Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

That is what he always says—that'll learn ya. I'm really making the most of this last speech, aren't I? Sorry!

That now brings me to my wonderful family. When I was elected to this parliament my daughter Shayne, who has disappeared out of here with her daughter, and my son Chris were at university and none of my children were married. If you look up into the gallery, you can see there are lots of little people. They have been born while I have been down here. I have been really lucky when I have come down here, because my daughter and her husband, Cris, live here, and I have been able to spend time with them.

Lindsay, my husband, is sitting there thinking that I am going to tell the story of one election day. I am not going to tell you that the one person on this particular election day I got a letter of complaint about happened to be a person who had grey hair, who was handing out cards at a particular school that Lindsay was at at that particular time. I had to write this very apologetic letter saying 'I can't imagine who it could have been.' But I am not going to tell anyone that. It is a story for another time. Lindsay has been fantastic. He has always been there to support me. He is a doorknocker extraordinaire, Pat Conroy. You are going to use him, I am sure. He loves doorknocking. I am not going to tell you the doorknocking story. I will tell you that later.

An opposition member interjecting—

No, not now. Maybe that is why he likes doorknocking! Peter, my eldest son, doesn't come to parliament very much, but he is always telling me what we should do. If we need some advice, we should go and talk to Peter, because he has very strong opinions. He is quite critical at times, I must say, but he always votes Labor—and he has the best position for a sign in the electorate. So, thank you, Peter, and thank you so much for coming down today. He now has three daughters. Selina, who speaks three languages, or maybe even four. She speaks English, Cantonese, her grandmother's dialect—and she speaks Mandarin as well. One of my other grandchildren, Jessica, who I will get to in a moment, was telling me how Selina was giving them lessons in Cantonese. That is pretty special. Selina's sisters, Meien and Macey, are not here.

Chris has Sam and Jessica. Where is Sam? Sam wanted me to give a speech like you, Chris Bowen. He thought that you made a fantastic contribution today. He told me to go down there and be strong and give a Chris Bowen speech. He is very, very interested in politics. He tells me that he knows more about politics than anyone in his school, including his teachers. My beautiful Jessica gave me one of the most interesting campaigns I ever had. At that particular time she had ended up in hospital with a multiresistant staph infection. She nearly lost her life. I did most of my campaigning in that election around John Hunter Hospital. She is a very special girl, very bright—and I call her 'my treasure'. Next there is Chris. Chris has always been there. He is the rock in the family.

Then there is Shayne and Cris—Shayne has disappeared yet again. Cris is her husband. He is sitting up there with Asher. Asher is a little boy who always likes to do everything the right way. I forgot you, Jonny. Jonny, you are very special too. Hi, Jonny! Next I have Hallie—hello, Hal! Hallie is Miss Personality. Asher always tells us how we should do things. He always used to run and tell tales on Lindsay because he used to say 'bloody'—is that unparliamentary? It is not, is it? Not now! He would tell his mother that Poppy used bad language. Finally there is Ella, who has taken Shayne out of here.

I cannot, of course, forget my sister Robyn. Robyn is here today. She has come all the way from Nambucca Heads. She is my last remaining blood relative and very important to me. At my first speech my mother was here, but, unfortunately, she is no longer here. Robyn embodies my mother—so, thank you, Robyn.

Finally—nearly 'finally', anyhow—thank you to all the staff in Parliament House who make it possible for us to do our job: the attendants, who look after all of us so well, the clerks, the sergeant's office, the Comcar drivers, the cleaners, the staff in the Table Office, the catering staff, and every other person that makes this place very special. I also thank the committee secretariats—the staff who work on the committees.

Now it is time for me to sit down. But before I do I want to pledge my 100 per cent support to having a Shorten Labor government elected. The Labor team has the policies that will make Australia great—inclusive policies that provide opportunities for all Australians. Bill Shorten will be a fantastic Prime Minister. Now, I did not vote for Bill. I voted for my friend, Albo—the person who has given me so much support throughout my political career. Whenever I needed support or whenever I had a problem, I could always go to Albo. Albo is absolutely fantastic. Thank you, Albo, for everything that you have done over the years. I have really appreciated it.

Finally—and these are my final words—I have to say something about Pat Conroy.

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