Page 328 - Week 01 - Thursday, 29 November 2012
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have all got the same group of people to thank and I am sure the thanks will be just as sincere, but through you, Madam Deputy Speaker, to the new Speaker, and through the new Speaker perhaps back to the old Speaker: thank you to the various Speakers and those that have sat in the chair, the Clerk and all the staff in the various parts of the Assembly. Thanks for all the work you do. It is always appreciated and we wish you all a very merry and a happy Christmas.
To all of the MLAs, including those that did not return and to the staff and the staff that did not return as well, a merry Christmas to you all. It has been a very, very busy year. I am sure you will enjoy the next four or five weeks as it gets a bit quieter.
To my office, particularly Tim and Haidee who have moved on, merry Christmas to you both, many thanks for all the things that you have done for me and best of luck in the things that come to you in the future.
To the divisional staff, some of whom are here, and to all the members of the Liberal Party, thanks for all you have done for me this year. To my friends I would just like to say thanks for all your support, not just in this year but over all of the years and over a lifetime. I do appreciate you. I do not perhaps see you as much as I should or can or would want to, but perhaps that is the new year’s resolution that we always make but somehow we always break. But to all my friends I would like to thank you.
To my family, to Robyn, to David and to the twins Amy and Lorena, I am looking forward to having the girls home at Christmas and very much looking forward to seeing all the brothers and sisters and the grandkids and the now almost five great-grandkids that exist; it will be great to have the family together over the Christmas period.
I wish all Canberrans a safe and happy festive season. It is a great time. Australia has the best weather for Christmas, but it can be a dangerous time. Down at the beach, please pay attention, or if you are in the pool swimming, but also on the roads please be safe: go there, get there safely and come home safely.
I send good wishes to all those who will work on Christmas Day—our police, our emergency services staff, and particularly the volunteers. Given some of the weather forecasts, I think particularly of the RFS volunteers. I hope it does not eventuate over Christmas but, as we all know, eventually that bad season that is almost annually predicted does turn up. To the nurses, doctors and staff in the hospitals that have to keep going, to the prison staff as prisons keep going, to all of those in the community service field, to all those charities that will be cooking Christmas lunch and looking after those less fortunate, well done to you and thank you for what you do. I just wish everybody a very merry Christmas, a happy and safe holiday, and please just remember the reason for the season: it is the birth of Christ; it is the birth of the saviour, for those that follow the Christian tradition. That is where it comes from: holiday comes from holy day. Make it a holy day. Enjoy it. Have a great Christmas and I will see you all back next year.
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