Page 6163 - Week 14 - Thursday, 9 December 2010
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Valedictory
MS BURCH (Brindabella—Minister for Disability, Housing and Community Services, Minister for Children and Young People, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Minister for Women) (5.58): It is a time of year for thanking people. I will start by thanking the Chief Executive of DHCS, Martin Hehir, and his predecessor, Sandra Lambert, the executive team and, indeed, each and every staff member of DHCS, who, each and every day, get up in the morning and help and work with our community to make sure that Canberra is the great city and community that it is. I would also like to thank the CEO and staff members of our valued community sector partners. They, too, work each and every day to make Canberra the great city that it is.
I would like to thank the Assembly staff. Many have been named. I particularly mention Peter Litchfield, who is finishing here. He has certainly been here longer than me. I wish him and his family well. To all members and their families, I hope they have a safe and happy Christmas. It is good that at the end of the year we can share the collective love in the room, after some battles that occur in this place.
To my Labor colleagues, a big thankyou for the year. I have to say it has been a privilege to be a part of this Labor team. I would also like to thank the good folk of Brindabella, and I will give them an assurance that I will do all I can to be a valued local member for them.
I would like to mention my staff and give them a big thanks for the year that I have had. It has been a big year, a challenging year. Thankyou to Joel Lyneham, Victor Violante, Chris Steel, Neil Finch, Amy Oram, Katherine Leigh, Erin Bennet and Nicole Isaacson, who left earlier in the year to concentrate on being a mum. A big thankyou to all of you.
Finally, I thank my family—Cam, Kain, Tom and Lloyd—who have the privilege of debriefing me on a nightly basis. They will be very pleased that I can go home over the next eight weeks with some level of sanity. To all of you and to your families, do indeed have a safe and happy Christmas.
Valedictory
MS BRESNAN (Brindabella) (6.00): First I would like to thank my fellow Greens MLA colleagues, Meredith, Shane and Caroline. We really do work as a team, and there is a team effort not just across the MLAs but across our offices. So I thank not just Meredith, Shane and Caroline but everyone in the Greens offices. I will particularly note my staff—Kate Taylor, Patrick Moody and Bianca Elmir. We may be losing Bianca next year, as she continues her quest for Olympic glory in boxing. She has won about three fights in the last few months, so she is going very well. If that does happen, obviously it will be later next year. So I particularly thank Bianca. She is a very committed person and I wish her all luck with her quest to make the Olympic team.
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