Page 714 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 8 March 2016
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Affirmation of allegiance by member
Mr Jayson Hinder was introduced and made and subscribed the affirmation of allegiance required by law.
The Chief Justice having retired—
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Hinder, on behalf of all members, I bid you a warm welcome to the Assembly. Mr Hinder.
Inaugural speech
MR HINDER (Ginninderra): I seek leave of the Assembly to make my inaugural speech.
Leave granted.
MADAM SPEAKER: Before I call Mr Hinder, I wish to remind members that this is his inaugural speech, and it is tradition that it is heard in silence.
MR HINDER: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise to share with the Assembly and the people of Canberra my background, my vision for our city, and the experience and dedication that I will bring to this place. Before I start, Madam Speaker, I would just like to mention that on Saturday during a charity rugby match at Jindabyne, Bill Stefaniak broke my nose, so delivering this speech will be a little difficult.
Bill and I also play in the parliamentary rugby team, and have been good friends for over 10 years. I did at the time, however, pause to consider what foreboding cosmic message was being sent, that in the week I am to take my seat in the Assembly, a former leader of the Canberra Liberals should break my nose. It probably says more about my suitability for this place that I thought little of the fact that at the time Bill and I were on the same team.
Madam Speaker, just as I have come from humble beginnings as the apprentice mechanic I was to the barrister and bank chairman I have become, in a parallel journey Canberra, the city we all love, has also come a long way. Our city has a rich heritage grounded in a long history of Aboriginal settlement in the area. Today I acknowledge the Ngunnawal people who are the traditional owners of this land on which we meet and the electorate I represent. I pay my respects to their elders past and present. We should never forget that Aboriginal people are the custodians of some of the oldest continuing cultures in human history and that they have much to be proud of in their heritage.
The history of our city as a capital is one of progress and diversity. Founded as a capital in 1913, our city has grown from a small town to a metropolitan city with a high standard of living and equality of opportunity. Canberra has historically been a place of compromise. It was originally founded as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne and, throughout the 20th century, was a place of work that people from
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