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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 5291 ..

Adjournment

That the Assembly do now adjourn.

Valedictory

MR SMYTH (Leader of the Opposition) (5.20): Mr Speaker, I echo your sentiments. It has been a big year for the Assembly. It has certainly been a big year for the territory, and 18 January will be indelibly sketched on all our minds for a very long time to come. Some good things and some quite exciting things happened in the chamber for some of us. Some of us got married this year. Some of us managed to get promoted to the top job, such as the clerk. Some of us will now be taking our leave. I asked Bryan if this was the 54 years and 11 months routine. He said, "Oh no, I did that seven years ago,"so it's a double retirement. So, farewell to Bryan.

On behalf of the opposition, I start by saying thank you to you, Mr Speaker. We managed to break your duck for you this year. I know it was hard for you to hoist one of us out on our ears, but we are willing to help in that regard and we will make sure the coming year is exciting for you as well. We would hate for you to miss out on all the fun.

To the clerk and his team, we say thank you for all the support. It is always speedy, accurate and always exactly what we need. The confidential advice that we get from Tom and his crew is welcomed by all of us on this side of the house.

To Bryan and all the attendants, it is a fabulous job that you do and we are grateful for it. You add to the decorum of the place. The way that you behave and the way you assist us in doing our job is much appreciated from those on this side of the house.

The unseen corporate and chamber support staff, who are quite literally behind the scenes, and the Hansard reporters in particular, all add to what we do, because without your help we can't do our jobs. You help to keep the Assembly running.

Particularly this year I'd like to single out the committee manager, Judith, and all her crew. One of the things that I have appreciated in the past two years as a committee chair is just how much work one person supporting one committee can get through. They double up and help each other out in heavy workload periods, such as the estimates, but a large amount of work is done. Often we members don't make it easy. Deliberating late into the night or indeed early in the morning, just before the Assembly sits, must make it awkward. So to all the committee secretaries and the staff there, thank you very much, because the work you do to make us look good is dramatically unrewarded.

To the library, which has extended its opening hours, thank you very much. It is always good to have the library there so that we can get the information we need. It is a vital part of what we do and I thank you for the extra effort that you guys up there in the library, also unseen and often unheralded, have done for us this year.

Last but not least, I guess, is Barry. Those of you who haven't rung Barry obviously aren't doing your job properly because Barry fixes everything. So, to Barry and his

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