Page 5184 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 28 November 2017
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when asked detailed questions. Tex is our CPLO; he is a dedicated AFP officer, husband and father. Tex is an early adopter of technology and is sometimes referred to in the office as “Three Screens”. I want to thank him for his dedicated work and I look forward to him keeping the Canberra community safe: as safe as his safe is safe, in fact. I have mentioned Gayle, our ESA DLO; I told you about her keen eye on the law.
Hayden is our talented media adviser, and when I say talented, I do mean it. He is the only adviser who can belt out a rock-and-roll song on the Dickson piano without even trying. Eben is our part-time Englishman, with a passion for the left. He is doing a great job researching and prepping speeches for the office. He is the most knowledgeable on political history; he regularly wins the office quiz. Tash is our office manager. She is great at organising visitors and meetings for the team. Tash is a passionate mum with two youngsters. We are very grateful that she can give some of her time to us.
I am incredibly proud of my office, both for office outcomes and also for their support for our front-line directorate staff. Not only are they on the job and ready all the time, but they are the most convivial team that I have ever worked with. It is an absolute pleasure to come into the office every day; I wish them all the best for a great Christmas and look forward to an even brighter 2018.
Mr Chris Latham
MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (6.41): Tonight I want to pay tribute to one of Canberra’s arts luminaries, Mr Chris Latham, who received an award recently from the French government. Mr Latham is in esteemed company with the likes of George Clooney, Ron Radford, Robyn Archer and Kylie Minogue, also recipients of the award, the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, which recognises significant achievements in arts and literature.
For Mr Latham, the award acknowledges 10 years of research into the impacts of the First World War on music through its musicians and composers. The work has culminated in Mr Latham’s project Flowers of War, in which he has brought to light the many talented people lost or injured on the battlefields of Europe and the Middle East. The recently released double CD set of music of Frederick Septimus Kelly is an example of that work. Kelly was an Australian musician and composer, and also an Olympic rowing champion, who, having survived Gallipoli, was killed at the age of 35 in France in the last days of the Battle of the Somme.
Flowers of War also spawned a series of concerts, held both here and in France, featuring music written during or about the First World War. This cultural exchange is an important element of the great respect the two countries hold for each other. Another of Chris Latham’s projects is his Diggers’ Requiem, which will be performed in both countries, movements from which have already been featured in some of the Flowers of War concert series. Diggers’ Requiem will be a companion piece to the much acclaimed Gallipoli Symphony, which was premiered on the battlefield in 2015.
As artist-in-residence at the Australian War Memorial, Mr Latham’s work already has deepened the relationship between Australia and not only France, but also Germany.
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