most things, just not everything. I am sure that we on this side of the house would like to wish Lucy particularly well in whatever she chooses to do in the future. I am sure that her time as a mum and other things will be very useful. To the members on the other side of the house, a big thank you for making the past 90 or so question times so easy.

To the Clerk and the Deputy Clerk, Mark McRae and Tom Duncan, and not forgetting whom my staff call the 2.20 pm maniac, Maureen, for running up into the office at 2.20 every day, my thanks for making this place a much easier place to work in. To Tom and Mark, "Up the Magpies"; and Barry, thank you for all your help and humour in making this place work much easier. I would like to thank the Assembly liaison crew, Vicki Bates and Laurine Teakle, for the wonderful service that they have given to us. I would also like to thank Toyota for making small cars that are not made of tissue paper, otherwise I would not be standing here today.

Mr Speaker, I have always said that we were surprised to be in government, and we were. I have always believed that we were not going to be here for a long time, but we had a job to do and we were willing to do it, and to do our absolute best. Mr Speaker, we have done that. I do not know whether we will get another term. I did not expect a first one, so we certainly do not expect a second one. I do not see myself necessarily as a career politician who will drop off the twig in 30 years or so, but I have really enjoyed the last three years. As I said before, I have learnt an enormous amount during that time.

I know that my colleagues on this side of the house believe that this Assembly is now working better than it was before. We have given the job a good shake-up, a shake-up that I believe it needed. I suppose that our job is one of the toughest jobs there is in the ACT. I have enjoyed getting out there and selling Canberra, and not just in Australia. It is great now that Canberra is significantly better known as a good place to do business and as a good place to employ people than it was three years ago. It has been an extremely tough couple of years, but it has been a challenge. Enough of politics. I would like to wish everybody a happy Christmas, a great new year, good luck in February for everybody, and drive carefully.

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