Published on: November 2020
Record: HANSARD-1323879322-114727
Christmas Felicitations
Debate resumed from an earlier hour.
Mr MARK SPEAKMAN (CronullaAttorney General, and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence) (17:01):
—:55 Every day is like Christmas when you wake up in the shire. It is an honour to represent the people of Cronulla, and my first greetings for the season are for the people who repose in me their trust to represent them in this place. I thank them for that honour. I thank those in my Cronulla office who help me do just that. Senior electorate officer Michelle Lawson leads a dedicated team of shirelings committed to keeping my back. I thank her for that, along with Daniel Rindfleish, Lachlan Fraser and Ruby Ward. Their work is all the more challenging because of the demands of ministerial office.
My chief of staff, Cheryl Gwilliam, has the incredible wisdom of exceptional experience in State and Federal government. Under her leadership, the ministerial office has achieved an enormous amount this year, including guiding 13 bills through this place and the other place, and emergency legislation to deal with the COVID‑19 pandemic.
Doing a lot of that work is the remarkable Mary Klein. Members in both Houses will be familiar with her. She styles herself, far too humbly, as the First Paralegal of the Land. She is a policy sounding board whose advice may sometimes be more frank and fearless than I would prefer, but her honesty, intellect and insight have served to improve legislation and therefore outcomes for the people of this State. I thank all the policy advisors in my office. Di Mann's and Jo Yates' advice and input have been invaluable in our mission to do our best to rid the State of the scourge of domestic violence. Nick Johnson, along with his diligent advice this year, carried with him one of the finest examples of coiffure pandemique.
I thank Michael Peng, who recently departed as my outstanding associate. Speaking of excellence, my media communications people, co‑directors Brooke Eggleton and Damien Smith along with Sean Robertson, are truly remarkable human beings. If my downstairs office neighbour at Cronulla knew them as well as I do, he would probably say, "How good are they?" The sunny Astrid Pedersen and Patrick Wynne, my parliamentary liaison officers, deal deftly with portfolio‑related enquiries from members such as yourself, Mr Assistant Speaker. To my right hand, my office manager Cecilia Falson has followed me for many years through my political career. I thank her for keeping me on the straight and narrow, making sure I am where I need to be when I need to be there. The departmental liaison team does a remarkable job under intense pressure. I thank former senior departmental liaison officer Kelly Stewart, who left the office last week. A more cheerful and hardworking departmental professional would be hard to find. Kelly is replaced by Alex Zbaras who, having been with the office a while, is having a running start. Thanks too to Amanda Balis and Sarah Dutton, who has the often daunting duty of answering the ministerial office phone to hear distressing details of callers' most personal issues.
To the Department of Communities and Justice staff, from my Secretary, Michael Coutts-Trotter, through to the Sheriff's Officers around the State: You are all dedicated to the goal of making New South Wales a safer, more compassionate community, a task for which we are all grateful. I thank all our judicial officers and tribunal members. The task of administering justice fairly and without favour, malice or ill will, is the bedrock of our civil society. You can be the subject of frequent and often unfair criticism for merely executing your duty. Judicial officers and the legal profession have adapted extremely well to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping the wheels of justice moving in New South Wales. They deserve the thanks of everyone in this place.
For the last six months I have had the honour of managing Government business in the House. I have had the very able support of Alex Gibson, who doubles as an extremely capable policy advisor in my office. I ask a lot of Alex. He continues to deliver. I am very grateful, Alex. This role is a chance to work with those opposite and on the crossbench to achieve outcomes that benefit the people of our State. We do not always agree. Often we disagree—robustly, fervently, perhaps even furiously. That is the point of this institution. That is our job. Democracy is our job. Disagreement is the essential ingredient of democracy. Through argument, through debate, together we fashion laws for the good government of the State. I pay tribute to my opposite number in this role, the member for Keira. I value our relationship and I am grateful for his cooperation in the smooth running of the Chamber.
I thank the Premier for her exceptional leadership throughout this exceptional year. I thank all members, Government, Opposition and crossbench, for their service to the Chamber and the public and I wish them the very best for the festive season. To our Speaker, the member for Davidson: Your stewardship of the House has been exceptional. We can be an unruly bunch, but you have been fair. You have been firm. You have been assiduous in your application of the standing orders. I extend this appreciation to the Deputy Speaker, the Assistant Speaker and all the Temporary Speakers. To all the officers and staff of the House: Thank you. To Helen Minnican, the professionalism and flexibility of you and your team have been crucial to the Parliament continuing to operate and legislate during this once-in-a-century pandemic. We know your dedication to the task and once again thank you for your service to the people of New South Wales.
I thank those at home, without whose continuing, patient and loving support, this job would be unbearable. My children, Kate and Matthew, my greatest accomplishments, are a continuing source of delight. Caroline, my wife—The Lady Cronulla—thank you for standing by me as a constant support and bringing me more happiness than I deserve. My furry friends at home would be barking mad if I did not mention them too. Merry Christmas, Ralph and Lucy.
I spoke earlier about how we of opposing political philosophies are able to cooperate for the benefit of those we represent, that we come to this place, each of us, wanting the best for our communities. The institutions of parliamentary democracy, Cabinet confidentiality and Cabinet solidarity are a bulwark against unstable government. All of us in this place know the value of these institutions. Developments this year in one particularly close ally abroad have drawn a focus on the potential fragility of these institutions, when goodwill is seen as a weakness and when hyper-partisanship is seen as a strength. I never dreamt I would see the day when the party divide in the United States would be starker than the differences in Australia. There are lessons for us here in what we are seeing in the United States now. It gives us something on which to reflect while we are away from this place of pressure and conflict: the importance of goodwill.
A central message of Christmas is goodwill. One of the most popular Christmas stories is in the Gospel of Luke 2:8-20, involving the angel visiting the shepherds as they watched their flock by night. The angel brought news of the birth of the saviour Jesus, who they would find "wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger" in the "city of David". Then the heavenly host appeared and, well, that is when we heard the bit about "good will towards men", as the King James version puts it. This is an enduring message. It is one we as a group of people—with the Government on our shoulders, as it were—need to have in mind not just at Christmas but for every season, every day we bear this responsibility.
This democratic machine we call Parliament may be fuelled by our differences of opinion, but that process is lubricated by the oils of goodwill. We should all treasure that goodwill and guard it jealously. If we do not, we face the real prospect that rifts may grow wider, anger may fester and communities may divide. Goodwill, on the other hand, grows with every time we rely on it to debate and even agree in good faith. When we engender goodwill, goodwill is returned. It is like a magic Christmas pudding of warm fuzzies. We come here with a duty to serve. Goodwill will help us keep firm the institutions on which the stability of our society relies. If by engendering goodwill we can also bring people together, we will have done our bit. I wish all a merry Christmas, a blessed Chanukah or, if you are more inclined to "air your grievances" this season, a happy Festivus.
Mr RYAN PARK (Keira) (17:10):
:35 I make a contribution to Christmas felicitations. I always find these things very interesting. We spend a year trying to get seats off one another and bash each other up, and then we spend a couple of hours wishing each other a merry Christmas. Such is the way in which our democracy is carried out. I start by recognising and thanking the Leader of the Opposition for her tireless efforts, especially during what has been a difficult 2020. I do not think anyone could imagine what we faced this time 12 months ago as we farewelled that parliamentary year. It has been tough in our roles. It has been tough for the Leader of the Opposition. I thank her and her team for their efforts, particularly during this difficult year.
To the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and member for Swansea: I thank you for your dedication and hard work and I thank your staff for all they have done. I thank the Opposition Whip, Anna Watson, and the Deputy Opposition Whip and member for The Entrance, David Mehan. It would be remiss of me not to mention also the person who makes all of this happen for us in this place: Colleen in the Opposition Whip's office. She does an outstanding job. She puts up with all of the changes and frustrations, and she does it with a smile on her face. To Colleen, thank you very much. We understand that politicians are not always the easiest people to work with.
I thank the Government Whip, the Deputy Whips and you, Mr Speaker. You have done an outstanding job. This is no easy place for you to adjudicate. To you, the Deputy Speaker, the Assistant Speaker and all of the Temporary Speakers: Well done. They are difficult jobs, ones that I could never imagine doing, but you do them with great judgement and skill. On behalf of the team on this side of the Chamber we thank you in all sincerity. I thank my counterpart, the Attorney General, Leader of the House and member for Cronulla. These roles are difficult but they work on trust and a build-up of relationship and rapport, and we have that. He has never broken that and I would like to say I have not either. He mentioned goodwill, and he is right. He has given me a lot of goodwill and I hope I have paid that back to ensure that this place runs as the community expects its elected officials to run the Parliament—that is with a focus on the issues that are important to them. I offer my heartfelt thanks to the Attorney General.
I also want to thank some people who do not always get a mention in these places—maybe that is because I am a former staffer. I thank Mitch Wright and Matt McLean in the office of the Leader of the Opposition. Mitch does an enormous amount of parliamentary work, day in, day out, when this place is sitting. Matt looks after the Health portfolio for the Opposition. These two outstanding individuals make an enormous contribution. They give up a lot. These are tough jobs, as I think all members can attest to—certainly I can. I want to put on the record my thanks to those individuals.
To the Clerk, Helen Minnican, and her entire team, including the Table Office and Hansard—all of those people who make this place work day in, day out—thank you so much. I hope you have enjoyed some days. I am sure some days you go home and shake your head, but I hope you can continue to make a contribution to democracy, because without you we cannot do our job. I say that on behalf of the entire Opposition. I thank a lady who has been cleaning my office for close to a decade now—Irma. She is fantastic and she has been recognised recently for 25 years of service. I congratulate her and thank her for her work. She always says I keep a very clean office. I was brought up by my parents to have a clean desk, a clean car and a clean house, so I operate from a clean office. Apparently it helps you get through the day, but Irma makes it even better. So I thank her very, very much.
