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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 10 Hansard (Thursday, 26 August 2004) . . Page.. 4459 ..

Mr Cornwell: We’d need Big Ben.

MS TUCKER: That is really mean. I do not want to talk to each of you personally. I would definitely cry if I did that as well. I will certainly talk to you all when we have time to talk more personally over the time that we are still here. I also want to acknowledge a few people. I want to acknowledge John Tucker because he is very important to my life and the work that I have done here.

I want to also acknowledge everyone else that works in this Assembly: the attendants, who are so important in this place and have always been a good, constant, friendly presence for me and important in their support; the Secretariat staff, who are all here now—I will not name them all but would specifically mention Judy Henderson because she is not here; she was extremely important in teaching me how the committee system works in the Assembly—all the chamber staff, for their support; the Hansard staff; library staff; the education office; Personnel; Barry; and also the media—particularly Scott from the Canberra Times—because the media people, who are here all the time, are as much a part of this working environment as any of us. I value the relationship with them, and I have also valued their insights.

I want to wish Mr Cornwell and Mr Wood the very best in their voluntary leaving of the Assembly. I might say one thing about one person—and that could be you, Mr Cornwell. When you made your speech I just laughed. I loved it so much when you said what you said about the noisy majorities and that everyone needs to be equal. I just thought: ain’t democracy great? We have such different views in so many ways and yet, as I think Roslyn said, it is great that we can have a good working relationship even though we come from such a different space. I learnt that too.

I remember that, when I was first here and had experienced some of those really different views, I was just appalled and thought, “How do I deal with this?” You have moved out of your comfort zone. We are all in our own cultural group to a large degree until we come into this environment, and then we have a very different experience. As a person I think that is fantastic because having that opportunity to understand why other people feel the way they do makes you learn and grow incredibly. I think that is enough. I wish you all the best.

Members: Hear, hear!

Valedictory

MR PRATT (12.45 am): Mr Speaker, thank you for not throwing me out more than once. I could start there, I should think. I would like to thank my constituents, first and foremost, for their cheerful forbearance when I meet them at shopping centres or when I annoy them at their homes and on the phone. I also thank those few who tell me to sod off, or words to that effect. That goes with the patch.

I would also like to thank the education, police and emergency services, and multicultural communities, with whom I have worked over these past three years, for what I have learnt from them about what makes our community tick. Of course, I must

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