Hansard

Statements

Complimentary remarks

Statement

The President: Members, as is tradition in this place, our members' statements for our last day of sitting before the summer recess are reserved for complimentary remarks from leaders of the parties, and others who may desire. Therefore, I will first of all give the call to the Leader of the House.

Hon Stephen Dawson (Leader of the House) (5:31 pm): Thank you, President, and thank you for your guidance for when we have to make complimentary remarks. It has been an interesting few weeks, and we are all very tired, so that guidance is probably very important this afternoon.

President, can I thank you for the way you have conducted yourself in your role as President this year and the team that you have around you, including Rebecca Condo, who provides assistance to a number of us in a range of ways.

Can I acknowledge everybody around the house. It is hard to imagine. Although we have sat for 16 weeks plus one for estimates, it has actually been a full-on year because, of course, we started the year with our own election, so most of us have been on the road since January. Of course, then you get elected, you get straight into it and straight onto business. It has been a big, big year, so I want to congratulate each and every one of you for making it this far. Of course, while we all have not agreed on everything—sometimes on most things—we have been elected by our electorates in here, and so it certainly is our role to make our views known.

Can I thank the parliamentary staff across the precinct. We are well looked after in our roles. I will acknowledge the usually unflappable Sam Hastings, the Clerk. I think probably at 2:00 this morning he was still unflappable. I certainly acknowledge him for his sound advice, but also the advice that he provides to all of us because he gives it without fear or favour, and of course we all can and do approach Sam and his team. So, Sam, thank you. Thank you to you and your team. You are ably supported by the Deputy Clerk; by our clerk assistants, Daniel and Grant; by the Usher of the Black Rod, Lauren Wells; and I should acknowledge the Deputy Usher of the Black Rod, Hayley Brown; and Brian and Yasmine as well, who look after us. Of course, I acknowledge the team in the chamber, too. To Thabiya, Renae, Lauren, Sophia and Emily—did I miss anyone; I had said Thabiya first, thank you—thank you to you all. Our heads are often in the business of the day, but you are there just to assist us, whether it is to get us glasses of water, make sure we have tabled papers or whatever. I want to thank you for making our lives a lot easier in here. To Lauren and Sophia—oh, and Tina, too—for their patience in terms of the documents that they have to help us with. The Legislative Council team I think does go above and beyond to ensure that this house runs as smoothly as it does, so thank you all.

To the honourable Leader of the Opposition—thank you. We are probably diametrically opposed in terms of our policy positions on many, many areas, but it has been a great pleasure to work with you this year. I have really enjoyed it. I think we have an excellent working relationship. I appreciate the way that you approach the business of the house. I appreciate our conversations, and of course, as I said, while we do not always agree on the policy detail, we certainly share a commitment to getting the business done in this place in the best way possible for everyone. So thank you, Nick, for your contribution.

I acknowledge the opposition Whip. There are not always as many pairs as we would like! Although, there were plenty flowing last night. But can I thank you for your assistance, too, honourable member, because the Whip's role is a challenging role, whether it is in government or opposition. So thank you, and I acknowledge the Greens Whip as well.

Can I also acknowledge and thank the Liberal and National Parties. Thank you for your participation and collaboration this year. I acknowledge Hon Dr Brad Pettitt and the Greens' MLCs, too. Thank you. To the crossbench, I acknowledge you all as well and thank you and wish you a happy Christmas. It is not always easy as a crossbench to assist and to be patient, but you certainly have carried out the work that you do to represent your constituencies, and I acknowledge that professionalism that you show in your job. A number of members—in fact, most—have joined us this year. It is a steep learning curve to come into this place with its, at times, archaic rules and conventions, but I congratulate all of you for making it this far and for contributing in the way you have this year.

