Page 1346 - Week 05 - Thursday, 26 April 1990
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months as Minister for sport. He was a true friend of sport in the ACT; he was the man who realised how terribly important sport is for the Australian psyche and especially for the psyche in the ACT. I think that in his seven months here in the Assembly, with that portfolio under his belt, Mr Whalan was a good friend of sport in the ACT and helped it develop.
It is a shame to see someone leave the Assembly after only 11 months, Mr Speaker. I fully appreciate the reasons why Paul Whalan is leaving. I am sure I join other members in wishing him well. He was certainly an opponent to be feared. He has caused Mr Humphries a lot of grey hairs. He has probably caused us all a lot of grey hairs. That is what one expects in relation to a good opponent. The way he opposed certain things might not be the way other people would do it, but so be it. We all have our own individual styles. The Assembly will be a sadder place for his leaving. His boots will be very big ones to fill and we look with interest to see how his replacement does attempt to fill them.
I personally wish him all the very best in his future endeavours. I am sure we have not seen the last of him in various capacities and it is with some regret that I do wish him well in the future. It is a shame to see him go.
MRS NOLAN, by leave: I will be very brief. I would like to join with my Liberal colleagues and other members on this side of the house in paying tribute to Paul Whalan for his time here in the first Legislative Assembly, both his time in government and more recently his time in opposition. As a Tuggeranong Valley resident along with Paul Whalan, I am sure that there will be many people in the community - not only of Tuggeranong but right across Canberra - who will be quite sad to see him no longer here as a member of the Assembly. I think it is important to recognise the reasons for his going. We understand those reasons and he will be sadly missed, I am sure, by all members of this Assembly. Any formidable opponent would be missed, and we wish him well.
MR JENSEN, by leave: Mr Speaker, I join with other members who have already spoken about Mr Whalan's role in the establishment of self-government in the ACT. My first contact with Paul was during the election campaign, specifically, in our mutual aim to represent the people of Tuggeranong and, more particularly, the people of Canberra. There is no doubt about his commitment to this area, and I think, as Mrs Nolan has said, there will be many who will be sorry to see him go. A personal friend of mine indicated to me that - particularly in this sporting area that Mr Stefaniak has already mentioned - it was Mr Whalan's efforts to assist a particular group that enabled them to go away on a very successful program. I think that was clearly an area of some interest to them.
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