Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Many members of the House would well remember Howard Moffat. Howard Moffat has been 18 years working in Parliament House—since 1996, when he first came here—but he was also a photographer for Auspic. On the old parliament house, when it was being transferred to the hill, he took the photographs of the engineering works and the building of the new parliament house.

Since 1988 and before, Howard Moffat has been associated with our work on this hill. Howard Moffat is retiring after his long service to the parliament, and sometimes, when a longstanding member of the department, whose job is to make us look good—which is no easy task, particularly in my case, Madam Speaker, not yours—retires, we do like to acknowledge them and say thank you. The staff of the parliament, from the drivers through to the clerks, the cleaners and the photographers at Auspic, do a fantastic job on our behalf and on behalf of the people of Australia. I would like to acknowledge today, for Howard and for his family, the great work that he has done for us as photographer at Auspic for all these years.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The opposition joins the comments that have been made for Mr Howard Moffat. Those of us who sat on the government benches in the last term spent a lot of time with him at community cabinets, capturing not only the work of this parliament but the work that then goes out into the community around the country. He has performed a very fine level of professional service in capturing moments that form part of the history of this country. He will be missed and we wish him well.