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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 5048 ..

MR HIRD (continuing):

Let me now address the help that I have received. I have to say to Sir Humphrey, that is Greg Bowler, and to Ron Norton, Lorraine Taylor and those other people, thank you from day one. Ron joined me two years ago. I had known Ron as a professional journalist and a dear friend. Also, I thank the people in the media. I have not always agreed with them but at least they have been professional and courteous. I have to thank them for their assistance over the years. I dare say that everyone in this chamber could say to the media, "You did not give me a fair enough go", but I think that they are fair, well balanced, and they call the shots reasonably. I have not always agreed with them, and I do not think that in the future I will agree with them every day.

I will remember all you members. You are all individual characters with individual spirits. I wish you and your families a very merry Christmas and a safe journey during this holiday festive season. (Extension of time granted) With the exception of Lucy, I wish you all well in the coming campaign in February. Just do your best. Some will win and some will lose.

In closing, I would like to thank my family. I will not mention my auntie, Mr Speaker, but I would like to thank my wife and my three children for the support they have given me, not just during these three years but in the previous years since 1974. It has not been easy. Mr Osborne is sitting up there, smiling. An old gentleman who joined the First Assembly, Mr Allan Fraser, an Independent, said, "Once the bug bites you on the bum, son, you never get rid of that bite mark". That is true in politics. You will not get rid of it. You feel as though you are doing a good job, and, in your own way, if you do that you will do a good job. Once again, I wish each and every one of you a very merry Christmas and a prosperous 1998. Thank you for your friendship.

MR WHITECROSS (11.12): I also rise to thank some people at the end of the three years of this term of the Assembly for which I have served as an elected member. Mr Speaker, I think being a member of the Legislative Assembly, an elected representative, is indeed a very humbling experience. It is often portrayed in the media and elsewhere as being a job for big egos who do not care much about other people and are fairly self-obsessed, but I have to say that I have always found the task of being an elected representative a humbling one. It is humbling not because of the insults or criticisms that are thrown at us, which I, like most members in this place, have learnt to deal with fairly well; it is humbling because you have the trust of thousands of people bestowed on you to exercise your judgment, to work hard day by day, and to properly represent their interests to ensure that you can deliver for them the best outcomes in the circumstances of their lives.

People in this city have diverse experiences. Many of them suffer a great deal of hardship, but they have lives that they want to get on with and they delegate to us the responsibility for ensuring that they can live those lives to the fullest that they can. They expect us to ensure that the laws are just, and that the programs and the policies of government are just and take proper account of their interests. I think it is a humbling experience to have bestowed on you their trust to do your best as a law-maker.

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