I acknowledge the team behind me and thank them for another year of great work. As I said, a number of people have new jobs. The Leader of the Opposition has a new job and I have a new job this year, too. I thank my team for making my life easier, at times—all the time! Being a government MP is not the easiest of jobs because, for the most part, aside from interjections, they cannot speak on legislation. They have to sit there, do what they are told and do what the boss says. I come from the school of Hon Sue Ellery, so I can do the death stare just as well as she can. Thank you for what you have done and for contributing when you have needed to contribute. Thank you, members, for responding to the death stare on a Thursday when I gave it to you and you have not made a member's statement because we have been tired. You are a brilliant group of people and a great bunch to lead.

I acknowledge and thank Hon Jackie Jarvis, my deputy. Thank you, Jackie, for the role that you play. I get to be good cop more often now and Jackie gets to be bad cop, which is great for me and my kudos. Thank you, Jackie, for also taking up Wednesday in the chamber, which I think is the hardest day when in government having to listen to some of the things that are said during motions or committee reports.

Hon Matthew Swinbourn, our newest minister, has had a great first year. Congratulations. We have already heard people speak about him as a hardworking minister. He has carried some significant legislation this year, so well done and congratulations.

To the parliamentary secretaries who support their ministers in this house, I have to say that this year they have worked harder than in previous governments.

A government member interjected.

Hon Stephen Dawson: I am not saying that the honourable member did not work harder as a parliamentary secretary—I remember that. Certainly in this government they have worked incredibly hard. They have taken on responsibilities like never before. They have had the chance to lead legislation and answer multiple questions. Thank you for what you do. I particularly acknowledge Hon Dan Caddy, who always makes an effort to be here. Thank you for being here this afternoon for my speech.

To Hon Lauren Cayoun, our Whip, who has done an amazing job, again in her first year as government Whip and as a member of this place. Hon Neil Thomson would know that wrangling caucus members is not always the easiest job, and wrangling Labor caucus members can be a challenging task. Certainly with a steadfast and also communicative Whip, I think Lauren has done a great job this year and you, too, make my job and life easier as leader.

For the last few years we have had an annual Legislative Council Labor caucus Christmas bake-off. I want to put on the record that the winning dish was made by Hon Klara Andric, who made a lovely csirke paprikas, I think it was called. The competition was fierce this year, with some amazing dishes being presented, particularly from our new members. Hon Dr Parwinder Kaur baked a delicious sugar-free orange cake and Hon Andrew O'Donnell baked some lovely cinnamon scrolls. He is a man of many talents.

Finally, I also acknowledge the team in my office, both Bek in my ministerial office and my ministerial advisers at document Dumas House and the team I have here—Russell, Sophie and Linda. They are great for me. I know that many members have to interact with them on different levels and I hope you find them as helpful as I do. I am certainly incredibly proud of the role that they play. They have done a fantastic job. They are all new to the roles that they have this year, but I am pleased with what they do.

I also acknowledge Alaa and Doug, who work respectively for Minister Jarvis and Minister Swinbourn. They help those ministers and also work with my team to chase ministerial officers to get the answers to parliamentary questions. Honourable members would be surprised. I know that, from time to time, some people raise their eyes about the answers that are provided, but rest assured we have teams always engaged with ministerial officers to ensure that we get the best answer that we can get.

We have successfully reached the end of the first year of our term. It has been a big, big year. I thank all those who have taken on new roles, including new members. I want to acknowledge the Deputy Chairs and the Deputy President. Again, it is a new role for the Deputy President and new roles for the Deputy Chairs who assist. I think they have all done incredibly well in those roles. Hon Dr Brian Walker was here before, but I think the rest are all new. Hon Sandra Carr was here, too! Thank you, Sandra; you have done a great job as well. I have acknowledged that personally in the last few days. You have all done a great job. It is a hard job because we are bossy, pushy people from time to time. We raise our voice from time to time. You have to sit there and be unflappable, and you have been, so congratulations. Thank you for keeping us on track when you have.

Finally, I wish everybody a very festive Christmas season. I hope you get to spend time with your families. That is one thing that we do not always get time to do in this job, so please make sure you enjoy yourselves over the next few weeks. Be merry, but do not go overboard—we do not want to read about it in the newspaper! I hope you get a great holiday. Thank you, keep safe and I look forward to seeing you all in the new year.

