Page 6280 - Week 19 - Tuesday, 17 December 1991
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Valedictory
MR STEFANIAK (7.47): I join my colleagues in thanking especially the staff and attendants of the Assembly. As I was Deputy Speaker, I would like to personally thank our current Clerk and Deputy Clerk, Mark McRae and Tom Duncan, for their great assistance, not only to me on the occasions that I was standing in for you, Mr Speaker, but also to the Assembly as a whole. I think they do a wonderful job. I am delighted also to see Professor Whalan in the back of the room, because I have worked with him on the Scrutiny of Bills Committee and I know what a fine job he does and just how indebted we in the Territory all are for his assistance over the life of this First Assembly.
To all the other staff - the committee staff, especially the committee staff I have worked with; the attendants, who are always cheerful, despite the fact that some of the members might not be - I express my thanks for your help over the last three years, and my very best wishes to you all. I would like to thank my personal staff for their efforts over the period of the Assembly. As Mr Kaine said, it is not easy being the personal staff of a politician. I would like to believe you, Mr Speaker, when you said that you hope that everyone gets what they deserve in terms of being re-elected.
Mr Kaine: Do you reckon that you would be elected?
MR STEFANIAK: I reckon that, if that were so, I probably would; but who knows? A lot of us will not be here, and I might well be one of those; but you never know. So, on that basis, I have certainly been privileged, at least, to be a member of the First Assembly. Also, I think I am probably doubly privileged to have been the only member of the First Assembly who was actually born in Canberra and who grew up here. I think it is good that there was at least one person in that category, although I note that the Chief Minister was not too far behind. She came here when she was very young indeed and had all her schooling in Canberra.
Mr Humphries: She was here before you were.
MR STEFANIAK: I do not know whether she was in Canberra before I was, Gary. I was born on 8 January 1952. Anyway, I have been privileged to be part of this First Assembly. I hope that I have made a number of constructive and useful contributions. I certainly have been pleased with the support, particularly this year, for two measures, one of which was reintroduced and the other one introduced. They are, of course, the move-on powers and the dry areas legislation. I was very pleased to see the majority of members support those very sensible measures.
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