Page 4706 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 27 November 2019
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Mrs Dunne, whom I have had to work with very closely. For the most part it has genuinely been a pleasure.
My sincere thanks go to all the OLA staff, who I am sure I must exasperate on an almost daily basis but they never let on. My particular thanks go to the secretaries of all the committees I am on and have been on. I also want to thank all the public servants, from the rangers to the directors-general and ministers’ office staff and DLOs. They work so incredibly hard, they care, and they make this territory the extraordinary place it is.
Finally, thank you to my volunteers, friends and my family who continue to believe in me but also keep me pretty grounded. I cannot do this without you, and every day I am reminded how lucky I am to have such a team of supporters around me.
Most of all, thank you to my Ginninderra constituents who continue to put their faith in me. It is their heart that creates our beautiful Belconnen community and it is their heart that fuels my drive. I promise to continue to giving my all in serving them. Merry Christmas.
Valedictory
MR PARTON (Brindabella) (6.45): I rise to officially close the parliamentary year for the Parton office for 2019, notwithstanding the fact that we still have a sitting day to go and we are really only halfway through November, but whatever. I promise I will be short.
I want to say thanks to my three staff for this year: the amazing Mr Lovett who is off traipsing around the country with his beast of a ute and his gorgeous other half, Gail. I know I am an old man, but I know Mr Gentleman will be familiar with Lucky Starr’s hit song from the late 60s I’ve Been Everywhere, and it could well have been written about Mr Lovett. During his trip he managed to have coffee with my mother in York in Western Australia. The last I heard of him he had been kicked out of a pub somewhere on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. He has been the backbone of my office since I was elected. We have missed him dearly and he is joining us again mid-December.
Thanks to Brad Clarke, who has taken up most of the load and who continues to provide outstanding advice and expertise on many matters, including fundraising. The Johnny-come-lately of our office, Patrick Pentony, is course hoping to be preselected by the party to run in Kurrajong tomorrow night. It has been a joy to have Paddy around for a short stint.
I have to say that I really enjoyed working in radio, but I am here to tell you, Madam Speaker, that this is the best job I have ever had. It may seem odd for me to reflect on this in this particular week, but one of the reasons it is the best job I have ever had is the closeness of the Liberal team. Sure, as has been evidenced very recently, we do not always agree on everything absolutely, but I can very easily describe members of the parliamentary team as among my closest friends. We get along really well. Even
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