Thanks to all the special constables—a couple of them are from my electorate—for keeping us safe. I thank the Press Gallery for keeping us honest and I thank the staff of the Department of Parliamentary Services for keeping this place running. It has been a really tough year for the staff. I pay tribute to our Executive Chef here. She took up an idea that I and Mr Speaker had about making sure we used our commercial kitchens to provide good-quality meals for those who are doing it tough. When I last checked in with our Executive Chef, this place had cooked over 100,000 meals for OzHarvest and those charities that provide people with food during this time. It is something that I am proud of, and I am sure Mr Speaker is proud of it too. I pay particular tribute to the Executive Chef today.
I also thank the staff in the office of the Leader of the Opposition. It is a small office and they have a thankless and tough job. To Stephen Fitzpatrick, Matt McLean—whom I have mentioned—Pia Bruno, Nicole Chettle, Leon, Rebecca, Ash, Josh, Ed, Morgan, Sravya, Michael, Roland, Jenny and LJ, I say thank you for being with us and for your dedication to the role. They are tough gigs, but I put on record my sincere thanks. My electorate office team is a fantastic group of individuals. All of us in this place probably at times underestimate the work that our electorate offices do, but it is important to recognise the work of our frontline troops—and they are literally the front line, particularly this year. They have faced a really tough year and I thank my office, led by Janelle Rimmer, who has been with me on this career since 2011, supported by Melanie Haskew, Lynden Bartrim and Richard Martin. Thank you very much for all your work.
To my colleagues on my side, I know this has been a challenging year but we have gotten on with what we needed to do and we have supported our constituents and they have supported us. To my side of this Chamber, thank you very, very much for your support. This has been a tough role to do in a tough year. I know news has been difficult when you have not been able to access Parliament, but I thank all my colleagues for the support they have given me and the way they have handled what has been a challenging time. My colleagues in our shadow Cabinet have done what they have always done, which is conduct themselves in a hardworking way. That is what a shadow Cabinet is meant to do, that is the role of Opposition and I will continue to do that. I will continue to get out to every corner of New South Wales. I hope all my colleagues enjoy some time with their families and loved ones.
To the Premier, the Deputy Premier, Government and crossbench members, thank you. It has been a really tough year for you guys as well—I am aware of that. It has been a tough past few months—we are all aware of that. Politics can be very tough at times, it can be brutal and it can be hard—it can be hard on your families and it can be hard on your loved ones. I assure you that whilst we may have differences and those differences can sometimes be expressed very strongly by me—as strongly as anyone—I will always endeavour to play the issue, not the person. I know that you all do your very, very best in this job—we are all here to do that—and, whilst there are differences, I put on record my thanks to Government members for the way in which they have assisted in making my job and the job of the Attorney General, the member for Cronulla, a little easier this year.
I take this opportunity to acknowledge that communities right across New South Wales are going to have a Christmas like we have never had before. I thank my electorate, the good folk of Keira, who put me in this role. I have been in this place now for 10 years and this has been without a doubt the toughest 12 months they have gone through. They have gone through hell, as every other community has, and we are not through this yet; we are probably almost getting through the health crisis but we are certainly not through the economic crisis. I acknowledge all those communities, but particularly the community that I represent in the northern part of the Illawarra.
As members of political parties, we are here because of our rank and file party members. I thank branch members within my electorate—of course, the mighty Illawarra Young Labor—who do a fantastic job and who support members throughout our region. To my parliamentary colleagues in the region, the member for Shellharbour and the member for Wollongong, it is great having two hardworking colleagues in this place who try to do their best for the region we love and are very proud to represent.
To my family—my wife, Kara, and our sons, Preston and Oliver—thank you for your support and for enabling me to do this job. All members in this place know that families are conscripts—there are no two ways about that—and I take this opportunity to say thank you. I wish all members of the House well. I hope you have a safe and happy Christmas. I hope you come back refreshed to do it all over again. I hope 2021 is a lot better than 2020 for all of you, your families and the communities that we all represent. I look forward to doing it all again next year.
The SPEAKER (17:21):
:25 As Speaker, I make a contribution of my own from the chair. As Speaker, it is a real privilege to preside over this great House. I am especially thankful that we have been able to meet as a democratic Parliament in a COVID-safe way during the pandemic. It has been a pandemic that has changed every part of our lives, and I know that an enormous amount of time and effort has gone into keeping our Parliament and society operating in a COVID-safe way. I especially recognise, as the Premier did, and applaud our health workers, under the health Minister's leadership, and our essential services workers for their admirable service to our New South Wales communities in 2020.
While it is tempting to see 2020 somewhat negatively, let us remember the positive things we have achieved together, despite challenges. Upon becoming Speaker, I outlined a number of ambitions: to embrace both tradition and modernisation; to grow the level of public engagement; and to encourage parliamentarians to higher standards of behaviour. Our Parliament has successfully implemented or commenced many initiatives to deliver on these goals, including the commencement of a new digital Parliament project—a serious commencement as opposed to the attempts of the past, which were hampered by a lack of finance—and a new audiovisual project for this Chamber that will seriously lift our technical capability.
While Parliament was closed to the public, our amazing catering team cooked for those in need, as the member for Keira outlined, and we were able to roll out an ePetitions platform, with the first ePetition having been debated in this House today. We saw The Bear Pit, a panel discussion, held in the Chamber on International Parliament Day and livestreamed to the Parliament's Facebook page, as other elements of this Parliament's proceedings have been increasingly exposed to the public through Facebook. We saw a professional development program for MPs, with various elements—which has been well received—and I thank all my colleagues for their support. I think, in the main, they have benefited when they decided to participate voluntarily.
We have seen Thought Leadership events, with industry and community leaders such as the NSW Australian of the Year Shane Fitzsimmons, who led us admirably through the bushfire crisis earlier in the year. We have seen the recent launch of EdApp, a mobile phone app that delivers micro lessons on compliance with ethical standards and other educational pieces. I encourage members, if they have not done so, to have a look at it when time permits over the coming weeks. My Chief of Staff and I have visited some 75 per cent of the electorate offices around the State, and that process continues. It has been a valuable and certainly a very useful exercise from my perspective, as well as an opportunity to convey the appreciation that this Parliament has for those staff members who work in each of our electorate offices.
Thanks to my own team who have helped achieve all this and so much more: my Chief of Staff, Paul Blanch; my Deputy Chief of Staff, Ellie Laing; Parliamentary Adviser Georgia Luk; and Executive Officer Samantha McFarlane. I also thank my Davidson electorate office staff: Koharig Boulghourjian, Sarah Ingram, Annie Rinaudo, Richard Tilden and Ryan Aivazian. Thank you so much each and every one of you. You work hard and you do not always get the recognition you deserve. I commend the leadership displayed by our Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, who has had, in many ways, a difficult year but she continues to serve selflessly the people of this State. I commend the Deputy Premier, who has also had his challenges but has come through with assistance and perseverance and represents particularly the rural people of this State so well.
I also commend the performance of their counterparts in their roles—the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition—and thank them for their cooperation and support, as I thank all leaders in this Chamber. I recognise my friend and co-Presiding Officer, the President of the Legislative Council, the Hon. John Ajaka. I am so grateful to him and his staff for their support and I am pleased that we have such a cooperative and positive working relationship. I thank my Speaker's Panel for its service, including the Deputy Speaker, Leslie Williams; the Assistant Speaker, Mark Coure, who is in the Chamber; and the members for Heathcote, for Wallsend, for North Shore, for Lake Macquarie and for Coffs Harbour. They have all performed sterling jobs as part of the Speaker's Panel, which I think has also enjoyed itself along the way.
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To the Whips, I note that the Chief Government Whip as well as the Chief Opposition Whip are in the Chamber. Adam Crouch and Anna Watson, thank you. To the Leader of the House and the Manager of Opposition Business, Mark Speakman, and Ryan Park and their staff, thank you so much. I always enjoy our exchanges and our good working relationships. To the Standing Orders and Procedure Committee, thank you for your consideration and cooperation. I look forward to implementing, hopefully, further reforms in the Legislative Assembly in due course next year. Now to the Department of the Legislative Assembly, headed by Clerk Helen Minnican, who recently reached the milestone of 30 years of service to the Parliament. To Helen and her leadership team of Deputy Clerk Leslie Gnye, Clerk-Assistants Carly Maxwell and Jonathan Elliott, as well as directors Simon Johnston, John Young, Clara Hawker and Elaine Schofield, thank you. You all do an outstanding job.
The staff in every electorate office, the Office of the Clerk, the Table Office, House and Procedure, front desk attendants and committees all go above and beyond in striving to serve our members and the wider public. Thank you all. I likewise recognise the Chief Executive of the Department of Parliamentary Services, Mark Webb; his deputy, Julie Langsworth; and directors John Gregor, Rob Nielsen, Mike Price and Helen Gors, in particular. I also acknowledge all those who work in Human Services, Parliamentary Education, Accounting Services, Members' Entitlements, IT Services, Parliamentary Reporting (Hansard), the Parliamentary Library and Research Services, Building Infrastructure and Services, Capital Projects, EO Services, Security, Cleaning and Parliamentary Catering. I hope I have not left anyone out. Thank you so much on behalf of all of us here. Thank you for your tremendous skill and your resilience in adapting our parliamentary services to what has become the new normal in 2020.
