Page 4121 - Week 13 - Thursday, 6 December 2007
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As in previous years, Mr Speaker—I will do it again today—I express my appreciation to all of the Assembly support staff. I single out the attendants most times, because it is they who see the foibles of the chamber. They are always the ultimate professionals. They have probably the most boring job in Christendom and they always greet us with a smile in the morning. How they do that is totally beyond me, Mr Speaker. If it were not for the entertainment that Mr Pratt provides them from time to time, I am sure they would go stir crazy.
I would like to thank Ray Blundell for teaching me how to stand in front of the cameras. I would like to thank Hansard for their multilingual translation of some of the things that I have said over the last 12 months. The chamber support has been excellent. I thank the Clerk, Tom Duncan, for his straight-facedness when I have taken the micky out of other people besides Collingwood and I thank Max for not having a straight face when I have taken the micky out of St Kilda—because everybody else in the world does; I just have to follow with the herd, and you get that. Sorry, Max.
I would also like to express my appreciation to the folks in the library, to executive support—in fact, to everybody who works in this building. I have been here for nearly 10 years. Mr Smyth and I, with Mr Stanhope, came in here together; and I have to tell you that it has been a pleasure to work with a great bunch of people.
I also like to take this opportunity to thank my departments—particularly the CEOs, Sandra Lambert and Mike Zissler, and all of their officers. They are a superlative bunch of people. Both of them, and all of their officers, work with the best interests of Canberra at heart. Sometimes we get it right; sometimes we do not get it right. It does not matter; it is what is in their ticker that counts, Mr Speaker. They really, really do work particularly hard.
I wish everybody a merry Christmas—particularly those who work similar hours to us, those folks in the media. They work 24/7 like we do. At about this time of the year, we realise and appreciate the difficult job that they have, because both sides of politics give them heaps. I wish them all the best with their families over Christmas.
I thank my family, particularly my wife Jen, who has got to be one of the most long-suffering poor souls that God ever blew breath into. Colleagues who know Jen will know that she bears it with very strong shoulders. I would note that not only would I not have started this game without her; I would not have continued without her either. And to my wider family, to my brothers, my sisters, my father and all the rest of it—they are so supportive. When they see some of the things written and when they see some of the things spoken on radio and television, it would be easy for them to abandon me, but they do not.
I wish all of my colleagues here on both sides of the house a very joyous time over Christmas. I think the time now has come to take time out, take a breather and absorb ourselves in the love of our families. We do not get a shot at that too often. Once a year we can actually just immerse ourselves in the bosom of our families. I say: let us take that opportunity and use that to recharge. Maybe next year we will come back and enjoy the fruitful comedy of Steve Pratt.
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