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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 14 Hansard (12 December) . . Page.. 4943 ..

MR WHITECROSS (continuing):

the ACT community owes to Ms Follett is her work, even before the advent of self-government, to bring that self-government to fruition. I am sure that is one of the reasons why she approached the business of being a member of this place with such seriousness, such careful deliberation and, indeed, such dignity.

Mr Speaker, the other thing that I wanted to touch on, as we come to the end of this sitting year, was the contribution of those among us who have made the deliberations of this place possible. The staff of the Labor members have worked very hard over the year. There have been a lot of changes that they have had to deal with; there have been changes of personnel. All of the staff working for the Labor members have worked tirelessly to assist us in continuing to serve well in this place. I would like to put on record my gratitude, and the gratitude of my colleagues, to our staff for what they have contributed.

Mr Speaker, I would also like to put on record the gratitude of the Labor team for the work of members of the Legislative Assembly Secretariat, who have also worked in a professional and cooperative way with Labor members and, I am sure, with other members to assist us to perform our functions as members of the Assembly. They have sometimes had to put up with a lot, like having to stay here until one o'clock in the morning. That is one of the perhaps less fortunate aspects of their job. We do appreciate the work that they do and the advice that they give us. Their assistance has made our jobs that much easier. Mr Speaker, I hope that both our staff and the staff of the Secretariat take advantage of the break over the Christmas-New Year period to get some well-earned rest before we start the new year. I wish them all the best.

MS McRAE (12.56 am): In gratitude for there being an extension to the adjournment debate, I may as well take the opportunity to speak. I wanted to, but it makes it a little easier if we are not constrained by time. Reflecting on what people have said about our colleague Rosemary Follett made me think about one of the toughest tests for each of us as we move from private lives to public lives. It seemed to me that what I observed most closely with the first transition, because I was working for the ACT Government when Rosemary first became Chief Minister, and then my own transition into government was that series of hurdles that face every new member as we are tested by the media.

What I observed from the years 1989 right through till now is some pretty tough hurdles, some pretty unpleasant hurdles and some pretty nasty ins and outs. Of course, not only Rosemary but each of you has, in different ways, faced those, as I have. The strength that we all drew from Rosemary was her capacity to keep bouncing back. People will recall - it is almost forgotten now because we have not been subjected to it this year - the Assembly being the subject of satire from, I think, 1989 and certainly a lot of satirical writing from the very beginning as well as - - -

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