Page 4014 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 5 December 2007
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MR SPEAKER: You said you were going to be nice.
MRS BURKE: I am trying to be nice. I was going to be nice; you are right. Unfortunately, Ms MacDonald has to go and ruin it all. She got it wrong. In fact, it was not the case that we were not going to discuss Health a lot this year because we had discussed it last year. We did Housing last year. So she has forgotten that one. She emphasised that the committee would do Housing. Notwithstanding that, if Ms Macdonald comes to meetings half-awake or half-asleep—whichever it is—obviously she will forget some of these things. I was outnumbered. There was a debate about how long ministers would appear for. I expressed a wish for more time to be spent on Health and Housing but Disability was to be the focus. Ms MacDonald and Ms Porter had already organised that in their minds. We on this side of the house know just how much input we are allowed to have into some of these committees, because they are Labor controlled. So let us leave that issue there.
I do wish Ms MacDonald all the best for Hanukkah. I know that she does not celebrate Christmas per se. As I said, unfortunately, I will not be here tomorrow evening, as I will be in Sydney. My nephew has just come off 10 months of a rehab program and it has actually turned his life completely around. He is off all medication. The program that he was on is out of Sydney. It is called One80 Teen Challenge and is supported by one of the biggest Christian churches in Australia today, Hillsong. They do these courses for young people. It costs $46,000 a year to put students through, but it is free for the students who attend. There is no charge to them or to parents. Family and friends are not asked to make a contribution—only if they can afford it. I think that is a really good example of what a church stands for—its pastoral care in the community. My nephew has certainly turned his life around in a very positive way. Tomorrow I will go up to Sydney to help him and his dad celebrate Champions Day.
I would like to extend my very sincere and best wishes to you all. I have to put you at the top of the list, Mr Speaker. You have really been very long suffering with me. I know I get a little vocal and I know I can be challenging, but it is all meant in a very positive way at the end of the day. I do want to wish my colleagues well at the end of this sitting year and wish them a blessed, peaceful and carefree Christmas, as I do you, Mr Speaker. I also extend my very best wishes to my Labor colleagues across the chamber. In this place we put the gloves on; hopefully outside it can be a little different. At the end of the day, we are all human beings.
I also extend my best wishes to the crossbench. I hope Dr Foskey’s daughter has an enjoyable evening tonight. Thank you to the long-suffering attendants. Nothing is too much trouble for them. Corporate services: where would we be without your expert advice? I thank the people in the library, the secretariat and committee offices. I thank the gardeners and the cleaners. Although the gardeners drive me mad in the courtyard, I still thank them very much for the service they provide. I thank any others that I have forgotten. Mr Speaker, I wish you and the house well. You are going into a year when you will be retiring, but hopefully not from life. So we will see you a little more.
MR SPEAKER: I hope not!
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