Adjournment Debate

VALEDICTORIES

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (17:13): I take this opportunity to wish all members the very best for the Christmas and New Year period. This has obviously been a very busy and very productive session. We have dealt with a lot of major legislation in some major policy areas, and I believe that it has been incredibly productive.

I also thank all members in this place for their cooperation. We often discuss issues where individuals or parties align around different perspectives, and they are often very vocal and passionate in the way they express their views.

Nevertheless, at the end of the day we come together, we get the job done and we work together in an extremely cooperative way, so I thank all members. In particular, I would like to thank the whips for the work that they have done in organising what seems to be an increasingly complex lot of work. They are unflappable—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Well, almost unflappable. I do not think I have misled the parliament, but I appreciate them and, on behalf of everyone else, I am sure that they appreciate the important work that the whips do.

I would like to thank the table staff: Jan, Chris, Guy and Chris, and also Margaret and the messengers, Todd, Mario, Karen and Antony.

I record the government's thanks to parliamentary counsel. Their infinite wisdom and assistance are tremendously appreciated as well as the incredibly impartial way that they deal with all members, making each and every one of us feel like our issues of concern and matters before us are of the most importance. So, a big thank you to them.

I thank the Hansard staff as well, who have been incredibly cooperative, patient and understanding, particularly to those members who are inclined to mumble. I do not think I am one of them, but they are very kind in their interpretation, and I thank them very much for all the work that they have done throughout the year.

My thanks to the kitchen and dining staff, the library staff and the building staff. If I have left anyone out, I thank all staff members who assist in the running and management of this place.

I wish to thank my own staff. Their support and hard work, diligence and commitment always go way beyond what I ever ask of them. They are a wonderful team and I appreciate everything that they do. On behalf of all members, I would like to thank their staff members for their contribution during the year in keeping us well-informed, well-briefed and most of us here on time—but, again, I will not name names.

Mr President, I wish to thank you for your infinite wisdom, guidance, patience—

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: —and direction. It is greatly appreciated. Your advice and direction are held in high regard by everyone. Your wisdom—I have already mentioned wisdom but I will say it again—is held in very high regard and you are well-respected by all in this chamber.

Finally, I wish all members, their staff and families a happy and very peaceful Christmas and new year period, and I look forward to everyone returning refreshed and rejuvenated for a very challenging 2011.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (17:19): I would like to endorse all of the remarks made by the minister, apart from her introductory comments where she mentioned that it had been a particularly productive year. It is probably not the time to refer to the fact that we have only had 30 sitting days this year, but we do look forward to a much more productive year next year.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Well, we must always correct the record. We wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't do so. I would like to thank the table staff: Jan, Chris, Guy and Chris; Margaret behind the scenes; our attendants, who work with us every day as well: Todd, Mario, Karen and Antoni; Hansard; and the catering, library and building staff. Parliamentary counsel, I think, deserve particular mention for turning our concepts into legislation. I would also like to give a special thanks to the whips, who sometimes have a challenging job in managing to get us all in order.

Mr President, your great sense of humour, I think, stands you in good stead in managing us. The edges get a bit frayed from time to time, but I think we generally manage to hold ourselves together a little better than is the case in the other place. I would also like to acknowledge all of our support staff who put in a great deal of effort in assisting us in our job in this place. I wish everybody a safe and happy Christmas and look forward to deliberations next year.

The Hon. M. PARNELL (17:21): I will not detain the council for long. On behalf of the Greens, I would like to fully endorse all the remarks made by the Leader of the Government and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and to add our thanks to all of those people who were listed, the people who make our workplace here productive and efficient. Whilst we would have been happy to come back next week and do more work, we are pleased to be able to thank all the people who work here at Parliament House and who work with us in our various roles, and I too look forward to a productive 2011.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (17:21): I will also be brief. I would just like to say that this has obviously been an amazing year for me in many respects, sometimes in a sad respect but most of the time in a very joyful manner. I would like to thank all the staff here, my staff, and dearly beloved friends, Megan and Sam, for their support and contribution to my growth in this year. To Mario, who always picks up everything that I seem to drop constantly and helps me get to the lift, even when I do not need help, it is much appreciated—and he puts my desk away because he is afraid that people will destroy it for some reason.

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink: Yes, you have to watch those schoolchildren!

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: We do. It is a very special desk, as we all know. It would not be here if I were not here; it would not be here if the staff of this council were not so willing to accommodate me. I have said many times before that the changes that have happened to this place are not just for me: they are for every person with a disability, which means that they have special mobility needs. I am very honoured to be the person who has helped to bring that issue to light, and I would like to thank all those people who made those changes happen so well and extremely quickly. I and the disability community are very grateful. As Jan so rightly said on one of my first days here, this is the people's parliament, so all people should be able to access it equally, and that in itself is a big step. I look forward to making many more steps next year, and I thank you all very much.

The Hon. A. BRESSINGTON (17:23): I rise to wish everybody a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year and to thank all the staff who have been listed—I would not even dare try to remember them all for fear that I would forget some. I also thank all my colleagues in here for an interesting year, and you yourself, Mr President. Again I say, as I said last year and the year before, you are well respected in that chair and you do a wonderful job. As the Hon. Michelle Lensink said, your sense of humour sometimes can be a bit scary but most of the time we survive it. For everybody here, I hope that you all have a wonderful time with your family over the break, and I too look forward to 2011.

The PRESIDENT (17:24): As I always do at this time of year, I wish everybody a very merry Christmas and say thank you very much to the chamber staff, especially Jan and Chris, our staff in here; and, outside of here, Hansard, catering and all the staff that come under the auspices of the JPSC. Also, I would like to take the opportunity to thank the members of the JPSC for a very fruitful year. Many people here who are not members of the JPSC do not know exactly what the JPSC does, but I can assure you that they work very hard and make some very fruitful decisions.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the Hon. Mr Dawkins, in particular, who always offers me a spell during the long days, and I am very grateful for that. It has been a pleasure this year to welcome our new members, because we had an election earlier in the year, and I think the council has done very well with those new people on all sides of politics who have been elected this year. I congratulate those people who selected in them in preselections, because I think they have made a wonderful contribution to the council, and I have certainly enjoyed their contributions.

I also have a lot less trouble getting out of bed to front up to work because I have watched Kelly since she has been elected here and the marvellous things that she has achieved and how she comes in and does not whinge half as much as I do. She has certainly made me have a fresh look at my energy reserves over the years and think, 'Well, if Kelly can do it, I can do it even better,' but I don't think I can do it as well as she does.

Thanks very much for your support throughout the year. I have really appreciated it and I wish you all a merry, happy and healthy Christmas with your families.

[Sitting suspended from 17:27 to 17:51]

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister Assisting the Premier in Public Sector Management) (17:51): I wish everyone a very happy Christmas and New Year break.

At 17:52 the council adjourned until Tuesday 8 February 2011 at 14:15.