I thank you, Mr Speaker, for your work. I thank your fellow Deputy Speaker the Member for Maranoa. I thank the Speaker’s panel. I thank the Clerks, led by Bernard Wright – Bernard is probably the truest and most conscientious custodian of the best traditions of this House – Deputy Clerk David Elder, Clerks of the Table, Robyn and Joanne, sergeant Claressa and her team, the attendants obviously who help to keep order in this place, led by Cheryl Lane, I thank. The Department of Parliamentary Services, from Secretary Alan Thompson down and all of those who we deal with day-by-day who help to make our days convenient, safe and pleasant – whether it be the attendants, whether it be the COMCAR drivers, whether it be the people who clean our office – they have our gratitude, even if we don’t stop often enough on each day to say so.

 

I thank my Whips, led ably by Warren Entsch, supported by Pat Secker, Nola Marino, Mark Coulton and Paul Neville. It’s very difficult to keep up the spirits of a parliamentary party, but Warren, you are a party man in every sense of the word and you’ve kept our spirits up this year.

 

I am very lucky to have such marvellous support from my senior parliamentary colleagues, from Julie Bishop, from Warren Truss, I could not ask for a better Deputy and for a more supportive Coalition partner. I thank and appreciate the Manager of Opposition Business Christopher Pyne. I pay a particular tribute to my own personal staff, extraordinarily hardworking, extraordinarily dedicated and awesomely competent, led by Peta Credlin.

 

Above all else Mr Speaker – and I’m sure I speak for every member of this parliament – I thank my family, we all should thank our families. We are volunteers, they are conscripts. We can only stay in public life because of their forbearance while they allow us to do what we do and I hope as they look at us, at least some of the time, they can be proud of us.

 

Mr Speaker, I will not pretend that this has been a great year for the parliament. I don’t believe that it has. Nevertheless, if we could take off our parliamentary hat, take off our partisan hat and yes, in the case of my friend on the other side, our particular rugby league hats, as one human being to the human beings opposite, I say may hostilities momentarily cease and may compliments of the season go to them.

 

May God bless us, may God bless this parliament, may God bless our country and finally, Mr Speaker, may I pause to acknowledge brave Australian soldiers killed and wounded this year in the war in Afghanistan.

 

[ends]