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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 10 Hansard (30 August) . . Page.. 3878 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

Joan Kellett has been with me in one way or another since I first ran for election. She has run with me a couple of time. Many members know her for her contribution in a range of ways. I would like to thank her for her efforts.

I thank my office staff, past and present. Malcolm Baalman has been an outstanding staffer. There are very good staffers, excellent staffers and outstanding staffers. He is an extraordinary person of fantastic ability. I am sure this Assembly will miss him, Rachel Hill, my media adviser and other staff members.

The departmental liaison officers who have worked in my office have all been incredibly hard workers.

I thank somebody who made politics for me much easier-my very close friend Kate Carnell, whom I consider a wonderful person. I thank my ministerial colleagues and their staff.

To all Assembly support staff-the committee staff, the library staff and all staff who support the Assembly-I say a special thank you. There have been so many times that these staff have saved us from ourselves and have delivered very well.

I also say thank you to the Assembly members I have worked with and sometimes crossed swords with over the last 12 years. I genuinely believe that, with very few exceptions, they were here to deliver the very best for the community as they saw it.

One thing that has been interesting to me has been working with people from the departments that I have had responsibility for. The former CEO of Health and Community Care, David Butt, and the current CEO, Penny Gregory, have been absolutely tremendous. It has been the same with housing, corrections, family services and the agencies that work with me at the Canberra Hospital, Calvary Hospital and Community Care.

I have heard conspiracy theories about public servants being lazy or trying to undermine what is going on. I had those thoughts myself before I became a minister. Having watched just how hard public servants work in the ACT, I am extraordinarily proud to have had the opportunity to work with them and to provide some leadership in their areas. The ACT is extraordinarily well served by the calibre of the public servants we have here, who work tirelessly to support our community. Even as I speak, I see a couple of them walking into the chamber this evening. Thank you for being here at this time.

I thank those who have helped me in my political campaigns. They have been constant sounding boards. When I go off the straight and narrow, they pick up the phone and say, "What do you think you are doing?" People I have had a high level of trust in have offered me that sort of advice.

I express broad thanks to those in the community who have trusted me with their votes. I hope I have served them well over the last few years and have delivered my best possible judgment to the issues that have been before me.

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