To members in closing, it has been a tough year but it should be easier in 2021. May you and your loved ones have a happy and healthy Christmas and New Year. I would like to say I will see you back in 2021, but unfortunately I think we may see you back next week. This is my official ending to the formal part of the year and I wish you well for the break between whenever we finally rise this year and hopefully what will be a brighter and successful 2021 for everyone.
Mr ADAM CROUCH (Terrigal) (17:30):
:27 On what we thought would be the last sitting day for 2020, I acknowledge and thank the many people who make this place run. Mr Speaker, the member for Davidson, I congratulate you on the amazing work that you have been doing reforming this Parliament. I also congratulate you on the digital technology that you have introduced to this Chamber, the oldest Parliament in this nation. I wish you a wonderful Christmas and thank you for your good humour, your support and for the wonderful way in which you conduct this Chamber. Thank you, Mr Speaker. To the Leader of the House, the member for Cronulla, it has been a pleasure working alongside the Leader of the House this year amongst all of these ups and downs that we have discussed, but I must admit that the biggest shock of 2020 was to find out his real age—60. It must be the water in Cronulla.
Ms Anna Watson:
Is he 60?
Mr ADAM CROUCH:
He is. The Leader of the House is 60. As I said, it must be the water in Cronulla. I thank Alex Gibson from the leader's office, who works so fantastically with my office, and I thank Bran Black and Taylor Gramoski in the Premier's office. To my shadow, the member for Shellharbour, Anna Watson, we have worked very well together again this year—she truly is a gazelle, running down the executive corridor. I also thank her able assistant, Colleen Symington from the Opposition Whip's Office.
I thank the Clerks, who play such an enormous role in making this House function. Their advice on matters of procedure and practice is invaluable to all of us. I thank the incredible Helen Minnican, the amazing Carly Maxwell, who is in the Chamber—nobody can stay here until 2.00 a.m. and turn out looking as well the next day as Carly Maxwell; I do not know how she does it—along with the incredible Simon Johnston, who jumps on his treadly at 2.00 a.m., rides home and rides back the next morning. What an incredible team. They really have perfected the art of Clerk-face.
I thank so many staff who look after us in this place. Hansard, how you do it I do not know. You make our most awkward speeches sound so eloquent. I thank our incredible Chamber attendants—Danny is in the Chamber this evening—the great team at IT Services, the catering team, the special constables and EO services. I must pay tribute to the best cleaner in this place, the famous Martyr. I inform the House with much sadness that we will be saying goodbye to Martyr this week. She is retiring after 30 years of service. I am proud to say that she has looked after the Whip's Office and I will miss her incredible smiling face and happy voice every morning welcoming me on my arrival. I am trying to convince Martyr that she needs to move to the beautiful electorate of Terrigal in her retirement.
Another group of people I thank for their work is the ministerial staff of this Government. All staff members have a tough job balancing the many demands on their time and their Minister's time. I would like to name all the staff but I cannot. I particularly mention the following for their work this year: the Premier's Chief of Staff, Neil Harley; private secretary, the amazing Peta Demery; Michael Evangelidis; Jerome Boutelet; Bryce O'Connor; Bethany West; the amazing Sally White in Minister Paul Toole's office; Cheryl Gwilliam and Astrid Pedersen in the Attorney General's office; the wonderful Leonie Lamont and Simon Santow in the health Minister's office; Isabel Virgona in Minister Stokes' office; the fantastic Priya Pagaddinnimath in Minister Dominello's office; Doug Walther in Minister Pavey's office; and Luke Sikora and Nick Story from Minister Hancock's office. I thank them for all their support and level-headedness during a very tough year for Central Coast Council. I also acknowledge Mitch Clout in Minister Ward's office for his incredible bravery in attending the staff bar on a Thursday evening.
I give a shout-out to one of my local residents Brett Wright who is in the gallery and was acknowledged for more than 30 years' service. He is now retiring. Brett is a fantastic chap, and a constituent of mine. I wish him all the very best in his well-deserved retirement. I will miss seeing him at the train stations in the lead-up to the election. I give a quick shout-out to another local resident, Robert Gilbert. It has been a tough year for Robert and I hope he gets a chance to relax over Christmas.
The Premier has done an incredible job this year. She never ceases to amaze me. I am so proud to be a member of her Government. The Premier is a true people's leader. She always put the people of New South Wales first and it has been a true honour again to serve as her Whip in this place. Finally, a small number of people make my office in Parliament House and my electorate office in Erina run so smoothly. They are my work family and I have only three of them. They do a wonderful job and they are: Donna Golightly—a true champion of the people of the Terrigal electorate; Megan Golightly, my newest member; and the incredible Ben Sheath who runs my life and my office and does and amazing job.
Being the Government Whip is a unique job. I acknowledge my colleague the member for Cootamundra, Steph Cooke, the formidable Nationals Whip and her secretary Viv; Lee Evans, the member for Heathcote, my deputy; and the Hon. Natasha Maclaren-Jones in the Legislative Council. I also thank all of my Liberal and Nationals colleagues who mostly do the right thing to ensure the Parliament can run smoothly. I extend a very special thank you to my darling wife, Jill. It has been a tough year and I hope 2021 is better for you. I wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a restful and relaxing period.
Ms ANNA WATSON (Shellharbour) (17:36):It is once again the time of the year when we get a chance to acknowledgethose in our working life in Parliament and on the outside that assist us in our duties as members of Parliament. It is a time to reflect and take stock of our blessings. It hasbeen a particularly difficult year for many in all of our communities and acrossAustralia. It has been a long year and I for one am looking forward to celebrating 2021 and hope it is a better year for all.I will start by thanking my constituents in Shellharbour who have put theirtrust in me to represent them in the New South Wales Parliament. I love my communityand those who live within it. I am in my third term as the member forShellharbour and I am constantly grateful that the residents in Shellharbourhave continued to support me.
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I am very lucky to have such a great team in my electorate office. I acknowledge and thank Greg Golledge, Sandy Mitrevski, Lou Hogan andEmmerson Burke. They always go above and beyond in their duties and exhibit the qualities needed by a member of Parliament:They are intelligent, loyal andtrustworthy, and they are able to change tack quickly and effectively as required. I love those traits and I value those traits most in staff and in people. I thank them for their loyalty,diligence and hard work in the electorate office. I wish them and theirfamilies a very happy Christmas. A special mention to little Miss Olivia Mitrevski, the five-year-old daughter,Sandy, and the most sassy five-year-old that you will ever meet in your life. She has provided my office in Shellharbour with the most beautiful artwork that is plastered all over the walls. She is just an amazing little girl.
I acknowledge all our Labor caucus members and wish them and theirfamilies a very happy and healthy Christmas. I know that theyhave all worked very hard and will certainly enjoy taking a break and spend time with their families. I thank my Deputy WhipDavid Meehan for his assistance and wish David and his family all the best. Adam Crouch is sitting opposite me now looking at me with a big grin on his face. Of course he knows that I will extend a big thank you to him. We have worked so collaboratively together, particularly over the past 12 months. Adam and I enjoy a really great working relationship, as I dowith the member for Heathcote, Mr Lee Evans, who has just entered the Chamber. It has been a pleasure to work with you guys. I think the three of us run this place very well along with the member for Cootamundra, Steph Cooke who is a thoroughly decent human being. I wish those in the Government Whip's office, their staff and families all the very best for 2021.
I extend my best wishes also to all Government members and Opposition members. The member for Keira, Ryan Park, the Opposition leader of the House, does such a great job in his role working closely with me to make sure all members are consulted and included. Ryan is always away from his wife, Kara, and his sons Preston and Oliver. His family give up a lot so that Ryan can be in here. Ryan's commitment to his electorate and to this Parliament is second to none. Many speakers before me have already acknowledged the incredible staff in this building and I will be no different. I sincerely thank every the worker in theParliament who work so hard to keep sitting weeks running smoothly. I thank IanDelhanty for his humour and honesty. He is an absolute legend. I give a big shout-out to Ian and all of his staff,April Lowndes, Danny Nelda, PeterTuziak, Monica and Hayley, the library staff and Hansard. In catering, Kylie, Gary,Andrew, Mel, Lee, Carlos, Binny and Lubo. Thank you for feeding us making us he best coffee particularly on those long nights and early mornings.
Of course I thank staff in payroll, facilities, human resources, and Helen and Andrew in information technology are incredible. Members can go to them at any time of the day or night and they will always help you. I also give a shout-out to Tass Morifardis who is the go-to guy for everything. If you do not know something you just call him and if he does not know, he will know where to send you. I extend a great thank you to him. I thank the maintenance crew and the cleaners. Erma is an absolute gem, as many others have said. She has completed 30 years and I congratulate her and wish her family very well. Her family live in my electorate and they are lovely people.
Helen Minnican is such a lovely person and the backbone of this Chamber. Carly Maxwell is also sitting in the Chamber I agree with the member for Terrigal:She always manages to look like she has just stepped out of Vogue. I think you have got a real cheek doing that, by the way. You do a great job, so thank you for all you do, Carly. I have seen three Clerks in my time in this place and I have to say that Helen is an absolute shining light. I have a great respect for her,and I wish her and her family all the very best.I also acknowledge Les, Rohan and Manuela who have so much patience; I do not know how they do it. When we are all here carrying on with our shenanigans I do not know what is going through your minds. I often think, "What are these gooses doing?" but you guys just sit there with so much patience and also provide the assistance that we need. I thank Mark Webb and all of his team for keeping us informed, particularly through COVID-19. Mark has done an exceptional job in keeping this place safe and us safe. I must say something about my mate Gareth Ward, the Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services. I think I should put a few things to bed.
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER:
Now is your chance because he is not here.