Members: Hear, hear!

Hon Nick Goiran (Leader of the Opposition) (5:41 pm): It is 11 December and I stand with mixed emotions at this time. On the one hand, President, you know that in this 42nd Parliament, the opposition has been very clear: we are prepared to be here any day and at any time. Equally, President, the truth is that I think it is time to call it a day for 2025. Like so many others, I suspect, I am very much looking forward to a break.

I associate myself very much with the complimentary remarks made by the Leader of the House and will avoid any unnecessary repetition at this time by duplicating a round of thankyous. However, there are some who absolutely must be recognised. I begin with you, President, and thank you for your stewardship of the chamber in this 42nd Parliament, consistent with the last Parliament. Thank you for the way in which you have preserved this institution, which is fundamentally the most important role of the President. I know that you know that, President. On behalf of the opposition, we thank you for that role. Also to the Deputy President and each of the Deputy Chairs, in a similar way, on behalf of the opposition, we thank you for your very important contribution to our modern democracy.

Equally, President, on behalf of the opposition, I thank the Clerk and the entire parliamentary staff both inside and outside the chamber and, indeed, even those outside the building, all of whom contribute to what a magnificent place this is and what a privilege it is to work here. We thank each and every one of those staff members for their diligence, conscientiousness and general demeanour. They make it a pleasure to be here.

I also want to thank the Leader of the House. I thank you for the remarks that you made earlier. Again, I associate myself entirely with them. Evidently, we are not going to agree on policy matters from time to time. Equally, on occasion, we do. But, most importantly, as with the role of the President, this institution fundamentally must be of paramount interest to all of us. It does none of us any service, least of all the people of Western Australia, if the reputation of this house is diminished. Members know that I feel strongly about that. It has equally been my pleasure to work alongside the Leader of the House to make sure that at least there is some good order in the way in which the business of this house is undertaken. In the same way, I thank each and every one of your colleagues on the front bench and on the back bench for the contributions they have made and wish each and every one of you a happy Christmas.

I also take this opportunity to recognise our friends from the crossbench. With the exception of Hon Dr Brad Pettitt—I recognise Hon Tim Clifford has been here before—I wonder whether there is a deep appreciation for how difficult it was in the last Parliament. The 41st Parliament was incredibly difficult if you were not a government member. I want to acknowledge that there will have been times of exasperation for members of the crossbench in 2025. Rest assured that any exasperation that they experienced was light in comparison to what Hon Dr Brad Pettitt and Hon Dr Brian Walker and I, and others, experienced in the last Parliament.

I say most sincerely that it was a joy to see the crossbench arrive in Parliament and restore some balance in this place. People ask, "How is it going in this 42nd Parliament?" I say repeatedly, "Look, obviously you don't want to be in opposition. We want to be on the government benches." That goes without saying, but for the time while we are here on the opposition benches it is tremendous that there is no political party that has the numbers in the Legislative Council. That forces people to work. It forces people to discuss, to collaborate, to try to persuade one another. Sometimes that can be exasperating. I know that has been the case for some members this week as it was for other members in other weeks this year. But it is working, so I thank the crossbench, no matter which political party they are from, because without them it would not be the case. I sincerely say that our parliamentary democracy is better for their existence. I thank them for that and wish everyone, on behalf of the opposition, a happy Christmas and a restful period into the new year.

Last but not least, of course I want to thank my alliance colleagues. I begin with Hon Julie Freeman. Her colleague Hon Rob Horstman is most genuinely away on what we refer to as urgent parliamentary business and we wish him well. It has been a pleasure to work with both Hon Julie Freeman and her colleague. We talk about an alliance; there is all this talk about coalitions and so forth, but thank you for making it incredibly easy for us, for working collaboratively with us. It has not gone unnoticed and we very much appreciate it.

