Page 2357 - Week 08 - Thursday, 6 June 2013
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Tim Kirk, John and Tony Barilaro, David Malloch and Louise English, and my apologies to all those that I have missed. We are supported by some wonderful people in the Liberal Party.
To Andrea Cullen in the committee office, I think she is one of the stars of the Secretariat and I think she does an outstanding job. To all of the staff of the Assembly, it is great to see Dick Stalker back. I told him I would get his name in the Hansard one more time.
To my opponents, I thank you for your service to the community. I apologise for the times when in the heat of battle I may have said things which were unfair. To my Green friend Mr Rattenbury, I have enjoyed our battles. We come from very different perspectives but I do respect your passionate advocacy for your cause and I even occasionally agree with what you are saying.
To the Chief Minister, thanks for the memories. I will miss our stoushes in and out of the chamber. I enjoy having a joke with you from time to time in the midst of it all. I know you have been very keen for me to go, but I do not think that you are really that keen for me to go. I think you will miss me just a little bit. The last time I spoke to Katy outside of the chamber, I actually was standing in solidarity with her because I just could not believe the gall of that Jon Stanhope; to criticise her for public art, fair dinkum! I was standing with Katy on that one. I thought, “Fair dinkum!”
To me, family is the most important thing. I went into politics because I wanted my kids and all the kids of Canberra to have a better future. Ironically, it is politics which so often takes me away from my own family, as I know is the case for so many people here. I have been blessed by amazing parents who have made massive sacrifices for each of their children. I can only say to Kate and Loui, thank you and I love you. To Branka, Zvonimir, to Katarina, Lidia and Nik, you guys are awesome and I love you very, very much.
In my maiden speech I had a message for my then two young kids, Michael and Tommy. I said this:
… you are too young to understand this now but when you read this in years to come, know that I love you with all my heart and only want what is best for you. Thank you for providing me with a pleasant distraction during my campaign and bringing so much joy to my life. I hope to help shape Canberra into a better city for you and for your children.
I now say something similar to Michael, to Tommy, to William, to Olivia and to the one who we will meet at the end of August. I love you dearly. Time with you and your mum is what I live for, whether it is sitting in front of the fire and watching Parramatta lose on a Friday night, or the Blues occasionally winning, hiking in the Brindabellas with my boys, reading a story with Olivia, you bring joy to my life and all I do is for you and your mum.
Finally to Ros, what an amazing woman you are—a super woman, no less. A wife, an amazing mother, a dean’s list student, a public servant, a campaign volunteer. All I
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