Adjournment Debate

Valedictories

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (17:31): I seek leave to make some Christmas comments.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: There will not be any Christmas presents, but there are some Christmas comments. As we draw near to the end of another very busy parliamentary year, I believe it is useful to reflect on the nature of the work that we collectively undertake in this place. I am very pleased to say that to date 46 bills have been passed by both houses during this year, and this number includes two private members' bills passed by both houses. Since February this year, around about 80 government or private members' motions have been moved in the Legislative Council, so if you are feeling a little weary, that is the reason why. The remaining motions have not yet been resolved or remain on the Notice Paper. We look forward to dealing with them at our next day of business.

This outcome has been achieved by the airing of many debates and opinions, many voices being raised and many ideas and policies considered. It is the hurly-burly of democratic government, or an example of Sir Winston Churchill's famous saying: 'Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried.'

To make the fundamental proposition of democratic government work requires a sense of shared purpose, an unstinting work ethic, and the personal attributes of generosity of spirit to keep all working together.

Fortunately, for the elected members, our parliamentary staff have these qualities in abundance. This year, the wisdom and guidance of the Clerk and the Black Rod have once again made our task as legislators easier and, perhaps even more importantly, constitutional.

With their technical expertise and impartiality, parliamentary counsel has continued to play a pivotal role in supporting the creation of effective and enduring legislation. I particularly want to acknowledge the immense contribution of Richard Dennis, the retiring parliamentary counsel. Richard joined the office of parliamentary counsel in 1982 and was appointed the head of the office in 2006 and has done—

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: He's been here longer than Rob Lucas.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: No-one has been here longer than Rob Lucas, I don't believe it! Richard, it is a remarkable achievement and a remarkable contribution and you have set the bar very high for others to follow in your footsteps. Over the course of a magnificent career, he became a leading national figure in the field of parliamentary law and its processes. Richard's work ethic is prodigious. He drafted many of our state's most important and complex pieces of legislation. I am sure that I am joined by all elected members and parliamentary staff in wishing Richard Dennis all the very best in whatever field he chooses in the next phase of his life.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Other parliamentary staff—the whips, table staff, messengers, Hansard and chamber attendants, who are ever-present, always polite, always willing—have all undertaken their roles with customary skill and diligence, providing us with both tremendous support and courteous service. This is hungry work for the whole parliamentary team, so we must gratefully acknowledge the parliamentary catering staff, who have always provided us with excellent sustenance in the Blue Room, at parliamentary events and, of course, in the dining room. I also acknowledge the office staff, library staff and building and security staff—everyone who works in this place. Once again, you have earned our profound gratitude for the consideration you bring to the machinery of parliament.

On behalf of all members, I would also like to acknowledge our staff who, day and night, bring their very best efforts and their amazing talents to the work that they perform in an environment that can be very stressful. We thank them for the deep personal commitment that is required for their jobs. We also benefit from the excellent work of agency officers and ministerial liaison staffers in our offices—the quiet achievers. They are not often seen in the chamber—sometimes around the parliament—but their work is pivotal to us being able to continue our work. I know from working closely with my own staff how tireless they are in their efforts and diligence in their day-to-day work.

I particularly want to acknowledge my parliamentary adviser, Gillian Hewlett, for her unflagging dedication and commitment. She is the one who is always darting about: everyone knows Gillian. She is everywhere all the time. She knows the answers to everything and she is fast as lightning. We are all very grateful for the endless advice and order that Gillian helps us keep. I also particularly want to acknowledge my Chief-of-Staff, Ann Barclay, for her endless hard work, devotion and support. You could not do the job we do here without that sort of endeavour. I want to express my deep gratitude to them and my other advisors.

Finally, I thank all my parliamentary colleagues for another year of service. No parliamentary year is ever easy and 2015 certainly was not. It has had its share of controversy, but we have managed extremely well to still be on very cordial terms with each other and we have been able to maintain our sense of humour as well as our sense of endeavour.

I particularly want to welcome our newest member, Peter Malinauskas, to the Legislative Council. With a strong union background and an understanding of the issues facing working South Australians, I am confident that Peter will bring many fine qualities and an assertive presence to the deliberations of this chamber and I look forward to seeing him in action throughout 2016.

I wish all members and parliamentary staff a very happy Christmas and New Year. I hope you spend it in the good company of family and friends. I hope you have a healthy and safe Christmas and holiday period and that you have time to relax and have a bit of a break and return revived and re-energised for the 2016 year.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY (Leader of the Opposition) (17:39): I rise to endorse most of the comments made by the Leader of the Government. I am not sure I am wishing our newest member such a bright 2016.

The Hon. P. Malinauskas: Come on!

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: Your maiden speech is over now; we can have a crack! Anyway, it is good to see a new, fresh face in the Legislative Council broader team. On behalf of the opposition, I would certainly like to thank the Clerk, Black Rod and all of the staff here in the Legislative Council. They make our job much easier. Jan, of course, leads that team, and it makes this job much simpler to undertake.

I also thank Hansard, sitting up there diligently as ever. They are a group who I think protected me with my very first speech and looked after me. Some 14 years later, they are still looking after me, so I really do appreciate that, as I think we all do today. They are very good at recording what is said in this place.

I also thank parliamentary counsel, and I want to add my congratulations to Richard Dennis for his many, many years of service, and to the team that he leads. I remember that, when I was first elected, the Hon. Caroline Schaefer said to me, 'If you ever need anybody to talk you through a bit of legislation and help you interpret it, there is a guy called Richard Dennis. Give him a call, and get him to come to your office.' I have had a reasonable amount of interaction with Richard and his team over these 14 years, and it has always been a pleasure to work with you and the rest of your team. On behalf of the opposition, we really appreciate your contribution and wish you all the best in the next phase of your life.

I also thank Creon Grantham and his team. As the Leader of the Government said, this is sometimes a pretty hungry job in here. Of course, the team he leads are the ones we see in the parliamentary bar, the dining room or the blue room. It does not matter where you go, you get good service, friendly service, polite and prompt service, and they do a great job, so I really do appreciate the work they do.

The library staff, of course, are always willing to help us and provide information at a moment's notice, so I certainly thank them for their continuing support of the parliamentary team and also our staff, who I think are using them more and more. They really do appreciate it.

I thank all the security people and the building attendants. Maybe some of you do not see them, but a lot of us who are coming into this building early and late do see them. They do a great job as well to keep us safe and secure.

I thank, obviously, my staff, but also the Legislative Council members' staff. Our staff have interactions with you, we have interactions with your staff, and I think they make the job that we do here much easier. When we can have cordial relationships with those staff and have an exchange of information, I think that is really important as well.

It is also an opportunity to thank all of you in the government. While we might not agree on a lot of things, I thank you for the way that we have conducted business this year. It has been a bit spirited at times; nonetheless, it is what you would expect in an adversarial sort of democracy that we have, although we do not get quite as carried away here as perhaps they do in the green room. I would like to think the egos are not as great in this place as they are perhaps in the one downstairs.

I thank the crossbenchers, too. I think we have a unique relationship here where we have, if you like, a third are government, a third are opposition and a third are from the other group. While we all come from different backgrounds and represent different groups of people in the community, we interact extremely well, and I think we should all be congratulated for that because it makes this place function a lot better.

I suspect this last week has caused frustration for the Minister for Planning. He perhaps does not understand that, while we represent a constituency in the community, there are several other constituencies who are represented, who have the right to have their say and to debate important bits of legislation, as we have seen today.

Also, Mr President, I would like to thank you for the way you have conducted yourself this year. You have mostly kept control of things. Every now and again, it has got a little rough and a little woolly, but I am sure you are learning as you go, and I hope that you have a good Christmas.

Finally, I am not sure, but speculation abounds that minister Gago may not be the minister after Christmas. If she is no longer Leader of the Government when we resume in February, I would like to take this opportunity to thank her for the way she has interacted with me. Obviously, we are on different sides of the political spectrum, but she has been a pleasure to work with. If she is no longer Leader of the Government, then that is a matter for the Labor Party to deal with, but I thank her for her interaction with me as Leader of the Opposition. With those few words, I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year. I will see you back here next February to do the planning bill all over again.

The Hon. M.C. PARNELL (17:44): On behalf of the Greens, I rise to endorse all of the comments and the thankyous that have been put on the record by the Leader of the Government and the Leader of the Opposition. I will not go through them all again, but this place does not run without the concerted effort and dedication of a lot of people, whether front of house or behind the scenes, and so the Greens join in thanking them.

I also mention Richard Dennis who, I guess, as one of his final acts, has helped us get through this planning bill. I think his colleague, Mark Emery, might end up with the baton and they are going to be big shoes to fill, so thank you Richard for all your dedication.

I also welcome Peter Malinauskas. One of the first things I said to him was to apologise for the week he was about to have. I did anticipate how this week would go and, Peter, it is not typical; we do things differently in other weeks, but this was probably an example of some of the hardest work that you might see in terms of early starts and late finishes, but you are more than welcome and I look forward to debating with you over the coming years.

The Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Government referred to the interactions across the chamber. As members know, the proceedings of the Legislative Council are streamed live. My wife was listening the other day, and I received a text message from her along the lines of, 'I can't believe how civilised you people are,' and that was during what I would have thought was a testy period, but I guess, compared to the Senate and some of the strong personalities that are there, I think we are civilised.

I would like to finish this by thanking my staff, Kate and Samantha in particular, but also I have had a number of temporary and casual staff who have come in, so Emily and Rachel thank you for your help in allowing the Greens to continue our representation of South Australians in this place.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (17:46): I rise very briefly to support the comments as well and, like the Hon. Mr Parnell, I will not go through all of the various thankyous that the Leader of the Government and the Leader of the Opposition did, but I do associate myself with those remarks and I thank all of the staff. We are absolutely wonderfully looked after in this place, and it makes our job so much easier, and it would be impossible without them, so I sincerely thank them and hope that in my dealings with them I treat them with the respect that they deserve; I certainly try to.

Can I just very briefly as well commend the minister on the way in which she has conducted herself this week. I think it would have been a difficult week to be Leader of the Government in this place but she really has handled herself with good humour in what were no doubt difficult circumstances, so thank you minister.

I would also like to make brief mention of Richard Dennis's contribution to this place. I think there really is no way to do justice to his contribution. It is very, very substantial indeed, and all of us have relied on you at times, Richard, and have been grateful for your wisdom and your assistance in numerous ways, so I sincerely thank you.

In fact, a very brief story, which no other member in this place would know concerning Richard Dennis, is that he is the only person in the last 20 years, I would suggest, or perhaps even longer than that, who has seen me anywhere close to getting into a fist fight with someone, about three years ago at the Hyde Park Tavern.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: Well, I am sure you are relieved to hear that no punches were thrown, but it was a very tense situation. Anyway, I will leave it there and perhaps you can buy Richard a beer and hear his account of it. Whatever he says I am sure will be at least partially true—but, anyway, it was an interesting evening.

I would also like to thank you, Mr President, and especially for the wonderful dinner that you hosted about six weeks or so ago. As I say to my wife, it is always the best meal of the year—except for every meal that she cooks, obviously. But it was a terrific night, thank you very much.

To my colleagues, thank you. It has been another good year. As the years go on and we get to know each other a little better it gets harder and harder to fight you, I must say, but we manage to find a way.

The Hon. G.E. Gago: We seem to manage.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: We seem to manage; that's right, we find it within ourselves. I would like to welcome formally, as I have informally, the Hon. Peter Malinauskas. I think he will be a good addition to the Legislative Council and I look forward to watching your career flourish in the years ahead.

Perhaps some final words: if I have offended you, I am sorry; if you have offended me, I forgive you. It is that season, and I trust that you will have a wonderful time with your families, that you will pause to remember the reason we have a season at all, and that you have a chance to rest and refresh yourselves for what no doubt will be another big year next year.

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (17:49): I rise to support the comments, and I wholeheartedly endorse the comments of the Leader of the Government and the opposition. I would like to say something special about Richard Dennis. I happened to be around in 1982, and a long time before that, but in another place, and I must admit that Richard Dennis was most helpful in my previous career in the Public Service, as he has at this time.

I thank all the staff members in this place. I certainly want to thank my staff—Connie, Jenny, Madeline and Junia. I welcome Peter Malinauskas to this place. I happened to meet Peter when we were dealing with the two half-day holidays, and we took a bit of a battering on that, but I think it has worked out very well in the long term. With that, I wish everyone a happy Christmas and a safe and prosperous new year.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (17:51): Briefly, on behalf of Dignity for Disability, I endorse the comments and echo all the sentiments expressed. I particularly thank my staff Anna, Cathi and Lucy (our trainee), as well as the casual staff who have helped us out throughout the year, Amy, Allison and Ian. I particularly thank Ian for the work he has been doing in the past few weeks on the planning bill. He has been down there on the lower ground level with pencil and paper in hand, dutifully scribbling away as we pass or defeat certain amendments, crossing them off and ticking them. So, thanks to Ian for that enormous task he has undertaken so well.

I also thank all members with whom we have worked constructively throughout the year—I think that is all of you, in some way or another—the Clerk, yourself, Mr President, all the table staff of course and all the chamber staff, particularly people like Mario, Todd, Leslie and Guy. I particularly thank and acknowledge Leslie as a staff member of this chamber but also as secretary of the committee on access to education for students with disabilities.

I have just had a note flash up on my screen which says 'Anna?' I think I said 'Anna' first of all, but just in case, Anna, Cathi, Lucy, Amy, Ian and Allison: thank you all very much, particularly Anna, since I have been pulled up, my chief of staff, because on more than one night a week I have to remind Anna to go home. So, thank you, Anna, for all you have done.

I thank all members and organisations with which we have worked constructively throughout the year, and all the other parliamentary staff who have been mentioned. I also thank Hansard for their unenviable task of having to write down everything my machine gun mouth says. It is a challenge at times, so thank you for that. I also acknowledge parliamentary counsel for the work they put in drafting the bills and the policies we put forward throughout the year. I particularly acknowledge Richard Dennis as he embarks on his retirement. I wish him all the best, as I am sure we all do.

It has been another great year for Dignity for Disability. I have been sitting here thinking, as I have been listening to other members, that I wanted to highlight a few achievements very quickly. We have had the disability justice plan pass into law via the vulnerable witnesses bill earlier in the year, which will give more and more people with disabilities a voice in court and in police interviews, and thereby hopefully, if nothing else, see more cases going to court, particularly where abuse and neglect of people with disabilities is alleged, so it is an enormously important change, and one of which I am very proud.

I acknowledge that we have a way to go in the implementation of that law, particularly around the communication assistance in court, and I particularly thank the Law Society and Speech Pathology Australia for continuing to work with us on getting that right, and I look forward to doing that in the new year coming.

We also have the consistency in the provision of AUSLAN (Australian Sign Language) in emergency services announcements, which was implemented following a push by Dignity for Disability following the Sampson Flat bushfires. It has certainly been a pleasure to see more sign language used in the announcements around the Pinery fires as well. Of course, it would be much more of a pleasure if we did not have to make those announcements but, given that they have to happen every now and again, it is good to see more and more steps being taken to make them accessible to everyone.

Again, there is a way to go on that particular measure, especially around the use of captioning, but it is a success nonetheless. As I mentioned, we also have the education committee now looking into the very important issue of enabling equal access to students with disabilities to an equal education. Those are just a few of the things that came to mind as I sat here listening. Certainly, there are a number of things that still labour for us for the new year.

I do not want to get too off topic and too serious here because I know I am supposed to be jovial, but I think one of things will be that all members, I hope, in this place staunchly defending the Legislative Council. I think particularly this year the Legislative Council has been brought into a fair bit of disrepute. Some members may have seen my rather public Twitter stoush with David Bevan when he alleged that upper house members did not have any constituents. So, we are going to have to defend this place yet again, and I hope we all band together to do that successfully.

The Legislative Council is vital to democracy and to ensuring that laws that are passed in this state go through the right checks and balances. I hope that we will continue to defend the Legislative Council together in the coming year. I am sure that the people who will now be able to have a voice in court, thanks to the Disability Justice Plan, and the police force, of course, with recent measures under return to work, are very glad to have a Legislative Council because those are two very important measures I can think of just off the top of my head that originated here in this chamber.

I hope we will come together in the new year refreshed and energised and ready to resume our important role and defend our ability to undertake that role. Having undertaken that homily, can I again thank all members and all staff for your work throughout the year and wish you all a very merry Christmas and a great season. I hope you get a great rest and some quality time with your friends and family and whomever and whatever is important to you, and I look forward to seeing you all in the new year. I am sure I will see many of you before that, but see you all in 2016.

The PRESIDENT (17:57): I will say just a brief word. I would like to echo the sentiments that have been mentioned here about our staff. We are very lucky in this parliament to have such conscientious, courteous and very skilful staff. It makes our lives much easier. I would like to also say, Richard, good luck. I have been here for 10 years and I have never heard a negative word about you, so that is a very significant factor. Good luck with your retirement.

I would like to thank the whips for the work they have done. They do a very good job in ensuring the smooth running of our day-to-day workings. Jan and Chris: some of you members might not realise the amount of work they do here. I can see it from here constantly, and we would not run efficiently at all without their expertise. I would also like to thank security. They have not been mentioned today, but our security have been trained to put their lives on the line to protect us. Hopefully, you never have to put that to the test, but thank you very much.

Also, to the members here, I must say as President that from my point of view you actually behave in a very civil manner. I will not make any comment about the other house, but it does make the life of a president much easier with the behaviour and integrity you have all shown during the last 12 months. So, thank you all very much. Have a great break. I look forward to next year, and all the best for the festive season.