To the rest of my Liberal team, it is an honour to be the leader of this team. This is a team I know I can rely on every single day to be prepared, no matter the item of business. Thank you, colleagues, for doing that since your arrival in May and, for those on the front bench, for a much longer period of time. I very much appreciate it. I wish each and every one of you a happy Christmas. Enjoy it with your family. Make the most of it, and I am looking forward to working with you to do our part for the people of Western Australia to hold the government to account, as we must, for the benefit of everyone in this state.

Hon Dr Brad Pettitt (5:48 pm): I rise on behalf of the Greens. I want to make some similar remarks to my colleagues. I start with the clerks' office, both Sam Hastings and Paul Grant, and the whole team. Three out of the four of us are new, and I feel like I come to you very regularly with questions! I say a huge thank you for being so helpful, approachable and professional all of the time. It is greatly appreciated. I say to you, President, I know that all of us here greatly appreciate that you are so approachable and fair. We greatly appreciate the way you have guided us through the year and as we have gone forward because it is a steep learning curve in the first little while. It has been much Hon Stephen Dawson, the Leader of the House, his team and all of you—going on from what Hon Nick Goiran said, I am enjoying the 42nd Parliament far more than the 41st. It is much more stimulating and energising and I certainly think the balance of power dynamic is where we can see this place do its job. I am enjoying finding out how that works. I will say that I am really looking forward to not just the year ahead but the whole term ahead and how we can work as collaboratively as possible with Hon Stephen Dawson and his team going forward.

I can say it has been really refreshing working with Hon Nick Goiran. Again, it was not a relationship we could negotiate before because there was no balance of power to talk about really. Our refreshingly frank and straightforward conversations and negotiations have been greatly appreciated. I thank him and the whole alliance. This sort of flows onto the comments I want to make about the backbench.

I can honestly say that there is often a reputation in the public that everyone just yells at each other and does not get along. Despite the diverse political views out there, I think we are collegiate and friendly and find points on which we can agree. The crossbench especially is extremely diverse—in a good way. There is that sense that we can actually work together in surprising ways. I think that is really important and it is a sign of a healthy democracy in Parliament when we can do that. I thank them for their part in that.

My biggest thanks personally go to these three people: Sophie, Tim and Jess. There was a joke at the last election about getting Brad some friends, and I have the best friends possible here in this place. I hope you can all agree. I am biased but I think they have done an amazing job. More personally, they have just been really good people to work with, so thank you. I hope members do not mind. I thought it might be nice to thank them. Just indulge me quickly; I will not spend very long on this. We have a real sense of being a team. I think one of them said that in their second reading contribution. Most of them were up at three o'clock this morning, which I found unusual. I was saying, "Go to bed!'

I just want to give a quick shout-out to our team in our electorate offices: Tim, Hannah, Eve, Aliza and our fabulous volunteers Trish, Jarrod, Sienna, Tilda, Georgia, Nelson, Gabby, Mark, Mads and Joanna. All of them go above and beyond and I think they deserve a special shout-out here today. Thank you to all of you. I want to follow on from those remarks. I am going to try to turn my email off for a month. We will see how we go. Have a great break. Enjoy your family and come back rested. I am looking forward to working with you in 2026.

Hon Maryka Groenewald (5:52 pm): I will just re-echo the words shared by Hon Stephen Dawson, Hon Nick Goiran and Hon Dr Brad Pettitt. It has been an incredible learning curve over the last eight months. I think all of us are definitely ready for a break. As I said to people, I am going to buy a Nokia and that is what I am going to be using over the month so that I do not have to look at a smartphone. Look, I just want to really thank Sam and the Parliament staff. I mean, it is such a joy for me to walk into this place every day from greeting the police officers outside to greeting reception staff and just getting to know people. From here to 2PP—everybody makes this place work. I want to thank Rob Hunter. He does a tremendous job at keeping everybody moving and connecting the dots. This place really relies on a level of communication and efficiency. It has been so great to be able to work with people across the board.

