Page 2836 - Week 08 - Thursday, 11 August 2016
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MR HANSON: I will name them all. I had better not forget any. I will tell a quick anecdote. Tonight the staff asked that we get together unprompted so that they could give Ian a bottle of whiskey to say what a good boss he has been as the chief of staff. They did not give me one, I note, but they gave Ian one.
They said some very kind words about what he has done. I certainly share that sentiment. When you are the chief of staff you have responsibility across the whole corridor for all the staff. I am sure that all the staff in every office would have similar sentiments. Hopefully there are more bottles of whiskey to come.
Neil Hermes is the bloke on the far left. I think what I would say is that for Neil no job is too big, no job is too small. Whatever it is, he does it; he gets on with it. Can I keep going? Is that all right, Madam Deputy Speaker?
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: You always do, Mr Hanson.
MR HANSON: I do. It is fair to say that you and I have had our disagreements but well played, Madam Deputy Speaker. You played that well. No job is too big, no job is too small, and he does them all to perfection. James Browne, I thank you for your diligence dealing with all of that Attorney-General’s legislation. We do not have a department and when you are in opposition you do it all and when you are the shadow attorney-general there is a lot of it. James, for all the work that you have done on that and for your diligence, well done.
Joe Prevedello is the media adviser not just for me but for all of the MLAs. Can you imagine? You have to keep eight MLAs and all the media happy. That is almost an impossible task but Joe somehow seems to manage that. He managed to make it so that we have spoken with one voice for the whole term. That is a very difficult thing to do. Well done!
It is great to have Emily Hicks back as well. She was with my office. She went up to work on the hill. She got Zed elected and now she has come back hopefully to help me do the same. Katy Lankutts is probably leaving at the end of this term to have a baby. I wish her and her partner, Tom, all the very best for their future. I know she is very excited about what the future holds, and it is great.
Jodie Bingley is hiding up the back. Jodie is a mother of five. She recently had her husband go off to Afghanistan, and she is working for the Leader of the Opposition. That is not an easy thing to juggle. I think the way you did that is admirable. There is no way I would be able to do that. There are not many people who would. But to be able to juggle five kids, not to miss a beat at work while your husband is deployed to Afghanistan, is an extraordinary feat.
Last but not least I thank my PA and part-time babysitter Jess. She is always on time with excellent work, always diligent, always efficient, never misses a beat. I am sure that we will both enjoy a little bit of a break without her saying, “We need to do diary.” That is an inside joke that, as MLAs would I am sure know, our PAs say: “You need to do diary.” Yes, it is my fault when it is not done.
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