Legislative Council, Thursday 11 December 2025
Ms FORREST (Murchison) – Mr President, I echo the sentiments from the Leader regarding staff and support. I want to make a couple of particular thank yous, but I do want to start with the Clerks.
The Clerks are the fortress of knowledge in all matters procedural and every other possible thing we could throw at them. This year has been a particularly challenging year. We’ve offered up all manner of challenge. I personally want to thank the Clerks for working through the matter to do with the order for the stadium. That was a unique process, and it took a lot of effort and work. I commend them for working so hard on that at pretty short notice in many respects. I think we sometimes may overlook, because they are invisible in the Chamber, the work they actually do. It’s quite a remarkable resource that we have, that are always there, always willing to assist us and provide that frank and fearless advice, no matter how annoying we may be.
They’ve also had to work really hard on the workplace culture improvements that fell out of the workplace culture review. They’ve basically done that by and large, a lot of it off the side of their desks. There are a few more resources in place now, but that is a massive piece. I want to acknowledge that and thank them for that. I know there’s still things to do and work to be done, but they have made enormous inroads into that area, and I thank them for that. On behalf of all of us, I thank the staff and the members, because it’s incredibly important work. The improvement in governance they’ve been working on, which is also critical for their running and operation of this place, is not seen. It’s these things that happen in the background. I acknowledge and thank them for that.
My particular role here really is to thank our amazingly hardworking and incredible committee staff. They have had an enormous workload on, and whilst they say they’re not sure how I keep my head around all the different things I’m involved in, I don’t know how Allison Scott manages to turn up to the right meeting with the right papers at the right time, because she supports all our committees. All power to Ali; she does an amazing job to keep up.
Then, I will go next to Simon Scott, our Public Accounts Committee secretary who backs up other committees. I don’t think PAC’s ever been as busy as we are now, and he’s been a power of strength and just gets on and does so much work to support us. I thank and acknowledge him for that work.
Then we have Jenny Mannering, James Reynolds and Julie Thompson who all provide a remarkable and dedicated service to our committees. They’re all very rigorous in their work. You can’t fault them. They’re just incredible, and I thank them for their work. They will probably be glad to see the back of us for a while too, I might suggest. I’m sure they’re looking forward to a break.
I do know the Leader mentioned and thanked those who support us in the Chamber. Their support is valuable and really important, and it just happens – there’s a risk of taking it for granted. Those thanks are acknowledged.
I also want to particularly mention Hansard. Hansard has worked extraordinarily hard in this last six months since we returned after the election. They’ve had back-to-back-to-back-to-back weeks. They’ve had an enormous amount of work, and the speed in which they’ve got transcripts out is just phenomenal. We have prioritised some of those, and that’s been working with them to do it, but it’s been an extraordinary workload they’ve had. I thank them for their dedication and their hard work in getting the Hansard to us as quickly as they can, because we rely on that. I really thank them.
And the men behind the screens and behind the cameras, who often appear in the committee room to sort out our problems in the committee rooms and with our computers. They stay late, too. If we’re sitting, they’re here – or some of them are here. We don’t see them, but we know they’re there. We rely on the broadcast and other members of our community rely on that. I want to acknowledge that. I know we’re not easy to deal with sometimes, because we’re not always that IT literate in some of the challenges that we could be having, speaking for myself included, you just forget some little things. I thank them for that.
Having said that, the other people, and I know that I speak for all of us I’m sure, our electorate officers who have not seen some of us for six weeks; it’s a little bit easier for the ones in Hobart, they can come in and see your members here. I did catch up with my EO for about half an hour when they had their get together down here what seems like months ago, but it’s only a couple of weeks ago now and that was that; for six weeks, that’s the only time I’ve seen her. I thank Yvonne for holding the fort together and I’m sure that every other member has had a very similar experience. Their EOs are their working away dealing with all the really challenging matters, the sometimes not pleasant matters that are coming into our office, bearing the brunt of some of the disquiet in the community about some of the things we’ve been dealing with, and they do it smiling. I sincerely acknowledge all of them and thank them, because it’s incredibly difficult to be working on your own for so many hours and so long.
I look forward to spending some time in my electorate office over the next couple of weeks before Yvonne and I have a break away from the office, away from parliament as such.
Having said that, I thank all my colleagues here and wish you all a safe and happy break, time with family, friends, and doing whatever you love. It has been a tiring and challenging year. I hope we can all come back rested and still smiling.