Ms ANNA WATSON:We have all heard the rumours and they are simply not true. The member for Kiama and I are friends. We are mates, and we do have a laugh in this place. It was only a few months ago I was in Kiama having a coffee with the member for Kiama. We were laughing together in a coffee shop and took some selfies. People in the cafe just could not believe it. They said, "We thought you two couldn't stand one another." I do have a lot of respect for Gareth. I think he is a lovely human being and I wish him and his family all the very best for this Christmas and New Year, and I look forward to working closely with him when we return next years.
Colleen Symington, who is my executive assistant, continues to amaze mewith her quick wit, her perceptions, her loyalty and her tenacity. You just do not mess with Colleen. She can be the loveliest person in the world, but do not get on her wrong side because she will certainly let you know it. She takes such a professional approach to her job and her commitment never ceases to astound me. She is so committed to Labor and is a wonderful person. She is a wonderful councillor on Georges River Council. I want Colleen to know that she is valued and respected. We are a greatteam together and I greatly appreciate her friendship. I wish Colleen a well‑earned rest with her two boys and her family over Christmas and New Year.
I acknowledge my union, the mighty United Services Union and itsexecutive and staff who work tirelessly each and every day for theirmembers. I cannot forget Graeme Kelly, who has been a mate of mine for 25 years. He is a brilliant General Secretary who leads from the front. He is fierce and fearless and will always fight for his members.
Last but not least, I thank my family. My husband, Gary, is a man who deserves many medals; his chest would not be big enough to fit them all. He always looks after me with healthy meals and supports me in everything I do. He takes the time to listen to me whenever I need him to and he is so patient. Apart from being my husband, he is truly my best friend and he is always on my side; I probably drive him crazy most of the time. I also acknowledge our children, Sophia, Johanna, Joseph, Matt and Aarron; we love our kids and they are our whole world. Finally, I thank all the workers across New South Wales who are working over Christmas and into the New Year for their work and dedication, especially the public service who deserve a pay increase; I hope the Government will finally give it to them. I wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year—all the best for 2021.
Mr LEE EVANS (Heathcote) (17:45):
:36 Christmas felicitations is a tradition that we have in the New South Wales Parliament. First of all, I acknowledge and thank my wife, Gayle. Without her support, I could not do my job. Secondly, I thank my second family—my office staff—Anne England, Bella Beattie and Abbey England. I thank the Speaker's Panel, which includes Mr Jonathan O'Dea, Deputy Speaker Mrs Leslie Williams, Assistant Speaker Mr Mark Coure, Mrs Felicity Wilson, Ms Sonia Hornery, Mr Gurmesh Singh and Mr Greg Piper. I thank the Leader of the House, Mark Speakman, and the previous Leader of the House, the upright member for Bega, the Hon. Andrew Constance, and the Opposition's Leader of the House, Ryan Park.
I thank Adam Crouch of the Whip's Office for a great year. Even though we were not in Parliament much this year, we have had a lot of good times and a lot of bad times, a lot of tears and a lot of anger, but mostly laughing. I thank Ms Stephanie Cooke, who added to the mix of the Whip's Office this year. I also acknowledge Rebecca Cartwright for her work in the Whip's Office this year; Ms Viv Lee, who has taken over Rebecca's role; and Ben Shearer for his work this year. I thank Anna Watson and Colleen from the Opposition. It is a bit hard to tell whether they are in opposition because we get on so well and work so well together, which is fantastic. It keeps the place moving and that is what our jobs are about.
I thank the Premier, the Deputy Premier, all Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries and their executive staff. I thank parliamentary liaison officers Michael Evangelidis, Jerome Boutelet and Bryce O'Connor. I thank Clerks Helen, Les, Angie, Ian, Simon, Jack, John and Carly for all their support. I try to have a little bit of fun, and I am sorry for that. Sometimes I go a little too far when I am in the Speaker's chair—but, let's face it, you need to have some fun. I thank the staff of the Legislative Assembly, especially Elaine Schofield, Jonathan Elliott, Bjarne Nortin, Mohini Mehta and Ze Nan Ma.
I thank the Table Office staff and the Hansard team. What can I say about the Hansard team? They are just absolutely fantastic. I do not want to sound like I am gloating, but I give Hansard staff members a gift every year. They deserve more than just a gift from all of us. Although everyone says, "Yes, they get paid for it," they do more than is required. Some nights—like last week when we finished at 2.30 a.m.—they still have work to do after we all go home. Again, I thank the team very much for the work they do. I hope they have a restful Christmas before we come back next year.
I thank all the Chamber staff—there must be Chamber staff drinks on—and the library staff, the catering staff and the cleaning staff. I congratulate all the cleaners for the job they have done throughout COVID. It is not easy to have so many people wandering around touching things and having to clean and sanitise it all. I thank the special constables. I know I have probably missed out a couple of hundred people in this felicitations speech, so I thank everyone and wish everyone a very peaceful and quiet Christmas. This year will probably be a little different from every other Christmas, but I think next year we will come back bigger and better. I just mention that parliamentary colleagues are parliamentary colleagues. Even though we have differences of agreement, we are all in the same boat; we are all in it together. I look forward to seeing everyone next Thursday. Whatever happens, have a very merry Christmas.
Mr DAVID MEHAN (The Entrance) (17:50):
:48 I send Christmas greetings to all my constituents and wish them and their families a restful holiday. It is a great honour to represent the people of The Entrance electorate, and I thank them all for the trust they have placed in me. This year Mother Nature threw a lot at the Central Coast. We were affected by fires, which rained ash all over our region during the 2019-2020 bushfire season. No sooner had we brought that under control than we experienced flooding in February. Now we have been confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic. I thank all the emergency services personnel who gave so much during the fires. They kept at bay what is estimated to be the largest forest fire in Australian history since European settlement. Then they worked hard to clean up after the flooding that affected my electorate in February this year. Now they are helping to fight against the threat of coronavirus. We will get through that if we work together, have regard for our neighbours and work as a community.
I thank my community for their support over the past 12 months. With their assistance and guidance, they helped me achieve so much for the community from the Opposition benches. The most obvious expression of that has been the upgrades at railways stations in my electorate. The Government resisted but, with the community's support, we got them. The biggest campaign we ran was on the lifts at Tuggerah. We got letter after letter from the transport Minister saying that we were never going to get the lifts. Well, in this week's budget the first money allocated to that project was announced, and it is all down to my community and the support they have shown me on the Central Coast.
The role of Opposition in a parliamentary democracy is a tough one. The Opposition does not have the resources of the Government and, as Opposition Deputy Whip, I thank my caucus colleagues for their hard work during the year. Personally, I thank them for their support and I thank Opposition Whip Anna Watson. Our office works well, but our office would not work at all without the most hardworking member of the Opposition, Colleen Symington. She keeps us focused and on top of things in this place, and I give her my personal thanks and the thanks of the whole Labor caucus. It has been an honour working with my Labor colleagues and representing Labor in this place. The Opposition is well served by the leadership team of Jodi McKay and Yasmin Catley. I look forward to working with them in a future Labor government. I thank the Labor party members in The Entrance electorate for their support. I particularly thank Young Labor, its leader Hannah Mercer and her colleagues who have supported me with campaigning throughout the year.
Hansard
The staff of Parliament House do a fantastic job. I have said before that, as a socialist, it gives me great heart to see public servants running things as efficiently as this place runs. I recognise the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, Helen Minnican, and her staff; the Department of Parliamentary Services staff; and the library and catering staff—particularly Mai Le, who regularly brings meals to my room through the day. I also thank for turning my mumbles into intelligent speech. It is a job well done.
My marvellous electorate office staff are an extension of Labor's care for our community, and I make particular mention of my senior electoral officer Catherine Wall, who is a perfect fit for the role. I also thank Danielle Atherden, Alfat Karnib, Peyton Roberts-Garnsey and Rhys Zorro, who are all focused on doing the best work they can for my community. I thank the Speaker and his staff, as well as all the "mini Speakers", for their work. The Speaker has worked hard to improve the operation of the Parliament, something which represents a great contribution to democracy in this State. I thank my partner, Deanne, for her support over the years. She listens to my concerns about the community and I appreciate the different point of view that she provides when helping me deal with problems in my electorate. Over the coming year I want to make sure that more is done about the privatisation of public housing in my electorate, but until then I wish Government members a merry Christmas and I look forward to both working with and beating them where possible in the future.
Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (17:56):
:15 During the last sitting week for 2020, I congratulate both sides of the House on an interesting, challenging but very rewarding parliamentary year. I wish all members and their families a restful and enjoyable Christmas period before we continue working for the people of New South Wales in 2021. This year has been tough. We have faced bushfires, drought and, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic, which has impacted our lives like nothing before. We have learnt a lot this year, and I commend the efforts of individuals across the State who have shown courage and leadership in these times of crisis.
Firefighters from Riverwood and Mortdale fire stations battled blazes across the State to protect local communities in areas like Port Macquarie. Local businesses, including Mortdale Wholesalers and the Mortdale Fruit Box Market & Deli, worked together to provide much-needed food, water and sanitary items to areas like Batemans Bay and Mogo. I thank all the frontline workers who have worked tirelessly through the pandemic to keep our community safe and operating smoothly. I particularly thank staff at St George Hospital, who have shown outstanding dedication to ensure that COVID-19 testing runs both safely and effectively.
I commend the Premier of New South Wales, the Hon. Gladys Berejiklian, for going above and beyond to keep our community safe during the pandemic. I also acknowledge the State's outstanding Treasurer, the Hon. Dominic Perrottet, who handed down a fantastic budget on Tuesday that rounded out all his hard work this year in keeping the economy going and setting it up for the year ahead. I acknowledge the many Ministers who visited my electorate of Oatley and the community of St George, including the Minister for Police and Emergency Services, who I believe has visited three times in the past two years.
