John Hogg (President) Share this | Hansard source

I take this opportunity on the last sitting day for 2013, at the conclusion of what has been a very busy parliamentary year, both for us parliamentarians and for the many staff of the parliamentary departments, to acknowledge and express my personal gratitude to the following. Firstly, I thank the Clerk of the Senate, Rosemary Laing. Not only is she a staunch defender of the traditions and dignity of this place but she has been the source of wise counsel throughout the year, for which I am most grateful. I thank the Deputy Clerk, Richard Pye, and all the senior officers of the Department of the Senate for their outstanding professionalism and commitment to this very important institution in our democracy.

I thank all senators, and I would like to make special note of the Deputy President and Chair of Committees, Senator Stephen Parry. I wish to once again acknowledge the excellent working relationship that we have established since July 2011. I know that has been something that has worked very much to the betterment of this parliament and to the benefit of all senators in this place. I also thank the temporary chairs of committees, who do a very wonderful job in relieving both me and the Deputy President in the onerous job of looking after the chairing of this chamber when neither I nor the Deputy President are available. I also wish to thank the former Usher of the Black Rod, Brien Hallett, as well as to take this opportunity to put on the record my welcome and gratitude to the current Usher of the Black Rod, Bronwyn Notzon. I wish to thank the Director of Senate Services, John Baczynski; Assistant Director, Glenn Krause; and the staff of the Black Rod's Office.

I wish to acknowledge the staff of the Clerk's Office, the Table Office, the Procedure Office and the Committee Office and thank them for their hard work, dedication, patience and forbearance. I thank the chamber support staff, and in particular John Brown and the chamber attendants and the mail attendants, led by Stephen Schmidt.

As I do every year, I make a special mention of, and I thank, Ian and Peter at the transport office, who continue to look after our transport needs so efficiently. And I extend my thanks to the Comcar drivers and telephone booking operators, who are always helpful, efficient and pleasant in making our lives workable.

I thank the Secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services, Carol Mills, and her staff, most of whom work in the background providing the essential services that enable the parliament to function. In particular, I thank the grounds staff and gardeners as well as those who maintain the building for continuing to make Parliament House such a showpiece for the nation.

Those who work in the Parliamentary Security Services as well as the AFP officers who patrol the external areas of this building also deserve our gratitude. The staff of ICT, particularly Reyhan Waterford and Josh Cunningham, who have assisted me on more than one occasion in getting the information and communication technology we are provided with to work in this place. I also thank the Health and Recreation Centre staff, and the Parliamentary Library and the research service—under the direction of Parliamentary Librarian, Dianne Heriot—who do a wonderful service for all senators and members in this place.

I would like to also offer my thanks to the licensees and other contractors who provide a range of important services to those of us who work in this building including: the cleaners who keep this place so immaculately clean and tidy; the catering staff of IHG and Aussie's who provide the coffee and food to all building occupants and visitors; the very dedicated Parliament House switchboard operators, whose voices we often hear on the public address system directing us to committee meetings, but who are the front-line service for us all—while they are not seen, they are definitely heard and, I can assure them, not forgotten; and the staff of FCm, who make our travel arrangements.

For the first time, and given that they have completed their first full year as part of the Department of Parliamentary Services, I acknowledge and extend my thanks to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Phil Bowen, and the staff of the Parliamentary Budget Office, who have so ably supported senators in this place. I also thank the International and Community Relations Office Director, Andres Lomp, and his staff for their dedicated work with outgoing and incoming delegations and in managing so well our interparliamentary relations and international parliamentary assistance program. The Parliamentary Education Office Director, Simon Harvey, and his staff do an extraordinary and very important job teaching young Australians about our parliament. In 2013 they taught 90,950 young Australians from 1,589 schools.

I would like to thank the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anna Burke, and her staff, and in particular Chris Paterson, with whom I have had a great number of dealings over a long period of time. I welcome the election of the new Speaker, Bronwyn Bishop, and the Deputy Speaker, Bruce Scott, and look forward to working with them again in the new year. I particularly wish to express my gratitude to the retiring Clerk of the House of Representatives, Bernard Wright, and on behalf of all senators wish him, his wife, Maree, and their family all the best for the future. I extend my thanks also to the officers of the Department of the House of Representatives.

I also thank the hardworking and dedicated staff of Ministerial and Parliamentary Services in the Department of Finance, who provide an important service for senators and our staff. I am especially grateful to the staff of my office here in Parliament House as well as to my electorate office staff in Queensland, who make my job much easier indeed. And I acknowledge and thank all the other people I have failed to mention by name or by class who personally work in Parliament House and in electorate offices right around Australia. We are a dedicated group of people, and there are a dedicated group of people who support the work of this parliament—something that is not very much understood, I fear, in the broader community. But, nonetheless, to those people especially, our thanks for all your assistance.

In conclusion, I extend my best wishes to all colleagues and staff for the upcoming festive season and I look forward to seeing everyone back here in 2014. I thank the Senate.