Of course, it is a challenge as a single party to keep things moving, but as every member has said earlier, I really want to thank the small team that I have too. I want to honour them for their commitment over the last eight months. I am just really proud of the work that we have been able to do in such a short period of time as well. To every one of the members in this place: again, we might not agree on everything but I can wholeheartedly say that every conversation I have had with every single one of you has always been so encouraging. There is always something that we have in common. Whether it is food, a policy issue or something else, I know there is always commonality. I really look forward to taking that into next year as well. I think there is real benefit in building those relationships with each other.

If I can, it would be remiss of me, of course, not to remind members that Christmas is a special season. As Hon Stephen Dawson said, it is time to not only take stock but just spend time with family and friends and for me, of course, to be able to say to you all that I hope you have an absolutely blessed time with your family. Maybe you will find yourself wanting to do Christmas morning. Go to a church service and see what it is all about. I am just praying for a really great Christmas period and protection. I hope you guys come back refreshed for next year. Thank you, President.

Hon Rod Caddies (5:54 pm): I want to start by thanking you, President. I have spoken to other people who felt very welcomed from the day we got here. I am trying to think of the way to put it, but there was a really warm feeling when we arrived. There was no division between parties or anything like that. The President was so welcoming. She told me to spend a lot of time in the chamber. I have tried to do that, and it has been great. I have watched people with a lot of experience, like Hon Nick Goiran and other members, and also those on the other side, like the ministers. I have watched the Committee of the Whole House and the way that operates. It has been a really good experience. I did not know what to expect. Even as a staffer from previous times, I was not in here and experiencing what it is like on the floor. I thank members with experience from both sides who have given me advice. They were not just people who align with my politics; everyone has been very positive in helping me in this house. As has been mentioned, it is great having the diversity. I love the passion in the Greens WA. It is good to have differences of opinion, and I respect that, whether it is the Greens or the Animal Justice Party Australia. Things have surprised me. I have to honestly say that I had a bit of a vision about the Animal Justice Party, but Hon Amanda Dorn has proved me wrong on that. She is very open, and it has been great to watch her contributions and hear her passion for animals.

I did not write anything down because I was not sure whether I was going to speak tonight. There is the whole crossbench, with Hon Dr Brian Walker sitting beside me. I ask him things on numerous occasions. It has been good. He helps me out with bits and pieces. My honourable colleague Hon Philip Scott has been contributing by my side as he would be. It has been great having him here. I think it probably is a bit lonely on your own, being a single member. I feel for the guys who are by themselves. It is good to have one person at least! I am sure people in the big parties—the major parties—understand that having people around to support them is probably a good thing.

I do not know whether I thanked Sam, Paul and the team at the beginning. It is the same for me; I have had to approach Sam on many occasions, some good and some not so good. It has been a real help. The staff here are just awesome. It is like no other workplace. It is really great to be here. I have the same feeling here that I had when I was in the early days in child protection. I was excited to be there, and I get excited to get here every day. Thank you.

Hon Amanda Dorn (5:58 pm): I would like to start by thanking you, President, for making everything feel warm and welcoming. I mirror exactly what Hon Rod Caddies said. I thank the honourable member for his generous remarks. I thank the President very much for making me feel comfortable. The top-down approach that Sam has with him and his staff is fantastic. It is just so welcoming and positive. The team has created a positive environment; they are really terrific to deal with. We have really leaned into Deputy Clerk Paul. He has been fantastic with helping me in my office. So have the Greens and Hon Dr Brian Walker's office, because they can celebrate that additional 0.5 FTE for staff members, which I will just mention, and my office has leaned into them. I am really grateful for what Hon Dr Brian Walker's office has given my office. It was great to meet everybody on the crossbench and in the chamber and to find common ground. Everything that I wanted to illustrate in my speech, which is trying to find that commonality and common ground, really came true over the last few months. I want to thank members for that, and I wish members a merry Christmas. Ultimately, my favourite thing about Parliament has to be the electric shoe shine in the female washroom. I wear a different pair of shoes every day so I can clean my shoes. The shoe polish has dried out and needs to be replaced, but I look forward to using that again next year.

