Page 4197 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 24 October 2017
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finally get to put their experience to good use in the next Liberal government in Canberra in, hopefully, 2020.
I give an extra special thanks to my staff—my senior adviser, Neil Hermes, and Jodi Bingley—for their ongoing help and commitment over the past 10 months through some very difficult times. Your support and understanding will not be forgotten. My thanks also to past staff members, in particular Kate Davis, Merlin Kong, Sue White and Paula Nash, who all made a valuable contribution over the years.
On the same note, I thank also my parliamentary colleagues in the opposition for their unwavering consideration and assistance at this time and, indeed, members of the ACT government for their understanding, especially ministers Meegan Fitzharris and Yvette Berry.
Since being elected to the Assembly I have represented the electorates of Brindabella, Molonglo and, in this term, Kurrajong. You can all rest easy now as I will not be making good on the comment I made before the last election that I looked forward to contesting the electorates of Murrumbidgee and Yerrabi in the future. I thank the constituents of the three electorates I have represented for their faith in me over the years, and I apologise that I cannot continue to fulfil my electoral obligations.
My sincere appreciation also goes to the amazing group of volunteers who supported me so selflessly on the campaign trail during five elections. From my first campaign in 2001 to the 2016 campaign, there have been so many I need to thank: George Lemon, Grant Eddington, Albert and Sandra Orszaczky, Heinz and Anna Assel, Poul Bergild, Coralie Wood, Stephen Pike, Peter and Cherry Dundas-Smith, Margaret and Allan Pearson, Geoff and Loretta Deacon, Peter and Christine Formosa.
I thank my wife, Maureen, and our children, Adam and Amy, and their families as well. I thank many Sydney-based friends, including my brothers and sisters, Anna Hollai, Gus and Marianne Doszpot—my brother who is here with his wife today—and their children, and my other brother, Bill Doszpot, and Jo Hamill and their children, for their contributions over the years in every one of the campaigns. I am grateful that they were also able to make it here today. Of course, my youngest sister, Mary Doszpot, was also part of all these campaigns, so it was quite a family affair from both a Sydney point of view and from Canberra.
Lastly, I thank my mother, Anna Doszpot, who in her 80s still took part in every campaign until her death in 2015. She insisted on helping on election day, and I have to confess that her instructions to potential voters in her thick Hungarian accent, “You have to vote for my son; he is a good boy,” did worry me, but luckily people seemed to like her and some even took her advice. Heartfelt thanks also to Tony Olivera, Sheryle Moon, John Bundock, Sally McDonald, Anne Prendergrast, Graeme Church, Bernadette Scargill, Keith and Yvonne Lee, Derek Robson and Gayle, Cliff and Di Smith, and Nick Tsoulias. I also thank and apologise to all the many others I could not name here today.
Electoral representation has some interesting sidelines, and I know I caused my party some consternation when pursuing the concerns of many in the community who their
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