This has been a fantastic year for infrastructure, with the sporting precinct at Poulton Park at Connells Point, the soon-to-be-opened new Service NSW centre at Roselands and upgrades to the Mortdale Maintenance Centre and Gannons Park in Peakhurst all being funded. This is in addition to Penshurst West Public School, Penshurst Public School, Hurstville Grove Infants School and Hurstville Public School receiving extra investment from the Government. All of these projects are either on the verge of completion or have already opened. I will continue to fight for my community to ensure that it has the facilities and infrastructure that will keep people moving as we build for future generations.
I thank the Speaker and the entire panel of alternate Speakers, including you, Temporary Speaker Evans. I also thank everyone who works in the Parliament, including the cleaners and caterers, Hansard, the front office and entitlements staff, the library workers and attendants. I extend my gratitude to the Clerks and the Government Whips—the member for Terrigal, the member for Heathcote and the member for Cootamundra—as well as the Opposition Whips. I thank members from both sides of the House, particularly those from the Sutherland shire, and I wish the member for Kogarah and the member for Rockdale the very best.
I cannot conclude my remarks without acknowledging my electorate staff, Team Coure. I thank the ever-reliable, outstanding, calm and brilliant Shane—in fact I think that Shane may have written this speech—for all the late nights that he has put in to keep my team running smoothly. I cannot thank him enough for everything that he has done over the years. I also thank Justin, Laura and Jared for the incredible job that they have done every day supporting my constituents and the Parliament. I thank them dearly for the hours that they have put in behind the scenes work to keep my office running smoothly, and for suffering through cold mornings at local train stations in the process. While this year it was sad to see the likes of the outstanding Diandra, Charlotte and Anna go, I have no doubt that these fine young women will go very far in the future.
Finally, I thank my dear wife for all the support that she has given me over the past 10 years. I also thank our two young children, James, who is six and a half, and baby Sam, who is a year and a half, who always make me laugh and are growing up way too fast. I could never do the job that I do and could have never achieved what I have without their help, and for that I am extremely grateful. On behalf of my family I wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a blessed start to the New Year, as we move away from a year of hardship into a year of opportunity, 2021.
Mr DAVID ELLIOTT (Baulkham HillsMinister for Police and Emergency Services) (18:01):
—:23 I for one cannot wait to see the end of 2020, but it would be remiss of me not to give thanks and show gratitude to the many people who have assisted me in getting through what has been a tough year both professionally and personally. Of course at the outset I thank my chief of staff, Tanya Raffoul, who has led our team with Churchillian zeal. Those who know me know that that is the highest compliment I could ever pay to anybody. Tanya has not only kept me in line but also six commissioners in line, into all of whom she instilled the fear of God.
I thank my unfortunately named deputy chief of staff Rommel Varghese. As a former army officer, I have great difficulty asking for Rommel to give me advice. We will be changing his name to Monty if I ever return to the Veterans Affairs portfolio, but he does have a thorough grasp of the brief, and for that I am very grateful. I thank Dom Bondar, who organises my regional visits. He challenges me. He has proven that you can go 24 hours without going to the toilet or having a meal because he jams my events into my schedule so tightly, as I am sure the member for Cootamundra and the member for Riverstone are aware.
M*A*S*H
I thank Trish, who always has my back. Do members remember the advert for the Energizer Bunny? Well, I have her working for me now. Her name is Vanessa and she is fantastic. Aster, who is another press secretary, tells me what to think and how to think it. Do members remember ? I am sure that we were all fans of it. Well, I was in the army and we had people like my PA, Kylie. We call her Radar O'Reilly because she always knows what I am about to say or do and where I am about to go. I thank Kim, who always welcomes everybody who comes into my office with a smile, even those who I detest.
I thank Verity, who makes all my silly problems within the police portfolio go away. I also thank Ivan. I still do not know exactly what he does, but happy Christmas, mate! I thank Helen, one of the best and most loyal operatives I have ever met in my 34 years as a member of the Liberal Party. I thank Antonella from my electorate office, who is a very calming influence. She certainly puts on a very good morning tea when I am in my electorate. I thank Aaron, who knows more about the mechanics of government than I will ever know. And I thank my driver Ross, who is an ex-firefighter and knows where all the bodies are buried in the fire brigade. In fact, I suspect that he was at most of the internments!
I thank my two Parliamentary Secretaries, Mel Gibbons and Mark Taylor, who have stepped up during this very busy period. Finally, I thank the commissioners and rank-and-file members of the Rural Fire Service; Fire and Rescue NSW; the SES; the NSW Volunteer Rescue Association; Marine Rescue NSW; Surf Life Saving NSW; the NSW Police Force and, of course, St John Ambulance. They have done a magnificent job through the bushfires, drought and COVID‑19 pandemic, and are fast becoming the new Anzacs. I thank my Federal parliamentary colleague Alex Hawke; my local mayor, Michelle Byrne; and my State Electoral Conference President Samuel Uno for a wonderful year. Finally, it would be remiss of me not to thank three very beautiful people: Nicole, Lachlan and William. Thank you.
Ms STEPH COOKE (Cootamundra) (18:04):
:41 Tonight I thank some of the people who have made 2020 memorable for all the right reasons. This year everyone in this Chamber and in every household in the State has adapted to the impact of a global pandemic the likes of which has not been seen for a century. I thank everyone who has worked hard to ensure the important democratic processes of Australia's oldest Parliament could continue, our frontline health and emergency services workers, and everyone who has played their part in managing the pandemic. It has been another year of dedication from the Speaker, and member for Davidson; the Deputy Speaker, and member for Port Macquarie; the Assistant Speaker, and member for Oatley; and the Leader of the House, and member for Cronulla. I acknowledge each of them and acknowledge their hard work in 2020. I also give a shout‑out to Alex Gibson.
This year marks my second as The Nationals Whip. I thank the formidable Government Whip, Adam Crouch, for being my partner in crime. Sometimes we are known in this place as the Crouchy and Grouchy show, but it is an absolute honour to serve alongside him. I also thank his offsider Ben Sheath. I thank Deputy Whip Lee Evans for sharing the long hours in this Chamber and my own party, the NSW Nationals, for continuing to show its confidence in me with this esteemed position. Our roles have needed to adapt to COVID restrictions. I particularly acknowledge the cooperation of my colleagues across the aisle: Opposition Whip, and member for Shellharbour, Anna Watson; and the Deputy Opposition Whip, and member for The Entrance. I also acknowledge the work of upper House Government Whip, Natasha Maclaren‑Jones, and upper House Nationals Whip, Sam Farraway. I congratulate him on stepping up into that role.
I thank my Liberal and Nationals colleagues for their contributions to debates and for playing their part in this Government. I thank my Whip's Assistant, Viv Lee, for keeping the Government working on sitting days with our party meetings and for keeping me fed during the long hours at Parliament. The Clerks of this House—Helen, Carly, Simon and their teams—have helped me immeasurably this year. I thank them for their advice and generosity in sharing their knowledge and time. This House does not function without the many staff who make this building a hive of activity: the IT services; the library staff; Chamber attendants Ian, Danny, Monica, Hayley, April, Peter and Chris; the catering team; the special constables; and the diligent Hansard team, who ensure the words spoken in this place will remain long after we have gone. I cannot express how bolstering their kind greetings have been as we go about our work at all hours of the day and night.
The ministerial staff have adapted to the challenges of this year with gusto. They continue to do their jobs with professionalism and passion while working from home, helping children with remote learning, managing pets who are ecstatic they have not left the house, or negotiating kitchen tables turned workspaces with housemates. I particularly acknowledge the Premier's Chief of Staff, Neil Harley, and the Deputy Premier's Chief of Staff, Siobhan Hamlin, and their respective teams. They should all be extremely proud of the way they have taken the trials of devastating bushfires, a global pandemic and ongoing drought in their stride and continued to work hard for all our communities. I am honoured to serve as Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Premier, and I thank him for once again leading our party through the challenges and triumphs of this year. Rarely in the century of service by our party have we seen a greater champion of rural and regional New South Wales.
I simply would not be able to do my job without my teams in Young and Junee or my office manager, Clare. To my wonderful team, Frances Crowley, Marie Tame and Jenny Littlejohn, who have been with me from the start, and Kimberley Cavanagh, Cath Sheridan, Emma Brown and Angela Fisher, this has been a tremendous year and I am so proud of everything that we have achieved together. As we head towards Christmas, I hope everyone gets the opportunity to spend time with their loved ones in the places they feel most at home. Have a very merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous new year.
Mr STEPHEN BALI (Blacktown) (18:09):
:44 This year's Christmas and seasonal felicitations are different from those of any other years. For most, the end of 2020 cannot come fast enough. We saw bushfires, drought and COVID, resulting in many people suffering mental anguish and economic hardship either through unemployment or difficult business trading. The parliamentary staff have made a fantastic effort to keep the wheels of government turning in these difficult times. I thank the Clerks of this Chamber, Helen and Les, the Speaker of the House and all the Assistant Speakers. I thank Paul Blanch, who visited Blacktown. I am looking forward to the upcoming visit by the Speaker, Jonathan O'Dea, when he comes to Blacktown in a couple of weeks' time.
