Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to say thank you to my friend Jim, the member for Rankin. As I said in my maiden speech, I actually come from a Labor family. The New South Wales right is a very strong part of the Labor Party family. Paul Whelan, Bridget's father, and my father are very good friends. I went through school with Bridge, and her older brother John is one of my best mates. Bridge is still one of my best mates. Bridge is that good a mate that, when I lost my marbles and decided to do what I am doing now, Bridge rang and I picked up the phone. She had not long left Mark Arbib's employ and had seen what the job did to Mark and his family. I have three young kids. Bridge said, 'Look, I want to talk you out of this.' I spent an hour on the phone with Bridge. She was going through the worst of times—confronting the battles that she has confronted—and here she was, thinking of me and my family.

She is an amazing woman. What she wrote—Jim, you are right—she tried to deliver in Melbourne a few weeks ago, but she only got through a couple of lines. She is an amazing woman. It is an amazing cause and we need to do all we can in government. They asked for funding today, and we need both sides to come together and make it a reality. To Bridge: well done.

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