House debates

Thursday, 1 December 2016

Statements by Members

Canberra Electorate

1:44 pm

Photo of Gai BrodtmannGai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | | Hansard source

On this last day of parliament I want to take this opportunity to thank the many people who have helped me be standing here today. There are many in my team, there are many across Canberra, there are many volunteers. I cannot acknowledge all of them, but there are a number that I do need to acknowledge today. First up, I want to thank my fantastic team. Madeleine Firth, who is no longer with us as she is over in Scotland at the moment, worked with me for three years and was an exceptional media adviser and an exceptional chief of staff. Madeleine, we hope you stay warm over the Christmas break. To Alicia Turner, who has been with me for two years, thank you so much for the work you do. To Victoria Robertson, my new chief of staff, it is great having you on board. To Steph Brimson, thanks so much for managing the diary this year. Thank you to Cameron Amos for working on my media, and to Eric Mandl, who has just recently joined us. Most importantly, thank you to the volunteers—to Helen, to Jack, to Annalyse, to Martin, to Despina, to Benjamin, to Jasmine, to Jack, to Llois, to Mitchell, to Aimee, to Jen—to Karl Maftoum, whose campaign I worked on and who worked very tirelessly on my campaign, and to Dave Smith, who was our second Senate candidate. It was great working with him. Thank you to all the other volunteers who doorknocked, who letterboxed, who worked with me on mobile offices and who came to my community forums. Most importantly, I want to thank the people of Canberra for electing me to serve you for the next three years, and I wish you all the best for a safe and happy Christmas with your families. I will be looking forward to advocating for you in 2017.