I thank the table officers, the Chamber support people—particularly Ian and Danny—the Hansard people and the hundreds of people working throughout Parliament House. I thank my fellow Labor parliamentarians, the shadow Ministers and the Leader of the Opposition's office staff, who have supported me and helped me out throughout the year. I give special thanks to Jodi McKay, who has done a fantastic job as leader in these difficult times. I thank Anna Watson and all the support Whips and give a special call‑out to Colleen Symington, who keeps an active eye on all of us to ensure we are doing whatever we are supposed to be doing.
I give special thanks to my Blacktown electoral staff. They are a wonderful team who deal passionately with the local challenges that many of our constituents have. Words cannot adequately express my appreciation of the wonderful effort they all put in. For the record, they include Elizabeth Banks, who is currently on maternity leave, and Angela Humphries, who is ably standing in for her. I wish Ange all success next year in whatever role she may have. Wendy Chen, Justine Ndayi, Sabrina Can and Kimberly Campbell job‑share the other two positions and are extremely committed and well coordinated. John Costelloe, Ebony O'Connor and Anthony Carver have stood in from time to time and their professionalism is a credit to our local area.
I thank all the local Labor branch members and executive members for volunteering their time to ensure that Labor remains relevant and respected in our local community. I thank my wonderful bride of 26 years, Anne, for all her hard work and volunteering; and my great son, Stephen Jr, for his very important support. I wish everybody in this Chamber across the political divide, all employees and everyone involved a wonderful Christmas. May 2021 bring much joy and success.
Ms FELICITY WILSON (North Shore) (18:12):
:45 I have been reflecting on this day four years ago, when I was at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The profundity of that experience reflects the miracle of the Christmas season, the humble birth of Jesus, the triumph of good over evil and the true spirit of Christmas in reflecting on the miracles that can be before us. It is an incredibly important message for us to think through at the end of 2020, which has been a challenging year for so many people: droughts, bushfires and then the COVID‑19 pandemic. The uplifting message of the Nativity and the Christmas story is being felt by all of us here in Sydney and across New South Wales because we feel as though we have come through an incredibly challenging year. We feel as though we have come through it together and we feel that, while there will be more challenges thrown at us, we can work together to prevail against them.
I am looking forward to this Christmas. I feel that it is going to be a particularly special one for me and my family and for many families who have found succour from each other in this challenging year. I acknowledge and thank those who worked so incredibly hard to get us through this year—the frontline workers and the people who have been doing the heavy lifting to fight this pandemic. They are our police, our health staff, our teachers, our supermarket staff and particularly our cleaners, when we think about how much we need their support. We are incredibly fortunate in the important work of the contact tracing teams in NSW Health—those public health experts who are now heroes. I thank the people of the North Shore. None of us are here without our constituents. I get a lot of frank and fearless advice from my constituents but also an incredible amount of support and feedback. This year has been a particularly interesting year again for me, with the arrival of my son Henry just two months ago. The welcome that he received from my community has been bar none. I thank my community for the support that they have given me to enable me to do my job while also juggling the glories of a newborn baby.
I thank those who help the Parliament function, the hardworking individuals from the many different departments and services: the Hansard team; IT; the front desk; the cafe staff; the attendants; the Clerk, Helen Minnican and her team; security; maintenance and cleaning; everyone who keeps Parliament moving. As I sit on four parliamentary committees now I thank all of the committee staff, including Elaine Schofield, Caroline Hopley, Aden Baites, Madeleine Dowd, Ze Nan Ma, Stephanie Mulvey, Elspeth Dyer, Dora Oravecz and Bjarne Nordin. I also thank my parliamentary colleagues and acknowledge them, particularly the Premier, who has worked tirelessly this year for the people of New South Wales in the face of the natural disasters and the pandemic. She has navigated through the pandemic with the support of the health Minister, Brad Hazzard, and the Chief Health Officer, Dr Kerry Chant. I thank all three of them for their leadership and their continuous work throughout the year.
I mention some colleagues who have given me significant support this year. As I mentioned, bringing a new baby into Parliament—he was about seven weeks old when I first came back after a brief few weeks away—took a lot of support from the Speaker and the Whip and their teams. I thank Jonathan O'Dea, his staff member Georgia and the entire panel of Speakers, as well as the Whip, Adam Crouch, and his staff member Ben for the changes that they made to enable me to come back in to this place. I acknowledge my electorate office team; my senior electorate officer, Lisa Forrest; and the team who have worked with me here throughout the year, Chris McDermott, Tamika Dartnell-Moor—who was stolen from my by Mr Don Harwin, but I wish her well—Natalie Windle and Niamh Cronin. Thank you for supporting our community and working tirelessly with me, particularly when I have been in and out of the office with pregnancy and a new baby.
I thank my branch members and my conference who have also risen to the challenge this year trying to find new ways to engage and provide advice and feedback and work together, the entire North Shore State Electoral Conference and the branches. Most importantly, I am grateful to have the support of my family. I would not have been here last week and this week with baby Henry if I did not have my husband, Sam, helping me to breastfeed and get to speeches, committee meetings and around the Parliament. It is a very interesting challenge for working parents and we truly are a team. I think it would be very hard to do this job, and probably many others, without the support of a partner. We definitely approach this job and serving our community as a team. I acknowledge my two young children, Eleanor and Henry, and my entire family. Thank you all for your continuing love and support, and merry Christmas.
Mr GUY ZANGARI (Fairfield) (18:17):
:37 It is with pleasure that I extend felicitations for the festive season. I hope that everyone has a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. It has been a particularly challenging year for everyone, and I am sure we are all looking forward to spending valuable time with our families. I thank the Clerks of the Legislative Assembly and all the people who work hard to keep this place going. I thank the Speaker, Jonathan O'Dea; the Assistant Speaker; the Deputy Speaker; and the Temporary Speakers. They have a difficult job and we appreciate their contribution. I thank the Government Whip and member for Terrigal, Adam Crouch, and the Opposition Whip and member for Shellharbour, Anna Watson. We appreciate their support. A special thank you to our secretary in the Opposition Whip's office, Colleen Symington, for her support and work throughout the year.
I thank the Leader of the House, the Attorney General and member for Cronulla, Mark Speakman; and for the Opposition, the member for Keira, my great mate Ryan Park. He does a great job in leadership, guidance and direction for the House. I thank everyone in the Table Office and the Hansard staff for all the work that they do. Theirs is a mammoth task and we appreciate their support. I also thank the Legislative Assembly attendants who look after us in the Chamber. Your patience is much appreciated. I thank all the people in Parliament who keep the House going: our stalwart security who make sure we are all safe, the cleaners, the dining room staff, the Cafe Quorum staff and all the chefs and food service crew. The food and service in Parliament House is top standard and we thank you very much for your efforts in ensuring it is so.
I also pay special thanks to my electorate office staff—my senior electorate officer, Stella Patane; Jess Daniele; George Barcha; and Katerina Sotiropoulos—for their support for me personally, but more importantly to the people of Fairfield, who have bestowed upon us the great honour of representation. I also thank the Leader of the Opposition, Jodi McKay, for her wonderful leadership and guidance. A big thanks also to my Labor colleagues and shadow Ministers who have been fighting the good fight this year. Well done and I look forward to doing it all again next year. Thanks also to my backbench colleagues for their work fighting for better outcomes in their respective communities. I also thank the people of Fairfield for their constant support. Fairfield is a great place to live and I will continue to do my best for the community. I thank my wife, Melissa, and our four children for the love and support that they give me in order to do this job. I really appreciate it.
The COVID-19 pandemic was an occurrence the world did not anticipate. It has led to much hardship, loss of life and a re-evaluation of the way we go about our everyday lives. Several groups of people in our wider community stood out as everyday heroes and they deserve special thanks. I thank the hospital medics and staff, nurses, teachers, cleaners, police, bus drivers, emergency service workers, Australia Post delivery drivers, train drivers and all other transport drivers, and supermarket and retail staff. All of these people in these professions in some way or another have put the needs of the community first and themselves last to keep New South Wales going.
We have one of the best records of containment of the coronavirus and it is due to the hard work that these people put in to make sure our communities were safe. Not only did they have to perform their regular duties; they also had to change the way they perform these duties for the benefit and safety of others. They sacrificed time with their families and friends, and worked long hours under extraordinary conditions, often risking their own safety for the sake of others. There are no other words that can be used to thank our frontline essential workers. However, I express my gratitude and I am sure I can speak for the rest of New South Wales when I say their extraordinary efforts have been noticed and we are deeply thankful for their efforts and sacrifice. Thank you.
Before I make my final comments, it would be remiss of me not to thank the Premier of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, for her efforts this year, starting at the beginning of the year under difficult circumstances, as well as the Ministers and all colleagues across the Chamber. Christmas is a time of giving. It is a time of peace, love and joy. This Christmas as a member of this House I wish all people a very merry Christmas and a safe holiday and new year. To those who do not observe the Christmas tradition, I wish you and your loved ones a safe and restful holiday season. Felicitations to all. May 2021 bring us much laughter, health and prosperity.
Mrs WENDY TUCKERMAN (Goulburn) (18:22):
:32 Christmas is my favourite time of the year. It is a time to reflect on the achievements throughout the last 12 months. It is also a time to be grateful and reflect on the hard work and be thankful to all those who have helped to make these great things possible. As I have said many times before, I am truly blessed to represent the wonderful people of the Goulburn electorate. I am extremely proud to be part of a government that delivers for regional New South Wales. My electorate commitments continue to be delivered and I am pleased to see their progress to date. To name a few, there is the Moss Vale Bypass, the Goulburn Aquatic and Leisure Centre redevelopment, the redevelopment of the Goulburn Base Hospital, the upgrades to the Crookwell District Hospital and the new hall for Yass High School. There are many to mention and it is wonderful to see them progressing.
A few other milestones for my electorate include $8 million recently announced for the Wombeyan Caves Road. I know the community there is so grateful after a long battle to try to secure funding. The road will support a $9.6 million upgrade to Wombeyan Caves tourism. It is fantastic for that area, which was very much affected by bushfires and then floods this year. The showground stimulus package has brought over $1 million to my electorate. The contract that has just been announced for the drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility is very welcome. There is a lot happening in Goulburn and surrounds and I am truly blessed to be representing the constituents I am honoured to serve.
This year has presented many challenges, including drought, fires and, of course, the pandemic. But I know the people of New South Wales will bounce back stronger than ever. I thank the emergency services personnel for their ongoing efforts, as well as their families, who have to endure not seeing them at Christmas. It has been a very, very tough year and they have been absolutely amazing in the work they have done. Not only in my electorate but also across the whole State, what a challenging year it has been for our health staff, our teachers and our police officers. Thank you for your ongoing efforts and your flexibility in what has been a most difficult time.
The Parliament would not be able to function without the support of a number of departments and services and the people within them. I thank all of them: parliamentary staff, ministerial staff, my five local councils—with whom I have a great relationship—and the community organisations and groups who contact me and keep me informed about what is happening on the ground and about their needs and wants. They put their trust in me and I am so happy to be working on their behalf. I cannot do what I do without the wonderful support of my electorate team—Alicia, Paige and Cheryl. Their support, dedication and commitment to the people of the electorate is truly commendable and appreciated.
I know that after the year we have faced the Christmas holidays cannot come quickly enough. Being a member of the Berejiklian Government truly is a great honour and a privilege. I acknowledge and thank the Premier, in particular, for all her support, and I thank my parliamentary colleagues for their support and everything they do for me and for the people of New South Wales. I also thank my very good branch members, who have supported me throughout the year during what has been a very difficult time.
Finally, I thank my family—my beautiful husband, Michael, and my gorgeous granddaughter, Lette, and my sons, Tom and Bradley, and their partners. Thank you for your understanding and support throughout the year. I look forward to having a beautiful big family Christmas with them. I look forward to the year ahead and to continuing to deliver for the communities of the Goulburn electorate. I wish everyone a very merry Christmas and I hope you all enjoy a lovely break with quality time with your families.
Dr HUGH McDERMOTT (Prospect) (18:26):
:27 Christmas is a special time of the year for my family and me, as it is a time we spend surrounded by our loved ones, family and friends. It is a time when we give thanks and praise for all the blessings we have received over the past 12 months. This year was extremely difficult for many in our community. Tragically, many lives and livelihoods were lost as a result of catastrophic bushfires, severe floods and the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, it is only right that we honour those lives and keep their loved ones in our memory as we navigate through this difficult period.
On numerous occasions I have reiterated what an honour and privilege it is to stand in this Chamber and represent the families living in the electorate of Prospect. I thank all those individuals who have assisted me throughout this challenging year. To my hardworking electorate staff—David Weston, Annie Wang, Karl Stewart, Michael Kolokossian and Brooke Unsworth—I thank you for your dedication to our office. It was not easy at times but together we achieved the best result for the people of Prospect, and will do so again throughout 2021.
I also thank my parliamentary colleagues. Regardless of our political differences, we are all here for one purpose: to serve the people of New South Wales. I particularly thank you for the care and the support you provided to me personally during the bushfire season and its aftermath. I will never forget this, nor will members of my RFS brigade or my family. I thank you for your support and wish you and your families all the best for 2021.
To the dedicated Clerks, the Deputy Clerks and the Hansard team, thank you for your diligence, dedication and care. To our special constables and NSW Police Force officers, thank you for providing a safe environment for all of us here at Parliament, regardless of the day or the hour. Your tireless efforts and service are greatly appreciated. To those working behind the scenes—our dedicated Department of Parliamentary Services staff, IT, cleaners, maintenance and the kitchen team—thank you for providing a service that cannot be faulted. It is thanks to you that this Parliament runs as effectively as it does.
Finally, I thank my beautiful family—my wife, Bettina, and our three children, Geneva, Camille and Olivia. Every action I take and every statement that I make in this place I do to ensure you are proud of me. You are my greatest motivation. I pray that everyone has a safe holiday, surrounded by family, friends and loved ones. Merry Christmas and God bless.
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER:
I thank the member for Prospect. Merry Christmas to you and to your family as well.
Dr JOE McGIRR (Wagga Wagga) (18:29):
:33 On behalf of the Independent members—me, the member for Lake Macquarie and the member for Sydney—I thank all those who have helped us in our work this year and wish them, our communities and the State a happy Christmas, a Christmas when I hope we can all spend time with our loved ones. I know it will be a Christmas when we reflect on the extraordinary events of 2020. It is a great privilege to represent our communities and we are very thankful to all those who have helped us do that. In particular, we thank parliamentary staff including Helen Minnican and the parliamentary Clerks; the Table Office and committee secretariats; the Hansard staff; the catering staff; the library; police and security staff; and Jack Kerkvleit.
We also thank Mark Webb and the Department of Parliamentary Services staff. Thank you for helping us to adapt, in the Parliament and in our offices, to the challenges of the year and for the additional support provided during the fires, the pandemic and the cross-border issues. A special thankyou goes to the cleaners and maintenance workers in the building—as the Premier said, one of the most important roles in our State Parliament. And a big shout-out to all the staff in all the electorate offices throughout the State, but especially to those whose communities have been affected by drought and bushfires
I thank my staff, without whom I could not do the work I do Jennie Meiklejohn, Jody Lindbeck, Kelly Hewson, Daniela Gooden and Lizzie Paradice, as well as Rachelle Kell and Mario Olsen. I also thank Steff Wills, who left our office during the year but whose contribution was very much appreciated. Thank you to the Press Gallery and our local journalists—without you, democracy does not work We also thank our parliamentary colleagues the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, the Assistant Speaker and Temporary Speakers and their staff. In particular, on a personal note, I acknowledge the professional development program that the Speaker has introduced; it has been astounding.
We particularly thank the Premier, the Deputy Premier, the Ministers of the Government, the Leader of the Opposition and her team, and our parliamentary colleagues for negotiating this year of crises. We thank the members of the crossbench, the Leader of the House, the Manager of Opposition Business and the Whips. We thank departmental staff and the staff of Ministers and shadow Ministers who help us to have the information we need to do our jobs well. We also thank especially the frontline workers in the State, who in the bushfires and the pandemic have turned up for us, to protect us, to treat us and to keep us safe, putting their lives on the line.
I particularly thank my Independent colleagues for their support during the year. I acknowledge especially the families of all MPs for their support. I particularly thank my wife, Kerin Fielding, for her wonderful support during the past year and always. I also acknowledge our family, Lara and Duncan, Natasha, Dylan and Anna. This was a special year for our family as we welcomed our first grandchild, Rachel Harriet. Finally, we deeply thank our communities for their trust in us and for their support through this very tough year. I hope that this year Christmas will be one when we can thankfully spend precious time with our loved ones while we reflect on the year that has been, acknowledging the sufferings of our fellow citizens, making sure that we live in solidarity with them, and living the ideals of peace and goodwill to all.
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER:
I thank the member for Wagga Wagga. I wish him and his family and first grandchild a very merry Christmas as well.
Mr JUSTIN CLANCY (Albury) (18:33):
:01 COVID barely touched my community with direct illness, but this year we have certainly felt the impact of the border restrictions on daily life and work. COVID has certainly taken a hammer to 2020. It has been a year when, cruelly, private events, surgeries, child care and last farewells have so often required people to tell their close stories to strangers in order to obtain a crossing permit or exemption from isolation or quarantine through Sydney. Each day we strive to assist with compassion. I acknowledge that we have not always been able to deliver that which was sought. We are all looking forward to the opening of the border next Monday, but for now the daily work continues—as I know the staff of Health and Service NSW understand as well—to get family members where they need to be in times of distress or loss and to help businesses send employees to where the work is.
I say the practice of hope because hope, like most good things, doesnot just sit on the shelf waitingfor us to pick it up.Hope is more elusive. We have to look out for it, and bring our senses and sensibilities to bear on thetask.Our hope might be generously wide for peace, prosperity, community wellbeing for everyone and for yourself. Hope lifts the spirit and helps us to endure.May this be a time of renewal in our daily lives, among our friendship groups and in our families.
In this Advent season, as we prepare for Christmas, I am reminded that this is a time to focus on hope. It has been said that Christmas is not a story of hope. It is hope. Surely, as we near the end of 2020, the practice of hope should be on our wish lists.
I have enjoyed much support this year from my colleagues in this place. In particular, I all those who have picked up the phone to call me to see how we are faring along the border. I welcome your words of comfort and encouragement. I single out and thank the Premier, the Deputy Premier, the Minister for Finance and Small Business, and the Minister for Police and Emergency Services who have followed through on the charter of their roles in government to get down to Albury to see for themselves how the border closure and restrictions were impacting on residents and businesses. I thank the Speaker, all my parliamentary colleagues, and all who work in Parliament and in electorate offices across our State. In particular, I thank my electorate office staff.
I thank my family: my wife, Tabitha, and our three children, Xavier, Seamus and Natalie. But, most importantly, I thank my community for their perseverance through what has been a challenging time. Again, I hope that this Christmas is a period of hope. My wish for them and for all is hope. This has seen us through a tumultuous year and will light the way for us in 2021. I wish all a happy Christmas from my family to yours.
Mrs LESLIE WILLIAMS (Port Macquarie) (18:36):What did "social distancing" mean? What did lockdown entail?It has been a difficult year, no question. But,as a person who is ever anoptimist, I think there is so much for us to be thankful for.I am thankful that I live in an incredibly beautiful place and I am so verythankful that I live in a community where people care about each other,look out for each other, and go above and beyond to support each other.Our local community demonstrated their resilience and their compassionfollowing the dreadful fires of 2019 that ravaged communities up anddown the coast, and in 2020 they continued to show that samecompassion.I thank each and every one of them for the role they have played, no matter how big or how small, to make sure that we worked alongsideeach other and were there for each other so everybody felt supported and cared for during some very difficult times.
:03 Last year we had never heard of words like "COVID" and "coronavirus". Who knew where Wuhan was?
Whether you are a frontline worker—a nurse, doctor, police officer, ateacher, a small business owner, a member of the emergency services, asupport worker, a community volunteer—to each of you I extend mysincerest thanks.Everybody across the breadth of our community has stepped up andthat is what makes me so proud to be the member for Port Macquarie.I wish you all a peaceful and happy Christmas, and extend to youmy best wishes for 2021.
I thank my parliamentary colleagues across the political divide who have supported me during the past year. We are all strong, passionate and dedicated representatives of our communities, and I consider it an honour and a privilege to share my work life with each of you. It has been a challenging year on many levels but I have been very appreciative of the support I have received. I look forward to working alongside you all in 2021 and wish you and your families a very merry Christmas.
the staff across the Parliament, particularly from the office of the Clerk. To Helen, Simon and Carly and all the team, enjoy your Christmas holidays and I thank you for your time mentoring and guiding me in this privileged role as Deputy Speaker. To the Hansard staff, sitting in the chair during many lively debates inthis House, I just donot know how they manage to make what is sometimes said in here translate into what resembles logical commentary in the Hansard. No doubt you will all be relishing some time away from this place. Best wishes to you and your families. To the catering staff and the outstanding team in Café Quorum, thank you for your very efficient delivery of coffee each morning. What would we dowithout you all? Enjoy your holidays and time with your family and loved ones.
In my role as Deputy Speaker, I have received tremendous support from
To all the teams across the Parliament—Building Services, library, Table Office, cleaners and the special constables—thank you especially for watching out over us. To my colleagues on the Speaker's Panel, led by our wonderful Speaker, thank you for your friendship and professionalism in your roles. We are a great team—and that includes you, Mr Assistant Speaker. I do not think there is a more supportive group across the Parliament. We are always willing to assist each other and take the chair when needed. Merry Christmas to you all. I look forward to working alongside you in 2021.
To my electorate office staff—Terry, Sarah, Brendan, Will and Lesley—it has certainly been a year to remember and I know I wouldnot have been able to do it without you. You are such passionate, caring and dedicated people. The people of Port Macquarie are so very fortunate to have you. I look forward to sharing Christmas celebrations with you all in the weeks ahead. Finally, to my husband, Don, you are just a legend—always there, always supportive. We have had a year of much reflection, much contemplation and way too many wines. Now I look forward to some time at home in the holiday season. To all my parliamentary colleagues, I wish you a very merry Christmas and I look forward to joining you all in this House in 2021.
Mr JIHAD DIB (Lakemba) (18:40:15):
What a year it has been. We have heard speaker after speaker say the same thing—that we have lived through the toughest of times. Last year when we gave our felicitations nobody would have thought this year we would talk about the horror of 2021. Whether it started with the fires, floods or COVID-19, we have seen the very best of people in the worst of circumstances. We have seen just how good we can be when we desperately need it. I think about the times when communities came together to support those who had lost their homes or loved ones during the fires and it continued during the time of COVID-19.
When COVID-19 first hit there was a wave of panic when people did not know what to do. We saw somethings that probably did not appeal to our better selves. Thankfully,we were able to get it together and see, like any time, communities come together. I take this opportunity to congratulate and thank my community for once again for the hundreds and hundreds of food parcels they put together, the phone calls to the elderly and for making sure that everybody was okay. It is a year during which people have done it tough, but suffice to say we are learning to live with what is considered the new normal. I hope this does not become the new normal and we will be able to get over this period.
We have also seen some serious changes to the way we live our lives.
It is a great symbol that during this time the Parliament of New South Wales was able to keep running. After the sittings of the Parliament were truncated for a while we felt it was good to be back. There was a genuine desire to come back and work with others. It was a year when we stood together. I thank my incredible team. I have several part-timers. I acknowledge Semaya, Leisel, Targrid, Dillon, Beryl, Ahmed and Chenille who come in every now and then for their great work. I thank the Speaker and the Speaker's office. I echo the sentiments of the member for Wagga Wagga: The leadership course has been absolutely fantastic.
I give a shout-out and send a thankyou to my parliamentary colleagues with whom I spar quite often. It could be the Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services, the member for Kiama, or the Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education, the member for Parramatta. There have been opportunities to make things personal but we have not done so. We have made sure that if we argue, we will argue the point and not the person. I think that is important to do. I also take a special moment to acknowledge the Minister for Health and Medical Research and his office. I cannot imagine what a year it has been for him. I had to work with them closely when COVID-19 came to our area.
On my side, the member for Strathfield and Leader of the Opposition, Ms Jodie McKay, and my parliamentary colleagues have been fantastic. I will start by acknowledging the Parliament House cleaners. I thank Urma, especially, for her work. She makes sure that every single day my office looks shipshape. The IT team has been fantastic, as has catering. We know that a lot of people in catering lost their jobs. The Table Office staff are always are so pleasant and amazing. The Clerk, Helen, and Simon, Carly and the team are always so helpful and friendly. I thank the Hansard team for making sense of what we say and the terrible notes we provide. I thank the library and the special constables.
I finish by thanking the people who put us in this place—those who elect us and make that call for us to be members of Parliament. I thank my community of Lakemba for the trust they have placed in me and the support they give me. I thank the ones who give us the most support—our families, our colleagues—and, most importantly, the desire to make a genuine difference. We will be back next year and next year we will continue to be better and, hopefully, serve as a good example of just what a democracy can be.
Mr GARETH WARD (KiamaMinister for Families, Communities and Disability Services) (18:44):
—:39 To borrow a phrase, I rise with friendship for all and malice to none.
Ms Anna Watson:
That is unusual.
Mr GARETH WARD:
I acknowledge the interjection from my wonderful friend the member for Shellharbour, who knows all too much about malice. I thank everybody in the Chamber and wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happier New Year. The year that we have had has been an extraordinary challenge for the people of our great State, but we have been resilient, strong and determined, and we will get through this. I am sure 2021 will be a much better year for all of us and our communities. I start by thanking my electorate. You cannot be a member of Parliament, a Minister or even a Premier without your electorate. I thank the people of the Kiama electorate, who have been very generous to me. I certainly will continue to work hard for them.
I thank the Premier, who has been an outstanding leader of this State, particularly during these very difficult times. I also acknowledge the Premier's former chief of staff, Sarah Cruickshank, and current chief of staff, Neil Harley. I pay tribute to my friends and colleagues Michael Evangelidis, Bryce O'Connor, Taylor Gramoski, Alex Goodenough and Arminé Nalbandian for their great work. I thank the real Whips, Ben Sheath and Colleen Symington, for their great work, but I also acknowledge my two wonderful friends the member for Shellharbour and the member for Terrigal for keeping us all in line.
I pay a very special tribute to the people who have worked so diligently. I am incredibly proud of each and every one of them and I could not do the job I do without my team. They have all made sacrifices to work for and with me, and I am so proud of each and every one of them: Loki Ball, Mitch Clout, Jordan Matthews, James Malin, Alex Briggs, Matthew Barden, Elizabeth Cunneen, Anne King, Adelaide Cuneo, John-Paul Brookes, Renae Fowler, Jesse Martin, Melissa Jobson, Paulla Turnbull, Anna Watson—the good Anna Watson—Ben Blackburn, Bryan Fishpool and Mia Watson.
I also acknowledge the whole Department of Communities and Justice, which has made such a huge effort throughout this period. I think the social services sector has done a brilliant job and we should thank them all for that, particularly our secretary Michael Coutts-Trotter and deputy secretaries Paul Vevers, Simone Czech and Simone Walker. I acknowledge my outstanding Parliamentary Secretary Mel Gibbons—the best Parliamentary Secretary I have ever had. She does a phenomenal job and I thank her. I also thank the Liberal Party. This year is our party's seventy-fifth year and we celebrate a time when 18 parties came together to form our party. I thank the members of my party locally and across the State. I thank party president Mark Crocksford and my campaign director Paul Ell, who both do a great job.
I especially thank Shelley Hancock, my adopted political mother—some would say my evil political mother—who does a wonderful job, along with her chief of staff Luke Sikora and deputy chief of staff Sean O'Connor, and of course her band of travelling minstrels. I also thank my mum and dad. I am fortunate enough to still have my parents, and I am very grateful for their love and support. I also thank my brothers, Arthur and Scott, and my sister, Belinda, as well as my nephews Ben and Thorin and my nieces Emily, Chloe and Azura. All of them are a great source of strength to me. All of us gain great strength because our families support us in these roles. If it were not for the support our families give us, none of us could do the wonderful work in this place.
Finally, I thank my shadow Ministers, in no particular order: Penny Sharpe, the member for Lakemba Jihad Dib, as well as Julia Finn, Jo Haylen and Ryan Park. We have a wonderful working relationship. I make the observation that when it comes to this particular portfolio there is not a Liberal thing or a Labor thing to do, there is just a right thing to do. I thank them for the way they have engaged with me this year to help the vulnerable, and I am sure that will continue. Merry Christmas and a wonderful and safe New Year to all members, friends one and all.
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER:
The question is that the House take note of Christmas felicitations.
Motion agreed to.
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