Page 4118 - Week 13 - Thursday, 6 December 2007

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .


And what might they say, the rest of the Members?

“We must do something before next December!

October’ld be better, by the third Saturday!

Grab a light globe comrades and let us away!

Jump into your hybrids, Hargreaves take a bus!

Kevin’s come to Canberra, the sun shines on all of us.”

Stanhope’s team is glowing like incandescent lamps,

And Canberra’s spirit has lifted by 100 amps.

The Liberals are routed, in government nowhere

Except in the Senate where they have one more chair.

Still the ACT Opposition is sticking to its guns,

And though he looks cuddly and so full of fun,

Their leader wants longer sentences in a prison far away.

Lack of compassion is why voters didn’t want Howard to stay;

“Costs too much! Criminalise drug users! Don’t build it at all!”

Did they ever hear that song “Just another brick in the wall”?

It’s a big world with the need for generous thinking

Just ask people on the Islands that are sinking.

When did Liberals wash freedom and reason down the drain?

We all want the best for the city, but the kids would explain;

Please listen to us, our city’s different to yours.

There are women here too, a powerful force;

Two deputy leaders, they don’t sound like friends,

Both care about health but from different ends.

The Ministers work hard, no doubt about that,

The briefs can’t all be read, the pile never gets flat;

A turn of the paper, a flick of the pen,

And schools and shopfronts close, a library doesn’t open;

A woman waits for a bus that’s changed its route,

And someone calls up Health First distraught,

But by the time the reassuring voice has finished,

The crying has stopped, the rash has vanished;

One of the good endings about which we do little talking.

Canberra is made up of stories that happen while we’re not looking.

There is so much we must do to make the future bright:

“Happy Christmas to all and to all a goodnight.”

MR STEFANIAK (Ginninderra—Leader of the Opposition) (6.00): Mr Speaker, I would like to start by thanking you and all the Assembly staff, especially, for their efforts over the past 12 months. It is amazing the assistance that we get from the staff. I start with Tom and his deputy, Max: they do a particularly great job; they and their staff are always there to help. On behalf of the opposition, I thank them for their assistance. Then there are the attendants, Hansard and everyone else in this building who contribute mightily to the efficient running of the place and invariably are cheery and willing to help. On behalf of the opposition I particularly thank all the Assembly staff—from you, Tom, all the way down—for their great assistance over the year. I wish you and your families all the very best and hope that you will have the chance to have a bit of a break over Christmas.


Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .