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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-07-24 Daily Xml
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The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Early Childhood Development, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister Assisting the Premier in Cabinet Business and Public Sector Management) (16:38): On behalf of the Manager of Government Business, and on behalf of the government, I offer to all the people who make this place work my thanks and gratitude for their work over the session and particularly you, Mr Speaker, for keeping this house in order. At times, that can be a difficult and testing matter, but you do it with great calm and fairness.

I also acknowledge and thank the Clerk and the table staff who keep us all running according to Erskine May and ensure that everything works well. I thank Hansard staff for interpreting our gibberish and turning it into English. I particularly want to acknowledge a person who has been a long-serving member of the parliament, Carmel Moriarty, who retired today after 46 years.

Carmel began work at Parliament House as a casual employee in 1962 and took up a permanent position in the Reporting Division in 1964 (the year I was born). In the ensuing 46 years, Carmel has recorded parliamentary debate involving 12 different premiers. Carmel Moriarty is famous around Parliament House for her constant smile and for always being willing to help out, often when people need information or copies of Hansard in a hurry.

During her time in this place, Carmel has seen many changes in technology and was the first Hansard staff member to take up the offer to try an electronic typewriter—new-fangled thing that it was. About 20 years ago, she and her colleagues made the move to computers, as the South Australian parliament was one of the first in the country to take up the new technology.

I wish to thank Carmel Moriarty for her wonderful service to this place for almost half a century. She apparently still plays tennis three times a week and is off to spend more time with her passions of fine wine, fine food and travel.

I also acknowledge the other people behind the scenes who make this place work. I thank the attendants for keeping us safe and shepherding us in the right direction, as well as the maintenance staff, the cleaning staff and the catering staff. I also thank the other people who make the government work: those in the office of the Manager for Government Business, Manuel Chrisan, and the corresponding officers in the other place; our electorate office staff; our ministerial staff; parliamentary counsel; and all those who support us in our role. I thank you all very much for making this place work, and I acknowledge your fine work.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (16:41): On behalf of the this side of the house I, too, would like to respond. I thank the Speaker for the excellent job he does in this place, and it can get trying at times. I like to think that I have a very good working relationship with the Speaker, and I do not believe that we have come to blows yet.

The Hon. J.W. Weatherill interjecting:

Mr PEDERICK: Probably not physically, no. I also commend the work of the Government Whip and the Opposition Whip. I appreciate Ivan's candour when we get together and sort things out and get things done. I know that at times there are things we cannot tell each other or what is going on but, at the end of the day, we get the job done. I thank you, Robyn, particularly for your understanding when I stuff things up on this side.

Mrs Geraghty: Not at all.

Mr PEDERICK: Thank you. I, too, thank the Clerk, the table staff and all the attendants who keep this place running. I also thank parliamentary counsel and Hansard who, as the new Minister for Environment and Conservation noted, try to understand our gibberish. I note that occasionally they have wads of my notes and come back because I have to spell things or print them in English. I appreciate their work and note, too, the work of Carmel Moriarty over 46 years. I think that is an incredible amount of time to spend in this place.

I would like to spend quite a few more years here yet. That will be up to the electorate, but I promise my wife that it will be nowhere near that term. I commend Carmel's dedication to the job, and I think it is fantastic in this day and age, when people do not stay in jobs too long and transition through jobs seems to be fairly frequent.

I certainly note the catering staff and the excellent work they do. Some people would argue that I should not see them as often as I do! I also thank the security staff, who keep us safe; the maintenance staff, who seem to have a job that goes on and on; and the cleaners, who keep the place neat and tidy around us.

I acknowledge all political staffers for the work they have to do for MPs of all colours and sides. They are well and truly under the pump to find things when they are needed in a hurry, and I know what I am like: I say, 'I need this now.' I thank our electorate staff, who are also under the pump at times and do a fantastic job over many hours.

I thank parliamentary colleagues from all sides, not only in this chamber but also in the other place. If I have missed anyone, I apologise. I thank everyone in this place and in the other place, and anyone to do with parliament, for their service. On behalf of the Liberal Party, I wish everyone a good, refreshing break and safe travel for those who are going away.

The SPEAKER: I will not repeat everything that has been said by the minister and the member for Hammond, but I will add my thanks to everyone for the work done behind the scenes; it certainly makes my life much easier. In particular, I would like to thank the clerk, Mr Malcolm Lehman, who does a tremendous job and has done since his appointment. I also thank my secretary, Ms Mary Kasperski, who is of tremendous assistance to me.

Mrs GERAGHTY (Torrens) (16:46): I would like to put on the record my appreciation of the work done by the staff of Parliament House. They make our lives a lot easier, particularly those who work within the chamber. I would also like to thank the whip staff, Carol Putland and Val Williams, for the wonderful job that they do, sometimes under very difficult circumstances. They put up with me on the odd occasion when I become a bit impatient about needing something five minutes ago. They work very cooperatively with the opposition whip staff. Adrian, you are a pleasure to work with and you do not stuff up. It has been great fun this week. Working with Ivan is always entertaining, but we have had a good week.

I would like to thank all my colleagues here who have mostly been on time for their chamber duties. I am sure that Adrian will appreciate the difficulty that whips have. As the honourable minister has reminded me, it is very difficult for members to always be available to undertake school tours and seniors groups. The groups love coming into Parliament House, and we appreciate the fact that they are guided around by either Perry or John. They are very appreciative and they tell us afterwards how grateful they are for the service that they received. I look forward to seeing everyone when we return.

Mr BIGNELL (Mawson) (16:48): I also would like to thank the staff of the parliament for their wonderful assistance. As all new MPs would have found when we came here in 2006, it is a fairly steep learning curve. You think you know what goes on in the place, but there are little rules and regulations, and we often have to turn to people for advice. I offer my deep thanks to the clerk and to the attendants for all their advice over time. I think we have a very good working relationship where we can go and have a chat and find out things.

I would really like to thank Carol and Val in the whip's office. The way they communicate with us backbenchers is fantastic. They ask us who would like to speak on something, and the messages always get through. There is a lot of competing interest with a backbench the size of ours when everyone wants to get up and make a speech about their electorate. Of course, we are all very proud of the achievements of people in our electorates and of the electorates themselves, and we like to get up as often as we can to talk about the very fine things that are happening in our part of the world and to communicate that to other members of the house.

I think it is important that ministers also hear our perspective through the grievance process. We can write to them as often (as we do), but I think the grievance process is very important, and I want to thank Carol and Val for their support when I put in a request to make a speech. It is granted probably more times than I deserve.

To the Hansard staff: it was a great pleasure to be at Carmel Moriarty's farewell this morning. She was quite chuffed at all the members of parliament and her colleagues who attended. It was interesting to hear her perspective on things. As the minister pointed out, she was the first person to volunteer to use an electric typewriter in this place. How things have changed over the years. She would have seen so many changes, with 12 different premiers in this place. She has outlasted even the great member for Stuart, Graham Gunn, whom we all look up to as the stalwart of this place. Carmel has outlasted him by many years.

I think things have really improved over the past couple of years in terms of food preparation and food services, so I would really like to pass on my thanks to the catering staff. They have to work fairly odd and irregular hours, and sometimes they do not know what sort of hours they will be working. It is a bit like us; it is all determined by the legislation before this place and how long people speak on that legislation. So, while we often do not know when we will get home to our families or to meetings in the electorate, the same goes for other staff—not just the catering staff, but all the chamber staff and those in the very important support roles. You come in at the start of the day and you do not necessarily know what time you will get out of here. In the old days, we did not even know whether we would get out on the day that we arrived.

I think one of the great things that I have seen in my time here is the introduction of family friendly hours. I think it is very important that we now start earlier in the day and leave at a more reasonable time. I think we all make better decisions when we are not suffering from sleep deprivation. It allows many of us, particularly those in the metropolitan area or in the near metropolitan area, to attend even more functions and meetings and things of importance in our local electorates. I know that I have been able to attend many more Neighbourhood Watch meetings and school governing council meetings, and with 16 schools either in the electorate or very near to the electorate of Mawson, there is always a governing council meeting to attend.

I wish all my parliamentary colleagues all the very best for the break. I hope people do take the opportunity to take a few days off at least, because it is very important that you have work/life balance. In this job, we can work hour after hour, day after day and, suddenly, three weeks can pass before you realise that you have not had a day off. It is very important to be balanced in our life, and I think we all work better with a little break. I encourage everyone during this break from parliament to take a little time to refresh the batteries and get your mind pack on track and recharged.

The media quite often writes that parliament only sits 67-odd days a year, but we all know there are conscientious, hardworking local members on both sides of the house who, day after day, night after night, attend to the needs of our communities and who are good representatives of the 22,000 or 23,000 people whom we are very fortunate and proud to represent in the parliament of South Australia. As I said, I wish every one a good break.

One of the things I will be doing during the break is taking a group of school students from the electorate of Mawson to tour the Olympic Dam mines and show them first hand the great mining boom. It is something to which I am really looking forward. We all hear the great stories of this great mining boom that is happening, and to show these students from years 11 and 12 what is happening in Roxby Downs, Olympic Dam and Port Augusta is really important.

We will also take them to visit local businesses in Mawson that are really benefiting from this mining boom. For every one job that is created in the mining areas, there are another four or five support jobs in other parts of the state, including the southern suburbs and the area around McLaren Vale and Willunga. It is something to which all of us can look forward. One of the things that we all realise about this mining boom is that the skill shortage will cause some pressure. If we can take kids from our electorates in the metropolitan area and the southern suburbs and show them what is happening in those areas, then, hopefully, there is our skill base for the future.

Motion carried.

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