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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 5051 ..

MS HORODNY (continuing):

I have a few words to say about my time here in the Assembly. It has been a good mix of debate and argument here in the chamber and also in committees, but there has also been lots of good collaboration. That is the bit that I have really enjoyed because, obviously, it is easier working with people than working against them. It is obviously easier to have affirmation from people and to believe that you are building something good with other people than to be constantly battling to pull each other down; so I have really enjoyed the collaborative work.

I really want to thank the committee secretaries, the Assembly Secretariat, the clerical staff and the library staff. Someone said earlier that the library makes you feel that you have your own personal librarian, and that is true. I also thank the Hansard staff, the security staff, the media and our own fabulous staff. We have had a few people on our staff over the three years and they have all been great. I would really like to thank Ms Tucker who has been a real inspiration for me to work with.

All I can say is that I am glad to have been part of this Assembly. I know it is a cliche to say that you feel honoured to have represented the ACT community, but I say it from the heart. I really do feel honoured. Canberra has been my home. I was born in Queanbeyan and I grew up in Canberra. Canberra is a city that I love and I am very happy to have represented Canberrans for even a short while.

I am glad to have brought some green language to this Assembly too, and I am very grateful that some of this language has rubbed off. I recall the cartoon in the Canberra Times just after Kerrie and I were elected. It showed members of the Assembly, as I recall, in a cave and they were strapped to seats with their hands tied. They were being forced to watch a television set that was spurting out "ESD", "endangered species", "energy efficiency" and all this green rhetoric, and it was very painful for the other members.

I know that initially members here groaned a lot when they listened to the Greens and when they heard our policies. Some people still groan, but I am happy to say that on the whole there has been a reasonably good spirit here and a general willingness to listen. There has been a good sense of cooperation, and for that I am grateful to the Hare-Clark system because that has always meant that people are forced to work together more. I think knowing that sort of puts in place a culture of cooperation. (Extension of time granted) We do have a culture of cooperation. It is not as good as it could be, but nonetheless it is much better than parliaments in other jurisdictions where there is majority government.

I have thanked everyone. I do want to say to everyone, "Have a joyful and a peaceful Christmas". I hope people take care of themselves during the election campaign because I know Ms Tucker and I were very exhausted after the last election.

To end, I would like to tell you all a joke. This is to dispel once and for all the belief that Greens have no sense of humour. Okay. This came from the Phillip Adams book of politically incorrect jokes and I had to look very hard to find one that was not racist, sexist or crude, and something that did not offend someone. I found one. I found a joke.

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