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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 10 Hansard (Thursday, 26 August 2004) . . Page.. 4453 ..

MR STEFANIAK: Ninety-five per cent then, Jon. Despite the fact that Kerrie Tucker and I have disagreed on a large number of things—although today we disagreed on something quite weird: she wanted to keep an imprisonment term in and we took it out—I think she has served this Assembly and the people of Canberra with great distinction. She has been a tireless worker for what she believes in. She has shown great tenacity. She has also shown great predictability. You certainly know where you stand with Kerrie Tucker in policy and other things as well. She is certainly a person of great conviction.

Whilst a lot of what she believes in I certainly do not, and vice versa, I regard her as a person of integrity. Kerrie, I wish you all the very best in your future endeavours, whatever they are. I suppose I cannot wish you all the best in your current quest for the Senate, for obvious reasons. It has been interesting and, fundamentally, it has been a pleasure and an honour to serve with you, as it has been to serve with you, Bill Wood, and you, Greg. My best wishes to all three of you, and your families, for whatever the future holds.

Valedictory

MS DUNDAS (12.19 am): At the close of this Assembly I also rise to add a few words and to thank the voters of Ginninderra for giving me the opportunity to stand here in this place, the opportunity to work with all of you and the opportunity to work with the community, with this Assembly and to contribute in such a privileged way to my community.

I, too, would like to pay tribute to retiring members. Minister Wood, I remember quite clearly the day you were first elected to the ACT Assembly because it was the day that I lost a teacher back at Giralang primary school. Many years later, I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to learn from you again, and I thank you for your work as a minister that I have been able to view in this term. You have been incredibly receptive to a wide range of ideas, and your passion for issues is quite evident.

Mr Cornwell, as many have said, we have quite often disagreed on a whole array of things. But I truly appreciate the different view that you bring to this Assembly; it is a different view from mine. We have sparred across this chamber, but we have always been able to walk and talk out of here as friends. I have really enjoyed working with you and especially your tireless campaign for self-funded retirees. As you move into that little category yourself, I expect to hear from you next term about how we need to do more for self-funded retirees.

Kerrie, I find it hard to find the right words to say about you, but I truly respect the work that you have done. I admire the work that you have been able to do, and standing here has shown me how hard it is that you have worked. The thing I really appreciate about you is your hidden sparks of humour that just shine through at the best moments to lift the mood of what can often be quite tiring and quite emotional debates.

Of course, I pay tribute to the staff who have worked with me over the past three years: to Llewellyn, who has been with me since day one, for his amazing ability to get his head around quite complex legislation and then explain it to me in a way that I understand—I thank him for that; to Jocelyn Bell, for her amazing focus on detail and her great

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