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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 1 Hansard (18 February) . . Page.. 60 ..

MR QUINLAN (continuing):

I was a former president of that club. I cannot count the number of years that I had known Doug but he was with the club almost from its inception. I could not make his funeral because I was unavoidably out of town, but I have been told that there were plenty of good Dougie stories at the funeral. Dougie certainly was a character. He had a very dry wit and he always had a response. He was quite good with repartee and in many ways a very hard man to put down. He was a guy that didn't mind an ale on a hot day, as they say. But most of all, as his eulogies attest, he was a family man-he was a family man within his own close family and he was a family man in terms of the wider community within which he worked.

I would like to express condolences to Dougie's family in particular and condolences to all of the families that were so shockingly affected in one day.

MRS BURKE: I have obviously been following the tragic events of the last few weeks as an outsider, and now as the newest member in this place as a member for Molonglo I would like to add to the comments of my colleagues.

I express my sincere condolences to the families of the victims. May God bless those who died and peace be with them at this time. These people died in the community where they lived, worked and played. I did not know any of them but I know what it is to lose someone. It is a great sadness to us all that these people lost their lives in such a tragic way.

I will conclude my remarks by saying that their memories will live on. They will be missed by their families and they will be missed by the immediate community that they lived in. I again say that my thoughts are with those families who are suffering at this time.

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

Condolence motion

Mrs Joan Taggart OAM

MR STANHOPE (Chief Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Community Affairs and Minister for the Environment): I move:

Like many Canberrans I was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Joan Taggart. Joan was a truly remarkable woman, and I know she will be sorely missed not only by her friends and family but by the Canberra community as a whole.

Born in Sydney in 1917, Joan moved to Canberra in 1964, the year Lake Burley Griffin was filled. From that year on, I think it is fair to say that Joan played an unparalleled role in Canberra's development as well as our community and political affairs. It was for her services to the community that she was awarded the Order of Australia in 1984.

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