Page 4205 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 24 October 2017
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when he was minister for sport, Mr Doszpot also raised this issue with him. They were soon out together on Dickson oval inspecting the work of sport and rec and discussing whether or not the standards were in fact good enough.
Mr Rattenbury had to leave this morning. Unfortunately he is attending a funeral, but of course as a fellow member of the class of 2008 he asked that I specifically acknowledge on his behalf the work that Mr Doszpot has undertaken in his time here. Mr Rattenbury and I were recently talking about how Canberra can be a small town at times. He told me the story of the first time he and his then new partner Louise ran into Mr Doszpot. Shane and Louise were having dinner in Manuka. They ran into Mr Doszpot on the street. Before Shane could even make an introduction, Mr Doszpot turned to Louise and said, “How are you?” It turned out they had worked together at an IT company in Canberra more than 20 years ago.
As Mr Coe said, Mr Doszpot really does in fact know everybody in Canberra and a small number of them have joined us here today. Thank you all very much for coming. It makes it such a great occasion and provides a clear connection with Mr Doszpot—and to a lesser extent the Assembly—and the community. Thank you all.
One of the things I relate to Steve about is being an ex-IT person. Prior to coming here I was also in IT. One of the other things about Canberra being a small town is that there are things that are not easily forgotten. One such thing is Mr Doszpot’s campaign song as a candidate for Brindabella in the 2008 election campaign.
Members interjecting—
MS LE COUTEUR: I wonder if the laughter is nervous anticipation that I might be planning to sing it. I do remember Madam Speaker’s views about props, because I thought about bringing in something to play it on, but I was not sure if that would qualify as parliamentary. In lieu of playing it, you will be happy to know that I am not going to attempt to sing it. However, I will quote a few of the lyrics. Imagine background music that sounds like a James Bond movie track:
Steve Doszpot
Escaped from Budapest
On a sleigh long ago
They had to walk through the snow
In Yugoslavia in refugee camps for many months
Then Dad said “This is not good”
Off to Australia we go
Was President of Soccer Canberra
And that’s not all
He directed Olympic football
This is only a short part of it. I am happy to inform members that the file is available on the National Library’s website. I am happy to forward the link to anyone that wants it. As far as I know, Mr Doszpot, as well as being the only Assembly member to have represented three electorates, is the only Assembly candidate who has ever put his resume in song before. Thank you, Steve, for that!
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