Page 2090 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 2 August 2022
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require the oath or affirmation of a new member to be made before the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory or a judge of that court authorised by the Chief Justice.
The Honourable Justice Lucy McCallum, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, attended accordingly—
Oath by member
Mr Cocks was introduced and made and subscribed the oath required by law.
Legislative Assembly—affirmation of code of conduct
Mr Cocks affirmed his commitment to the code of conduct for all members.
Chief Justice Lucy McCallum having retired—
MADAM SPEAKER: Welcome, Mr Cocks.
Inaugural speech
MR COCKS (Murrumbidgee) (10.08): I seek leave of the Assembly to make my inaugural speech.
Leave granted.
MADAM SPEAKER: I remind members that it is the tradition that inaugural speeches are heard in silence. Mr Cocks, you have the call.
MR COCKS: I will start by acknowledging the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people, the traditional custodians of the land on which we stand. I acknowledge their Elders, past and present. I acknowledge that the history and custodianship of this land are contested, and I acknowledge the complexity of our shared family histories, spanning well over a century since my family arrived in this place. I acknowledge, too, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from across Australia who choose to call Canberra home, and any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who may be here today. You have my commitment that I will see you, I will hear you and I will walk with you in the spirit of reconciliation, even when we disagree.
Madam Speaker, there are many people to whom I owe a debt of gratitude. Firstly, to everyone who placed their trust in me, either through their number one preference or through their other preferences, I say thank you. A great feature of Canberra’s democratic process is that every Canberran gets a say in precisely who represents them. There is no order of preferences prescribed by political parties in Canberra. I am here because people in my electorate chose to trust me with their votes. But I am also here because I was part of a team. I say to Sarah Suine, Amardeep Singh, Jeremy Hanson and Giulia Jones: without your work, Murrumbidgee would be far worse off.
To all those who helped me in my campaigns, I say thank you. No-one makes it to any elected position without people willing to back them, and I have been privileged to
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