Adjournment Debate

VALEDICTORIES

The SPEAKER (16:55): Before we finish, I also want to wish everyone a very merry Christmas. As Speaker, it has been a very interesting year for me. There were some difficult times. It has certainly been an experience for me, and I think I have earned my money. I know that some people have been upset by some of the decisions I have made but I have to say that they are done with the best advice I can get. I am sorry if I have upset people, but I am the Speaker and that is the way it is.

I particularly want to say a big thank you to all the staff who work in this building. Since becoming Speaker, I have learned to appreciate even more how much work they do for us in this building and how everything revolves around us as members.

I particularly thank the catering staff for the wonderful job that they do, from Creon right through the catering area. They are a pleasure to talk to and deal with, and they certainly look after us very well.

I thank the building management staff for the way things happen in this place. They happen quietly without us knowing most of the time. A big thank you goes to them because we would not function without them and the work they do.

I thank Hansard, of course. I was interested to hear the member for Morphett's comments. One of the terminologies he did miss out was the racetrack caller. Hansard does an excellent job under great stress, and it is always a pleasure to talk to them and see them. Philip, their leader, leads them very admirably. A big thank you goes to Hansard because they do make us sound good, even when we do not know what we are talking about. So, thank you to Hansard.

Thank you to the library staff. I have become chair of the Friends of the Library. I have been able to learn to appreciate what we have in the library. It is a wonderful asset for this place, and we have some incredible books there. I urge members to come along to some of our Friends of the Library meetings and learn what is there. It is a great asset for us and the staff do a great job.

I also want to pay a compliment to the staff and our colleagues in the other place. They keep to themselves, but we get on well and it is good to work with them. I mention, particularly, Jan Davis, the Clerk, and the President, Bob Sneath.

I particularly thank our attendants in this chamber—John, Joy and Kane. You look after us so well. I just have to look at John and I get a glass of water when I want it, or they go and get my glasses. They do all those wonderful things. They are an essential part of us and we would not function without them. So, thank you very much to them.

Perry, of course, has given us another date when he is leaving. I will believe it when I see it, but I do not think he will last the next 3½ years. I think he will be gone by then, so all I can say is, 'Ha, ha! I won'—I will last longer than he will. But it will be interesting to see him go and, of course, he leads the messengers admirably.

I thank the other people who work in this chamber. All of the clerks do a wonderful job. They certainly earn their money, too, on some days with the things that happen here. Thank you to all of them. It is a pleasure working with them. I enjoy working with them and really appreciate their work.

Thanks, particularly, to Malcolm who looks after me and gives me advice; and also to Rick, who does a wonderful job. I thank those two especially; they are just rocks in this place. Also, to Paul, the Serjeant-at-Arms, who I have a lot more dealings with than I used to. He leads me in admirably every day. A couple of times I thought he was not coming and that I would have to carry the mace in myself. He is great to have here.

If I have missed anyone in this chamber, I am sorry. You do a wonderful job and look after us very well. You are sort of hidden and you just do it quietly, not with any pomp or ceremony. You sometimes do not get recognised by the public, but thank you very much for your efforts here. Corporate services do a great job as well. They look after us. They are on the first floor. I have quite a few dealings with Pauline and the staff there, and they do an excellent job as well. Finance also makes sure that this place functions well; so, thank you to all of them.

I thank the whips, especially the Government Whip, my dear friend. She keeps this place running, as well as the deputy whip, Alan. I know how difficult it is being deputy whip because you do not get paid for it but you have to do all the work.

Ms Bedford interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I'll get to you. I thank also the Opposition Whip. We have had a very cordial relationship this year. Adrian is a gentleman. Also, Peter Treloar, who is, of course, my neighbour, does a great job, too. He has certainly got stuck in and had to work hard this week. It is good to have a good relationship with the whips and to be able work with them. Of course, Ivan over there is shaking his head. I worked very well with Ivan, too, in the past.

