Page 2030 - Week 06 - Monday, 16 May 2011
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best way through. We will maintain our reputation as the most progressive government in the country. We are proud of this title. We believe that you can lead discussions on important social issues and provide good government to the people of the ACT at the same time. It does not have to be an either/or situation.
This is truly an exciting time for our city. As we near our 100th birthday our future looks very bright and I will be very proud to play a small but privileged part in Canberra’s history as the seventh Chief Minister of the ACT.
In closing, I would briefly like to thank all the people that have supported me to get to this stage today: my colleagues in the ALP caucus, the ALP staffers here, my own staff, of course my fantastic friends, and my fantastic family, who are with me here today.
Mr Speaker, this is at times an adversarial place, but I acknowledge that all of us in this place are here to make the ACT a better place. Today I extend a genuine offer to work with all members to improve the lives of the people of Canberra and to improve the city that we all call home.
MR SESELJA (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition), by leave: Firstly, can I offer to the outgoing Chief Minister my congratulations. I wish you well in your retirement. You clearly have been a significant contributor to the ACT, not just as Chief Minister but obviously before that as leader of the Labor Party. To lead your party for the last 13 years is a significant achievement and one that can never be taken away. So I offer my hearty and sincere congratulations.
You have been a formidable adversary, without a doubt—someone whom we respect. We respect your abilities. If we have often disagreed on a whole host of issues and approaches, there is no doubting the fact that we respect your abilities and we respect your contribution.
I wish you and Robyn all the best in your retirement and I hope that you will have a wonderful rest, having made a contribution to the people of the ACT over many years.
Katy, congratulations to you. It is a significant honour, not just to be elected to lead your party but now to be elected as the head of government here in the ACT. So my sincere congratulations go to you. It is a great honour. It is also a great challenge. We on this side of politics will be ensuring we keep you accountable every step of the way. We will be here to ensure that the people of the ACT are well served. Whether that is in areas like housing affordability, whether that is in infrastructure, whether that is in local services, it is now game on.
The test for you, we believe, will be how well you respond to those issues that affect Canberrans every day. We all have that task in this place but no-one has it more importantly than the head of the government in this place, and that now rests with you. So make no mistake: we will hold you very accountable for that and we look forward to that challenge.
In the end, the people of the ACT will judge that performance. They will judge your performance, our performance and, indeed, the performance of this government over the last 11 years. That is the task before us.
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