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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 10 Hansard (Thursday, 26 August 2004) . . Page.. 4461 ..

incredibly valuable. The comment was made to Corporate Services that they keep the wheels turning, and they also keep the pay coming. That is very important to keep in mind, not just for us but, of course, for our staff.

Earlier this week, I acknowledged the work of the committee office and the Hansard people, but I failed to acknowledge Larry Baldwin, who works in the Hansard office. I apologise to you for that, Larry. I have checked the sheet and your name is not on here, so I do not think you actually officially exist. I thank all the people who have worked in my office in the last three years: Helen Cooney, who used to say to me, “I am annoying but useful”—she was incredibly—

Mr Hargreaves: Annoying.

MS MacDONALD: She was not incredibly annoying, but she was very useful. I thank Kel Watt, who had his own sense of timing, and Alys Graham, Alicia Murray, Dave Smith, Neil Pharoah, Christina Myers, who is still in this place but was one of the people stolen by the ministers’ offices, Brett Jones, Lisa Brill, Rebecca Kearns, Duncan Harrod and Jeremy Johnson. Thank you to all of you for having made my life a lot easier, made the place run a lot more smoothly for me and kept me up on a lot of the gossip at different times that I was not aware of.

I would like to pay tribute to the retiring members. Mr Cornwell, I have visions of you in your retirement scrubbing off graffiti and making citizens arrests on those who behave in a fashion that is inappropriate. I remember the day of the Clean Up Australia Day motion, and I was talking about the people who drop cigarette butts. You were right in front of me when I was picking them up, and your suggestion was that I perform a citizens arrest on them. I am expecting at least one citizens arrest from you each week, Mr Cornwell.

Kerrie Tucker, I wish you luck in your race for the Senate, but I wish my good friend David Smith even more luck in that regard and, of course, Kate Lundy. I hope that you do get to enjoy your new property down on the Monaro and that you get to knit and make soup. I was on a reconnaissance mission and found out that that is what Ms Tucker really wants to do.

I pay tribute to my Labor Party colleague Bill Wood. Bill, you will be happy to know that I have lobbied Beverley on your behalf this evening, and I think I am getting her to the point where she is going to agree to the Vespa. I have also consulted with Matthew and Isabel. Matthew thinks you should buy him one, but I have suggested that if you get one, then he can borrow it. Bill, I wish you, in all earnestness, the best of luck for the future. You have been a very steadying influence, and I appreciate that steady hand that you have given to this place. I think we all do.

In regard to Mr Cornwell, Ms Tucker and Mr Wood, they are doing what I hope I will be lucky enough to do one day—that is, choose my date of leaving this place and not have it thrust upon me. Mr Speaker, I congratulate you for the way you have presided over this place. You have presided fairly effectively—and I will go a little bit over the five minutes, but not much. But Mr Speaker, comrade, compagnero, brother, I do have one bone to pick with you, and that is that you threw Mr Pratt out only once. I thought you could have done a little bit better than that.

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