Page 5315 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 29 November 2017
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I want to thank all of the staff in OLA, with a special mention to Tom, Max and the committee staff I work with directly, namely Nicola. You make this place work even against the best efforts of some members. A big thankyou to the cleaners who have to deal with my piled up recycling bin: sorry and thank you. Thank you to all of the attendants; your warm greetings as we come and go are often a break from a stressful day. And to Hansard—you thought I would forget about you—thank you.
I want to thank my colleagues and comrades, both in this place and outside it, for their wisdom, hard work and good humour as we work for a better Canberra. And of course I thank the residents of Yerrabi: you make this job great.
Next year is going to be a big year. Like everyone else, I am looking forward to a break over the summer. I know I will be putting my feet up and enjoying the cricket. I simply hope that everyone else finds an opportunity to recharge their batteries and spend time with their loved ones. See you next year.
Valedictory
MS LAWDER (Brindabella) (6.46): Madam Speaker, as has become a bit of a habit for me, I am going to close the year with a poem. As usual, I hope that you will take it in the spirit in which it is intended. It is based on a poem called The passing of the year, which I have butchered mercilessly, by Robert W Service, who lived from 1874 to 1958:
My glass is filled, my papers neat
My office has a cosy glow
And here before this house I sit
And watch the old year go.
I dedicate to solemn thought
A year that has come with heavy cost
A sombre year, so sadly fraught
With thoughts of those we have lost.
Old Year! Upon the stage of time
You stand for a last adieu
A moment, and the final bells,
Will bring the curtain down on you.
Our hearts are sad, our step is slow
We have had a year of pain
With Jayson, Val, and lately Steve
We’ll never see again.
But we try to keep our thoughts upbeat
Let us all read, whatever the cost
The Hansard, with its words so neat
Paying tribute to those we’ve lost.
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