To members on both sides, my colleagues, I have appreciated your efforts this year and the work that you have put in—and the backbenchers sitting back there and behaving very well. Some people are behaving very well. I thank you and also the opposition members. We have our agreements and disagreements, but you were very well behaved today compared with the rest of the week. It is very good.

I thank the Premier, of course, who I work closely with, as well as the ministers and other members. I thank my staff particularly. Josie has been a tower of strength for me this year, as well as my staff in my Whyalla office, who very seldom see me now and who have to work three times as hard because I am hardly ever there. So, I thank Tracy, Sherie, Linda, Eddie, Anouk and Hannah.

The Leader of the Opposition mentioned her driver; well, I could not do without my driver. He is like a husband. I have all the benefits of a husband without the disadvantages of one with him. He looks after me extremely well.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Some of the benefits of a husband! He looks after me extremely well. I can abuse him; I can treat him badly if I want to. He is a tower of strength for me. Of course, we spend so much time together we have to get on well, and we do. So, I thank him.

I want also to thank my family for their support of me over the years in my time in parliament. I particularly mention my son. I am feeling a bit sad tonight because my son, who I am very proud of, is probably right now, at 5 o'clock, being sworn in as a new councillor in the Whyalla city council. I cannot be there, unfortunately. It is the story of my children's lives. I was not there quite often on their important occasions because of commitments in this place.

One of the hard parts about being an MP is that your family sometimes misses out because you have other commitments, and those of us who have children or other family members know that it is a difficult choice for us. I thank my family. I mentioned the whips but I did not mention Carol and Wendy who have also looked after very well on our side here. I am sure I have forgotten people, however—

Ms Bedford interjecting:

The SPEAKER: We will not mention Muriel Matters. Can I just say to everyone: have a very merry Christmas. I think that we all do need a break. I think that we need to get away from this place for a while, rest and come back in February all ready to go again. I look forward to a good year next year. Merry, merry Christmas to you and all your family, and please drive safely. Please be very careful.

Mr VENNING (Schubert) (17:05): First of all, I just want to say thank you very much for the greetings extended to us, Madam Speaker. Please accept our greetings to you. It has been a pretty steep learning curve, and you have made a fair fist of it. Thank you for your consideration. Also, to all the other members in the house, I will not repeat it all.

To everybody in this place, we treat you as equals; we need you here. There is nobody any more important in this place than anybody else. We are all pivotal in this place. To me it is all family, because I am away from my family most of the time. It is lovely to be able to talk to each and everyone of you, talk civilly, as part of an extended family. I extend greetings and thanks to you all.

Very briefly, I want to make some comments about the recent council elections a few weeks ago. There were some quite big surprises, as we saw. I want to start with the election of the Lord Mayor of Adelaide, Stephen Yarwood. As you would know, Madam Speaker, this gentleman used to work for me in this place as a research officer for the ERD Committee, and that was for four or five years. I have invited him back, and I think he is going to come to visit us. It just shows that hard work and single-mindedness can bring results. That is what he has done. He has really bent his back, and he kept to the point, and he is now Lord Mayor of Adelaide.

I just want to say congratulations and good luck to all those who won election at the local government elections. It is good to see a fair amount of generational change right across. I will put on the record, though, that in relation to the council amalgamations that occurred back in the '90s we were always going to finetune boundaries. Now I think there is an opportunity for us to look at this.

I am flagging publically for the first time that in the Barossa I am hopeful that we will see some boundary changes in relation to Marananga, Keyneton and Truro, which should all be in the Barossa. It would also mean that Hewett in Gawler would have to come into the calculation, as would Kapunda and Eudunda. If you look at the old Anderson report that was out years ago, it ought to be picked up and looked at again. There is a lot more to happen there. I also commend Mayor Hornsey and thank him very much. He was defeated at the election; I was quite shocked. He was a great mayor, and I pay tribute to him. To Mayor Hurn, congratulations, you're back and I look forward to continued cooperation.

At 17:08 the house adjourned until 8 February 2011 at 11:00.