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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 14 Hansard (12 December) . . Page.. 4942 ..
MR BERRY (continuing):
I think the people of the Territory should remember Rosemary Follett for her contribution to self-government in the ACT, principally in that first term because it was hard going. Today, at our last meeting, Rosemary also made a very salient point - it is not a new point - about the passing of politicians as a bit like taking your hand out of a bucket of water; you just cannot see where the hand came from. We all become just names on the wall after a little while. When you see a whole lot of energy go into a job and then, at the end of it, it is just like pulling your hand out of a bucket of water - you cannot see where the hand came from - it makes you reflect a bit on your position and how replaceable and vulnerable you are in this place, with all its ups and downs. I have to congratulate Rosemary for all of her own ups and the way she coped with all of her own ups and downs in this place. It was always with elegance, with energy and with a full contribution to those Labor ideals which we all believe in.
Mr Whitecross: Mr Speaker - - -
Mr Humphries: I will close the debate now, because we have only five minutes left. Mr Whitecross, you had a go before.
Mr Moore: Mr Speaker, I believe there should be a motion to extend the debate.
Motion (by Mr Humphries) agreed to, with the concurrence of an absolute majority:
That so much of the standing and temporary orders be suspended as would prevent the adjournment debate extending beyond the 30-minute time limit.
MR WHITECROSS (Leader of the Opposition) (12.51 am): As Mr Humphries observed, I have spoken earlier in the day about Ms Follett, so I will not take much time on that issue. There is just one thing I wanted to touch on. I want to add to the reflections on Rosemary's contribution to self-government. She will continue to make a contribution to the ACT community in her new role. Even before the advent of self-government, Ms Follett was making a very significant contribution to the cause of self-government. As Mr Kaine has already observed, Ms Follett was a part of the old House of Assembly and worked tirelessly behind the scenes, dealing with the then Federal Government, to persuade them to move towards the granting of self-government to the Territory. It was something that she believed very passionately in and something that she and a lot of other people approached with a great deal of energy and enthusiasm, born out of their passionate belief in the importance of self-determination for this community.
Mr Speaker, for all the misgivings that are still part of the public debate about self-government, I think it is probably fair to say that the level of public participation in the affairs of the Territory today is vastly greater than it was 10 years ago, when Ms Follett was a member of the House of Assembly. Among all the debts that
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