Page 4308 - Week 13 - Thursday, 19 November 2015
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the Queanbeyan White Pages now; soon I will move on to Goulburn and Cooma.
I want to extend special thanks to those who have worked in my office, in particular Ruth, Ben and Kate. And special thanks to Danielle, who has left us on maternity leave and has just had a lovely daughter; I wish her, her husband and her growing family all the very best.
I would like to extend my thanks to the other staff in the Liberal offices, in particular, Ian and Joe, whom I work with on a daily basis, and usually multiple times each day. I would, of course, like to extend my thanks to my Assembly colleagues, particularly members of the opposition. As Mr Hanson said, it is a grind; it is a slog, being in opposition in these four-year terms. They are very long in opposition. I imagine they are very short in government, but they are very long in opposition. We are very much looking forward to the battle next year.
Something that I have reflected on of late is that it is good, going into the 2016 election, that there are meaty, solid issues that we can all sink our teeth into. Often in politics there are issues that come and go in a matter of weeks, and just when you have built up a knowledge base you move on to something else. With the election next year, I think we can all appreciate that there are some really solid issues that will be vote changers for people. To that end, I expect that we are going to have a good campaign. I hope, more than ever, that it is going to be policy based, which we will all revel in, I am sure.
I would like to thank members of the committee office, the Hansard department and all the other staff here at the Assembly.
I would also extend my thanks to those in the Liberal Party here in the ACT for all the support they give members of the Assembly, particularly Peter and Arthur, who have led the party this year in the ACT.
Finally, of course, a special thanks to my wife, Yasmin, and my 18-month-old son, Angus, who have been a real bright spot in my life in 2015. With that said, best wishes and merry Christmas.
Valedictory
MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (6.01): It is a little odd making a Christmas statement in the middle of November. It is a bit like David Jones putting out their Christmas decorations at the end of the August holidays. But it still happens, and we just have to go with the flow.
Before I make some comments about the chamber, I would like to pay tribute to my staff, the indomitable Clinton White, Keith Old, Chris Inglis and Maria Violi. Maria has had a pretty tough year and is off on well-deserved holidays. I want to pay particular tribute to my colleagues in the Liberal Party for being extraordinary colleagues and a great bunch of people to work with, not just the members but the staff. I think it is a wonderful and tight-knit group of which we can be proud.
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