Hon Julie Freeman (6:00 pm): I really do not have a great deal more to add because it is all been said so well by the people who have gone before me. I wholeheartedly echo the great words of the Hon Stephen Dawson, Hon Nick Goiran, Hon Amanda Dorn and the honourable—I am sorry; there are too many names. I will collect myself. I know 100% that a 3:00 am finish is never good preparation for something like this. I want to make sure that I thank the staff. The parliamentary staff across the precinct have been amazing, but most particularly the staff here in the Legislative Council, especially Sam. You have been a very wise counsel to me a couple of times and I deeply appreciate that. The Leader of the House, Hon Stephen Dawson, has been incredibly generous and very professional and I have very much appreciated working with him this year so thank you very much. To the Leader of the Opposition, Hon Nick Goiran, your guidance and leadership of the opposition alliance has been such a great grounding and a good foundation for Rob and myself. I sincerely appreciate all of your guidance this year. It will only make us better as we go forward. To the members of the crossbench, what an amazing journey of discovery this has been for me, meeting people who I might not have ordinarily come across and learning about the lens through which you see the world. That, in turn, will inevitably influence the lens that I see my world through. Members of the government, thank you very much again for your professionalism and your generosity and for sharing your worldview, because what we discover is that we actually all have more in common than we have in differences, and that is what helps us all to move forward. Finally, President, thank you so much for your calm approach and for your wisdom. When spirits are high, tempers are frayed and everyone was a little bit tired, we needed that calm influence and wisdom to bring us all back down and remind us of why we are here and what we are doing. I very much appreciate that.

I would like to wish everyone peace and hope and a very merry Christmas. I was trying to think how I might do that. One of my portfolios is creative industries and members all know that I was a an early childhood teacher for quite some time. So, President, with your indulgence, I hope you will forgive me for singing:

Dashing past the press

Coffee fuels me on

Speeches that impress

Speeches that go long

Racking up the clicks

All over this great state

You know that you're working hard

When you can't recall the date

Oh, Division Bells, Division Bells

Jingle all the way

Rushing down the marble steps

Several times a day—Hey

Division Bells, Division Bells

Jingle night and day

Oh what fun it is to be

The Members for WA

[Applause.]

The President: I am fairly sure this chamber has seen nothing like that.

Hon Dr Brian Walker: "As you command"!

The President: Order, members! Hon Dr Brian Walker.

Hon Dr Brian Walker (6:04 pm): Members, I am going to do this a little bit differently, as I am the person speaking last in the chamber. As my colleague Hon Julie Freeman said, everything has been said, and rightly so too. Let me first of all thank all of my new friends in this chamber. It is a pleasure to meet you all, with your different views, different approaches and different voices. Each one of you is valuable and each one of you is loved. Thank you.

To the old friends whom I met in my last term of Parliament—I said goodbye to some good friends earlier this year—I welcomed those old friends, and they are dear friends and people respect immensely. It was alleged earlier that we have differences of opinion. Yes, we do, but the thing is that we can look at this with genuine love for each other and we can look for understanding, and I think that is mostly what we do. I am very happy to be part of a group of friends who are able to exchange their views in such a manner. It serves the people of this state, and I welcome each and every one of you into my personal family.

I turn now to the opposition. We on the crossbench are a voice of the people who are not in the two-party preferred system, so we represent the varied voices of our state, and we put, if you like, the leavening into the bread. The function of the opposition here is not actually to oppose, but to enhance the legislation with new thoughts, as indeed is our job. I have very much liked every single connection we have had with each other.

I go on to the Leader of the Opposition, Hon Nick Goiran, a man whom I immensely admire and would hate to be facing if he were standing in front of me in court. I think that the way he interrogates is a fearsome thing to behold. I admire very much how my colleagues from the front bench are able to withstand that in the Committee of the Whole. I thank them for that. Well done to all of you.

I move now to my friends in the Labor Party. What a wonderful job you have all done. I admire the way you stand together, help each other and smile, even when things are going bit rough—like last night, for example. I think that this is all due to the wonderful nature of who you actually all are and the way you stand together, and I admire the unity that you show with each other. It comes down to the leadership of the Leader of the House. I must say thank you so much for being a person whom I can work with. I thoroughly enjoy the connections we have, even if you have scolded me on a number of occasions—quite properly so, too. I value that so very much, and the team that you are leading, and I count my blessings for actually knowing you.

