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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 5042 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

Being a member of this place, I have become more acutely aware of them than I was before. As I said when I was sworn in at the beginning of this year, the challenge is to understand that there is no one way to govern a society; there is no one way to govern a Territory such as ours; there is no one way of viewing the economy; and there is no one way of addressing issues such as unemployment.

Economic rationalism, the dominance of its fundamentalist belief, is not the only choice we have in running our community. Mr Speaker, understanding that the consumer is not the ultimate measure of our worth in a society and that above consumers we are citizens is a principle that I hold dear. That we are all of equal worth and value is another principle that I also hold dear. That is something I think all members should reflect on as we go into this season of holidaying and hopefully a chance to spend time with our friends and family. I think the challenge for all of us in the coming year is to reflect on those principles and those values, and strive to promote those ideas for the benefit of all the people of the Territory in the coming campaign and in the coming Assembly.

MR STEFANIAK (Minister for Education and Training) (10.49): I would like to wish members a safe Christmas. It will not be much of a festive season because I suspect that all of us will be very busy campaigning, with one exception, and that is Ms Horodny. I sincerely wish her all the very best in her newfound career. I have spoken to her privately in relation to that and I admire her decision. I would like to thank you, Lucy, for your contributions over the last three years. It is a shame that you are not standing again, but I probably cannot think of a better reason to leave than yours. I wish you specifically all the very best. The rest of us, of course, will all be trying to get back here.

Mrs Carnell: Why?

MR STEFANIAK: Yes, why? You wonder. Lucy, you probably are very sensible and the rest of us are crazy, but all the best to the rest of my Assembly colleagues. I would like to thank the Assembly staff. They are an incredibly professional and dedicated bunch. They are always helpful and I have greatly appreciated working with them in this Assembly, just as I did in the other two Assemblies.

To my own personal staff, I extend my sincere thanks for their efforts over the last three years. I think Mr Berry and the Chief Minister were accurate in what they said about what personal staff do for a member. I also thank my DLOs, especially the last three, whom I have had for most of the time - Tracy Giuretto, who has been there all the time and who has served me very well as Minister for Sport, as he did David Lamont and Wayne Berry before me; Helen Uhe from Housing, a most experienced person; and Jenni Campbell from Education. Both Helen and Jenni are long-serving DLOs who have done an excellent job. Finally, I thank the various hardworking staff in the various departments I am responsible for. I have been highly impressed with their dedication to the people of Canberra and to their task since I became their Minister, and I wish them and their families all the very best for Christmas and the new year.

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