Page 596 - Week 02 - Thursday, 9 March 2006
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the right story out, rather than one that might have been corrupted somewhere along the Chinese whisper chain.
I am retiring and I want to commence, effectively, my last speech in the place with the thank you remarks that I think that I should make. I want, in the first instance, to register my thanks to the people of the ACT for allowing me to have the honour of having the jobs that I have had over the last eight years. I want to register my gratitude to the Australian Labor Party for allowing me to represent it. It has been a great privilege to do so and to be part of a party that has so many people that are, in fact, passionately wedded to their particular beliefs.
I want to register my gratitude to the colleagues with whom I have worked: to Jon Stanhope, who has been the leader, and I have been the deputy over that period of eight years, and the team with whom I have worked, whose company I have really enjoyed and who are genuinely stimulating people, and the people who have gone before them.
I have to make special mention of Bill Wood. The first time I came into this place I sat next to Bill and, without his really knowing it, he taught me a few lessons very quickly. Bill was never one to hit the black-and-white button straightaway, Bill was never one to make absolute statements when they were not necessary, and Bill was one to give credit to anybody, regardless of which party they represented, if they had done something constructive or beneficial. I do register that thanks and I repeat my thanks to these colleagues who are now registered amongst my lifelong friends.
I want to thank the staff that have worked with me. I have been particularly fortunate to have a complement of staff of significant longevity in the office, people who have been of tremendous support. Again, they are now, of course, my lifelong friends. I also want to register my gratitude to the number of DLOs that have worked in my office since we took government. They merged quite seamlessly into the process that we have and they always maintained their independence from matters political. In terms of the operation of the office, again we have been blessed with some terrific people that at various times have worked in our office. I cannot speak too highly of those people.
I want to thank the Assembly staff for the support processes that are provided in this place. I have described it elsewhere as a boutique parliament. It is a parliament that does run on a shoestring. We run on minimum resources and it is a credit to all of the staff here that we seem to get the job done as well as, if not better than, most other parliaments across Australia with the minimum of resources.
I want to register my gratitude publicly to Margaret Spalding, my partner, for all the times of download. We have had some terrific discussions and will continue to do so, but we have also been able, with our different roles, to download. As the saying goes, a problem shared is a problem halved, or whatever. An onus shared is often an onus halved as well. I genuinely appreciate that and I think that many times I might have done a little better for that shoulder, that assistance, that advice. So thank you.
To the people in this place, I would like to apologise to anybody whose senses I have offended in any way and, for all the hurt that you have heaped upon me, I forgive you. I have to say that when I first came into the place I enjoyed the theatre of this Assembly. It
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