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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 12 Hansard (7 December) . . Page.. 3936 ..
MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):
Secondly, Kate Carnell earned the ACT real respect in national circles. She, in a sense, elevated the ACT for the first time into the club that was the Australian states and territories. I went to a pre - COAG function a few weeks ago, and I was amazed to see there the way that all the state premiers, Liberal and Labor alike, warmly embraced Kate when she turned up at that function. They spoke afterwards in genuine terms about the regret they had at her leaving, and how much they felt she contributed to the COAG process. That was a very telling comment. The strong economic performance Kate spoke about a little while ago helped achieve the elevation of the ACT into the ranks where it was taken seriously.
The third legacy she has left us, particularly on this side of the chamber, is the change to the nature of Liberalism, at least in this territory. She is a true Liberal, not a conservative. In the wake of her success, she convinced many Liberals that an inclusive, contemporary, non - dogmatic Liberalism was not only a system of politics that could work but in fact the only way forward for the Liberal Party of the ACT. Sure, jumping out of aeroplanes, driving rally cars and posing in brothels rubbed a lot of Liberals up the wrong way. But each time she engaged in those activities, she was communicating - communicating something about herself and the party that she led. She did that par excellence.
Her achievements, as those of any leader, will be measured through the filter of time. The passion that she has aroused in the ACT will not be the best way in which to judge her contribution to this community. For its worth, my assessment is that the judgment of posterity goes to those who are bold in execution, to those with such a breadth of vision that they capture a community's imagination and change people's views permanently about the world in which they live.
Today is a sad day in many ways. I will certainly miss Kate Carnell. She is a person whose public and private persona were the same. What you saw is what you got. It was an immense privilege to have served with her in this Assembly, and I thank her for her contribution to the ACT.
MR STANHOPE (Leader of the Opposition) (10.41): Mr Speaker, I would like to take the opportunity of this adjournment debate at the end of this sitting and at the end of the year to thank members of this place. A significant number of people are deserving of our thanks. It is always very difficult on these occasions to determine how to create or structure a list that does not seem to be prioritising our thanks or prioritising the work of those who assist us in this place.
I would like very much to thank the Clerk and the secretariat for the sterling work the secretariat does in servicing each of us who work in this building. I am constantly amazed at the efficiency and the professionalism of the Clerk and all the members of his office. I would also like to thank everybody else within the building who provides assistance to us members as we seek to carry out our duties as the elected representatives of the people of Canberra. I would thank also the committee office, the attendants, the library staff, Hansard and all the contracted service providers that assist us and keep this parliament running as smoothly as it does.
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