Page 3558 - Week 08 - Friday, 24 August 2012
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The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit,
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
And finally, au revoir, mes amis, puissiez-vous tous eu le succes que vous meritez dans l’election, peut vous appreciez l’amour de vos familles, et puissiez-vous etre dans le ciel une demi-heure avant que le diable sait que vous etes mort—which, translated, means: may you all have the success that you deserve in the election, may you enjoy the love of your families, and may you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows you are dead!
MS GALLAGHER (Molonglo—Chief Minister, Minister for Health and Minister for Territory and Municipal Services), by leave: I would like to take this opportunity to make a few brief comments and farewell my colleague John Hargreaves, and to put on the record the significance of his contribution to the Assembly and to our community over the past 14 years.
I think you can take from the speech that John just gave that it is going to be clear to all of us that the Assembly will lose some of its colour with your departure at this election—your departure of choice, I should add.
In 14 years as an MLA, John Hargreaves has had the opportunity to serve his community in almost every capacity open to a member of parliament. He has also had the distinction of having served as an MLA for more than half of the period since self-government. The roll call of the government and opposition positions he has occupied since his election in 1998 is a long and varied one.
In his first term, he held a number of shadow ministerial posts. In government, he served as a minister in a range of portfolio areas, each time bringing his trademark enthusiasm and determination to improve the lives of his fellow Canberrans. His record of committee service, which he has given us a sample of today, is surely one of the most extensive in the history of self-government. He has been a member of no fewer than eight select committees on estimates—I feel that that must come with an apology as well, Johnno—four as deputy chair. He has also served on eight standing committees, on the MLA Superannuation Board and on a range of one-off select committees. He has represented the Assembly at many gatherings of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and at other conferences and in delegations relating to parliamentary and democratic processes.
As a parliamentary performer, Johnno has always been the king of the unscripted epigram—the more colourful the better, but unfortunately usually unrepeatable. I did check, Johnno, but I would have been required to withdraw many of them. He has been a dedicated student of the standing orders, rivalled in that capacity and in his preparedness to invoke those orders perhaps only by Mrs Dunne.
His achievements in the Assembly have been many, but I know the ones that he holds most closely to his heart. They would have to include his work to ensure that there
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