Cathy McGowan (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Colleagues, as we gather here today to celebrate the end of the year I'd like to take the opportunity to acknowledge and thank the many people who make our lives and our work easier. To my staff, Di, Jeremy, George, Jane, Kerryn, Peter, Jill, Christine, Sarah, Karen, Fiona, Michelle and others, thank you for what you do. To all the volunteers who support us—and I'd particularly like to do a call out to Freda, Sam and Trinity in the House today—thank you for coming in here and helping in our office. And to the many people who work in Parliament House, to Ron and all your staff, the pass office, the guides in visitors' services, guards, attendants, cleaners, especially to people at 2020, those on reception, the mail room, the transport and COMCAR drivers as well as to all the secretariats who service us on the committees—herding cats, I think, is the adjective we use—thank you.

I'd particularly like to say thank you very much to the people in Parliament House who turn up day after day after day with such good cheer and who make our lives just so easy. So, on behalf of us all, thank you. I am looking forward to returning in February and continuing the work that we do on behalf of the nation but we couldn't do it without you, so thank you very much and happy Christmas.