All of this depends on the leadership of this chamber. Here I look towards the President. I will give some personal greetings from my wife. When she came across this charming lady, she did not know who you were. I told her, "She is the President", and she is just in love with you. She thinks you are a fantastic person. This is true; I think all of us can say that. Again, even if you scold me—you have done many times, and rightly so, too—it is always with respect and deep understanding and knowledge of the beauty of this chamber and how we serve the people of our state. I thank you for upholding the traditions, keeping us in line, by all means, but upholding what it means to be a parliamentarian.

With that, we come to Sam Hastings. Actually, I cannot claim him as a good friend, but you are my good friend because of all the advice you have given me. It is so much appreciated. I also thank your team, Paul and all who work with you. You are deeply admired and appreciated, and we can all stand to that. With that, I thank all the chamber staff we have here. Each one of you has helped us in so many ways, and without you, we would be very much in a worse position. That leads me, as I am going, on to Rob Hunter. He was mentioned here. He is going to be giving us a tour of Parliament soon, I hope. Who wants to join us? We will have a party going around! I go on to the garden staff, the police out there, the catering staff—man, are they just a fantastic bunch of people. Are we not so well served? Can we not also just give a massive thankyou to all who are doing what they can, unobtrusively. Do members notice how unobtrusive and how beautiful and perfect it is? We are blessed to be allowed to work here, and I think we all appreciate this. I am going to say a massive thankyou to all who serve the people of Western Australia in this fantastic institution.

With that being said, I wish each and every one of you a wonderful Christmas. May your coming year be blessed with all that is good. May your families blossom, may your lives be enhanced, and may we all stand in service of each other and of the people of our great state.

Members: Hear, hear!

Hon Anthony Spagnolo (6:09 pm): I stand to make some brief remarks as not just an opposition member but also a parent of two young children. I want to reflect on that in some closing remarks. As we wrap up 2025, I found myself appreciating one of Parliament's lesser known blessings, which is the parliamentary pair. I am extremely grateful for the one that I received last night while many colleagues were here until 3:00 am. My colleagues can attest that I was watching from home. They were here doing important work. I was able to slip out after dinner yesterday. I say this not to rub it in but to express some gratitude. I want to thank the government and the opposition Whips for allowing me to do that. As I was away on urgent parliamentary business, I feel compelled to report back on said business. I can assure you, President, nothing keeps you humble quite like walking through the front door at a reasonable hour to be greeted by a four-year-old, hands on hips, saying, "Well, where have you been?" My daughter Gloria immediately set about enforcing her usual bedtime routine, which consists of a long post-dinner shower, debating which set of pyjamas met her standards on that particular night, brushing her teeth and finally selecting four non-negotiable stories read in specific voices, with characters swapped out for specific family members. If I got that wrong, there were corrections issued mid-paragraph! As I was lying there putting her to sleep, I realised two things. The first is that I was very lucky to have a pair. The second is that it would probably be the first time all year that someone has followed my contributions with such careful attention. This humbles you. This being my first year in the WA Legislative Council, I found the contrast between parliamentary life and home life to be one of those things that does keep me grounded. Family anchors you, as does the work itself.

Like others who have spoken tonight, I want to thank the many people who make this place function. I thank the chamber staff; our Hansard people, who deal with our late-night syntax; and, of course, staff right across the Parliament. They have been absolutely brilliant in keeping this place running. I also want to acknowledge our colleagues across the chamber. As has been mentioned, we often disagree, sometimes loudly—sorry, I am Italian! But we can all feel the commitment that we all bring to making Western Australia a better place for future generations, including our children. It has been a genuine privilege to be here and learn this role with you over the last seven or so months. In closing, I know this is perhaps a little bit unusual—I will not sing, I promise—but I want to conclude my remarks by reading the final page of the book that I read to my daughter last night as I put her to sleep. I think it is very fitting as we round out the year. This book is called Angelina on Ice Skates. Members may be familiar with the Angelina Ballerina books. This is the current flavour of the month in my household. It is a story by Katharine Holabird with illustrations by Helen Craig. It concludes like this:

At the end of the performance, as the magic hour of midnight approached and fireworks sparkled in the sky, Angelina and her friends wished everyone joy and peace, and they all sang and danced together to welcome in the new year.

