HANSARD
SITTING CALENDAR
SEARCH
LIVE BROADCAST
Hansard Dynamic Subject Index
House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-05-22 Daily Xml
Contents
Pdf Xml

Clerk, Retirement

The SPEAKER (14:13): I draw to the attention of members that the retirement of our esteemed Clerk will become official on 30 May. It is therefore my intention to begin advertising and the process for recruitment for a new Clerk of the House.

This is the last day on duty in the house of our Clerk, Mr Malcolm Lehman. Malcolm joined parliament on 1 September 1986. Over the course of the next 27 years, Malcolm worked his way through the House of Assembly in the Bills and Papers Office and was then secretary of the Environment, Resources and Development Committee and secretary of the powerful Economic and Finance Committee. Malcolm appears in a parliamentary educational video of the late 1980s sporting a mullet.

In 1994, he was supervising parliamentary officer in the Bills and Papers Office from whence he became Acting Clerk Assistant. In June 2002 he was appointed Acting Deputy Clerk until October when he was appointed Deputy Clerk and Serjeant-at-Arms for the next three years. From February 2007, he started as Acting Clerk, and on 5 September 2007 he was appointed Clerk. As Clerk, Malcolm bravely refurbished the House of Assembly lounge. Malcolm replaced the mission brown furnishing that had adorned the lounge for decades—

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Sorry?

Mr Pisoni: The Dunstan memorial furniture.

The SPEAKER: Malcolm's preparedness to wear the dissatisfaction from members and media criticism speaks of his courage—

The Hon. J.J. Snelling: But I was the one who had to deal with it!

The SPEAKER: I call the Minister for Health to order—and his determination to improve the institution of parliament. Malcolm also played a big role in the tasteful upgrade of Old Parliament House.

Malcolm has always provided me with prompt, thorough and accurate advice. He remains calm in the most chaotic question time. Malcolm's reports are always balanced, allowing the reader to feel that he or she has made the decision. When Malcolm was campaigning for the Executive of the Clerks at the Table organisation, he issued a flyer which proclaimed:

Malcolm Lehman is the hardworking deputy clerk of the Parliament of South Australia. His integrity, reliability and dedication to all things parliamentary is legendary. Mr Lehman's good taste in things that matter, food, wine, clothes and conference destinations mark him as the man you want representing your views on the Executive.

An honourable member: Did he win?

The SPEAKER: Who could resist? Malcolm tells me he is retiring to tend a neglected walnut grove and to build a house at Robe, once the Governor's summer residence. On behalf of the house, I wish Malcolm the best in his retirement and thank him for his service to the house for almost 28 years. Malcolm, you are held in high esteem by both sides of the house.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:17): Upon indulgence, sir, can I just pass on our best wishes to Malcolm Lehman. We congratulate him and commend him for his extraordinary, long service to the Parliament of South Australia—his dedicated service to the Parliament of South Australia. On behalf of all of those people on this side of the house, we wish you all the very best for a long and very enjoyable next component of your career.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:17): On indulgence, sir, may I join the Leader of the Opposition, and indeed the whole of the house, in wishing Malcolm all the best for his future. We all rely in large measure for the orderly conduct of proceedings in this house on the guidance of the Clerk. I know, sir, you are greatly assisted by the role of the Clerk.

I do want to add my congratulations to the way in which Old Parliament House has been refurbished. I only had an opportunity to first meet there just during the course of the last week, and it is a credit to the choices you made about bringing that beautiful old historic building up to a proper standard.

The SPEAKER: Hear, hear!

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS
MEMBERS
GET INVOLVED
ABOUT PARLIAMENT
VISIT
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
CONTACT