Page 3560 - Week 08 - Friday, 24 August 2012
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And you will be missed from part of the Labor team. I know you will continue on in your work in the community. I know you will not be a stranger to any of us. But it is very right that you have your achievements and your contribution recognised today, Johnno. I thank you very much for your loyal service, not just to the government but to the community of Canberra.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development and Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation), by leave: It is the end of an era; there is no doubting that. This place will not be the same.
I have known John for a very long time. I still remember that election night in 1998 when, yes, we had done the numbers and worked out that he was going to get elected into this place. He has made a massive contribution. He is right: there have been highs and lows in his working life in this place—and in our relationship, undoubtedly. We have agreed on many things and had some pretty passionate disagreements over the years, but throughout that Johnno has always been real and he has always been someone whose capacity to inspire and surprise—even again this morning with a fantastic valedictory speech—has always been there.
John, I wish you all the very best in the next phase of your life. I am fairly sure that the fish of the south coast have something to fear, perhaps down Narooma way. With your own personal 2CA in your car, and through your passion for music, I am sure you will get an opportunity for a bit more personal enjoyment as you take the time to reflect upon everything that you have achieved in this place.
On behalf of all of us who have had the opportunity to work for you and to work with you, all the very best. The only positive I can reflect upon, John, in your exit from this place, is that there is going to be one less Collingwood supporter in the Assembly. That, ladies and gentlemen, has to be a good thing. But John, thank you for everything you have done for me and for the Labor Party, and most importantly for your electorate in Tuggeranong. Congratulations.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development), by leave: Mr Speaker, I first became a colleague of John Hargreaves in 1998. We were part of a small and, at that time, demoralised caucus that also included two other new members along with John: Jon Stanhope and Ted Quinlan. They, along with Wayne Berry, Bill Wood and I, formed the Labor team for that Assembly.
It was, as John has recounted, an exciting, challenging time, but it was a fantastic time for all of us. We built, and rebuilt, Labor, along with the party and our re-engagement with the community. They were great times; I will always value those and the times that I remember with John and all of that caucus in particular.
Since our election to government, John has shown his ongoing commitment to true Labor causes. The interests of those who are most disadvantaged or marginalised in our community, whether it is corrections, whether it is people reliant on public housing, or whether it is those in the broader multicultural community that often face
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