After a year of long debates, late nights and spirited disagreement, it is oddly reassuring to remember that even in a children's story, the big finale is not all about the performance or winning everything. It is about showing up together, offering each other a bit of joy and peace, and stepping into a new year with a sense of possibility. If we can manage even a fraction of that in 2026, I think we will all be better for it.

The President (Hon Alanna Clohesy) (6:13 pm): I am going to undertake one of the more pleasant tasks in the role of President and wrap up proceedings today. Thank you everyone for your contribution. To the leaders, particularly, thank you for your commitment to the important role that this chamber plays and for your ongoing commitment to the Legislative Council. It is clear and it makes a difference. Thank you. Thank you to our Deputy President, Hon Steve Martin. I have appreciated your support and your dedication throughout the very short six months that we have been working together. To the Deputy Chairs—you rock! You absolutely do. To think that that most of you are new to the chamber, much less to Parliament, and then to back it up and sit here—and sometimes stand—to perform those roles is truly amazing.

To the returning Deputy Chairs, I thoroughly appreciate the work that you have been doing, going from strength to strength, in bringing our chamber together to operate in the way that it should.

Our 42nd Parliament started with a bang. It really has taken off, and the volume of work that has been undertaken in nearly seven months has been huge. We started out with the biggest intake ever of new members in the Legislative Council—18 new members. Members, you quickly found your feet. You did that with the support and assistance provided through the great induction program. But, let us face it; you did it by yourselves. Congratulations.

To the returning members, you wasted no time in regaining your feet, I suppose, to continue to contribute to the work of this place for the people of Western Australia. Thank you.

As we have all noted tonight but also throughout the last few months, our work here is not possible without the support and professionalism of those around us. Much of our work is done in not only the chamber but also the committee system. The committee system has been steady and consistent and, for some committees, very busy. I would suggest it has been one of the busiest starts to a new Parliament. As you all know from your experiences, our committee staff continue to provide the high-level research, support and advice that shapes the important work of our committee system. On behalf of all members, I thank our committee staff sincerely for their commitment and work.

Thank you also to every person in our Parliamentary Services team. As some of you have mentioned, these are often the unsung heroes of the Parliament and are critical to the functioning of Parliament. I am going to look at my list now because I am going to get it wrong if I do not read it out! I would like to thank Building Services, Catering Services, Finance, Human Resources, IT, Security and the Protective Service officers, Reception Services, Hansard, Library and Information Services, the Parliamentary Education Office and—I was going to get to broadcasting—Broadcasting.

Our scrutiny of legislation role has been undertaken with much diligence since we were all sworn in. As with other aspects of our working life, that would not have been possible without the high-level support of our chamber and procedural teams. I know that our Clerk, Mr Sam Hastings, values highly each and every one of the Legislative Council Department team, and that shows in the way that they go about their work, working together seamlessly, quietly, efficiently and incredibly professionally. I think all of us would agree that our Clerk goes well and truly above and beyond for each and every one of us to support the work that we do in this place. Suffice to say, thanks for everything, Sam.

The other part of the picture, of course, is my own small but mighty Presiding Officer's team, Bec and Steve. To them, thank you.

Members, I said to you when I was elected by you as your President that it is an honour and a privilege to serve, and it remains so every single day. Thank you. I hope you get some time to relax and refresh with your loved ones, because I have a feeling that next year is going to be busier than ever. Enjoy the summer recess, members. Merry Christmas and happy new year. And with that, the house is adjourned.

House adjourned at 6:19:30 pm

Questions on notice answered today are available on the Parliament of Western Australia's website