David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The communities of Bean and Eden-Monaro are close. In particular, the communities of Jerrabomberra, Googong, Tuggeranong, Lanyon and the Snowy Mountains are close. We don't just share borders; we share lives. We work together, play sports together and share education journeys. Our communities share many of the same challenges and hopes for the future. Fundamentally we want representatives who are committed to working together for the common good. We want greater support for our health and education workers.

In that respect, it's been a privilege to work alongside the wonderful member for Eden-Monaro, and I look forward to working together with my friend Steve Whan. Steve has provided mighty service to the Monaro region before and will do so again. Thank you to all the volunteers from both sides of the border that helped out on the weekend and across prepolls. Election day was held in good spirits by all involved. It was good to see the member for Nicholls out at Jerrabomberra for most of the day. I looked very hard, and he is not hard to miss, just as he had been absent from the campaign everywhere else, the member for Dickson could not be seen anywhere near the seat of Monaro click spellcheck could validate. But, when education and health are priorities, it's not a surprise.

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