Page 5194 - Week 13 - Thursday, 29 November 2018

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Michael De’ath enough for his strong and compassionate leadership. He has been assisted so well by his deputies, Karen Doran and, more recently, Leonie McGregor. And Vanessa Dal Molin is owed a very special thanks.

There are many people in Health to thank. I do not have time to thank all of them, but for huge pieces of work I thank Peter O’Halloran, Vanessa Brady and Emily Harper. I thank the clinical and support staff keeping our very good hospitals and health services running and Linda Kohlhagen and her team for opening UCH, a huge achievement. I thank Bernadette McDonald and all the team at CHS caring for patients. They see the extraordinary ups and downs in life-and-death situations every week. Our whole city thank you from the bottom of their hearts.

To the team at Calvary, we are very pleased to be working more closely with you.

I thank all my Labor colleagues and the Chief Minister for your support and advice this year. It has been a year when I have been especially grateful for both.

Thank you to the Greens for their support and to the opposition for keeping this place lively.

To the Yerrabi electorate, it is a privilege to represent this happy and diverse community. I love being part of the Gungahlin community, chatting to people at Casey shops or at Atlas coffee, or in the aisle of Woollies, which happens more than my kids would like. I am also very proud of how awesome Hibberson Street looks. Thanks to the Yerrabi electorate for their support.

I thank my family. Pierre, my rock, sacrificed much. I am glad he can delve into his love of history and start a new little business in the process. Thank you to Al, Esther and Eva for your love, support and humour and for making it real every day. We are very proud of you, and especially all of you who are making the ACT representative teams for basketball. We are just going to set up camp at Belconnen basketball stadium next year, and to hell with it. Next year will be a big year for all of us.

Merry Christmas to everyone here. I wish everyone a safe, peaceful and festive Christmas.

Valedictory

MR PARTON (Brindabella) (9.29): Here we are at the end of another year in this place. Doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun? I am here to tell you, Madam Speaker, that I am having fun. They say the best day in opposition is not a patch on the worst day in government. All I can say is: you guys must be having a ball! You guys, seriously, must be having a ball!

I love being an MLA. I love just about every part of it, and I feel genuinely privileged to be here in this place representing the people who voted for me and, I dare say also, as I say often when I am out on the streets, representing people who did not vote for me, because I think that is important as well.


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