Page 4272 - Week 13 - Thursday, 27 November 2014
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committee office and all the attendants who bring me water, shift my glasses around, supply me with lollies, deliver our papers and provide us with security. The library, Hansard, and Neal and his staff in the education office do an extraordinary job. I thank the people in governance, finance, the scrutiny committee, Rick and Ray, our technical people who make this place run. Ray, really, I wish you well and I will get you back if things all turn to putty.
Mr Wall: Mainly because he put it there.
MRS DUNNE: We will have to scrape it off with some assistance. I also want to pay tribute to the art committee, which is something that I have discovered in the last two years. It is a great joy to me. I would like to thank the advisers to the art committee—Merryn, Mark, Barb and Helen—and my Assembly colleagues, Dr Bourke and Mrs Jones. We do not always agree, but it is a great opportunity, and I am very proud of the work that we have done in the art community over the last little while.
I thank my own personal staff, Clinton, Keith and Maria, who make me look good. It is sometimes a pretty hard job. I pay tribute to their extraordinary professionalism, dedication and loyalty. I thank the other Liberal staff. I will not name you all, but a few have to be named: Ian, Joe, Jodie and Chris, who keep the communication going. I thank the extraordinary bevy of bakers that we have and the producers of fresh produce, headed by Sue White—and she did not write this speech. I mention one person, in particular, Neil “Creampuff” Hermes, for the great work that he does amongst the extraordinary bevy of bakers.
My colleagues are a great bunch. They are fantastic. Jeremy, I do not always give you the mother glance. He is very sensitive, Madam Assistant Speaker. He sort of chips me from time to time outside the chamber. I thank Alistair, Guilia, the force of nature, and Nicole—fantastic. She just speaks with such aplomb and such confidence. I thank Andrew, Brendan and Dozzie—I know he hates me calling him “Dozzie” but I cannot think of him as anything else; so it is Dozzie.
I also want to pay tribute to my family, to Lyle, Olivia and Simon, Tom, Julia, Bella and Conor, and even Ellie the wonder dog. We have planned a holiday by the sea in January. It was a hard task to choose the right place. We had to cater for the fact that my 92-year-old dad will be with us. We found the perfect place where you can fish from the verandah. I am not telling you where it is or we will have people lining up. It was a great find and we are looking forward to fishing from the verandah.
To all who support us here in the Assembly, I thank you. I thank my constituents for the work that you do in keeping us here and keeping us informed. To the myriad community groups who work so hard for the benefit and advancement of the people of the ACT, I hope that this Christmas season is one as much as possible of peace and joy and quiet times with friends and family.
To echo the sentiments of Ms Berry, please donate to the charity of your choice, because we are privileged. One of the things that is so highlighted to me as the Speaker, and as someone who has had to travel on behalf of the Assembly quite a bit over the last couple of years, is that you always come home thankful for where we
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