Debates Day 3 - Thursday 1 May 2003
Parliamentary Record 11
Debates for 9th Assembly 2001 - 2005; ParliamentNT; Parliamentary Record; 9th Assembly 2001 - 2005
2003-05-01
Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
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Debates
Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
Darwin
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Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory
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DEBATES - Thursday 1 May 2003 First, I would like to pay some tributes to two of my electorate officers who have been working for me and have since left. The first one is Joanne van Os. Joanne helped me on my election campaign and became my electorate officer. Sadly, because she has had to move in to Darwin, she is not able to work with me any more. Joanne has been one o f the most wonderful people I have every met; she has worked exceptionally hard for me. She has done a lot of work. I suppose both of us had very little experience in running an electorate office, and she made sure, just as she was learning how to run the office, I was also able to be, at least partially organised, in the way I ran the office. I used to say to people that I had the best looking electorate officer in the Territory, and I do not put that in a sexist manner, but she is a beautiful lady. People who came into our office were always happy to see her. A member inteijecting Mr WOOD: Well, they probably did that too, but she had a beautiful smile and she treated people in such a way that they were always very comfortable. She went out o f her way to look after them, and I pay tribute to Jo. She also used to help me with the newsletter. People who might have seen those little cartoons, especially the one on my tie ... A member inteijecting. Mr WOOD: Yes, with the three eggs and one hatched. I thank Jo for designing that little cartoon. I hope she can continue to help me, perhaps in the putting together of my newsletter when she has a moment. So, thank you, Jo. The other person I would like to thank, who was a part-time electorate officer - because I am one of those electorate offices that has somebody for working for four days and another person working on the Friday. Lida Tatarko was working for me for a while as well. Everyone in this House should know Lida. She worked for the previous Speaker, Mr Terry McCarthy, the member for Goyder, for zonks - for years and years. She is well known throughout the rural area. She was able to fill in as the Friday girl, you might say, and to help me out. I appreciate all the work she has done too, and all the experience she brought. I could not go and not say something about the Anzac Day cricket match. Well, it is a great cricket match. It was the third annual cricket match. It was played on that wonderful bit of heritage, Minister for Lands and Planning, called the Strauss cricket ground which is near the comer o f Cox Peninsula Road and the Stuart Highway, built in 1942 by a gentleman called Vic Borrowicki. Instead of going into too much about that, I should give you the scores. The Army lost. It did score 345 off 30 overs, to give you an idea that the pace of the game was fairly hectic. The Litchfield Presidents 11, captained by the Litchfield President, Mary Walshe, scored the same number of runs in 29 overs. They did belt a few more runs off the last over, so they probably scored about 355. It was a great day, a lot of runs were scored. This year was probably the biggest crowd we have had. From early figures, I would say we at least raised over $1000 once again for Legacy. That was one of the main reasons we played the game, as well as remembering our World War II heritage, and to improve interaction between our Defence Forces and our community. This is one good way to do it. We had the Southern Districts Cricket Club, which basically make up the Litchfield Presidents 11, and through Brigadier Ash Power, and his offsider, the RSM Darryl Kelly, they put together a team which was from 1 Brigade. Although I know they wanted to win, they did not. All in all, the people on the day enjoyed themselves. It was a very friendly day, a very family orientated day. The Army donated - it is sometimes called The Big Bullet - a casing from a Leopard tank, and that will be the perpetual trophy, engraved each year with the name of the winning side. I also thank the following people: Legacy, naturally - although they received the money from the day, they spend time down there selling their badges, and we know what an important job they do; the Rotary Club of Litchfield/Palmerston, who helped out with the barbecue and the bar; and the Bradley Road Cheer Squad, which have a members stand down there. Bradley Road is the road that is just opposite this cricket ground and they come every year. This year, they mowed the oval and put up the flag and had a wonderful time. I also must thank Robyn Smith from Hansard who also got together a corporate tent this year with the help of Maxine Dowley, and they raised about $400 from that. Robyn has asked me to mention the following sponsors, even though I reiterate, the Anzac Day cricket match is not going to be sponsored by alcohol companies, but in this case: Territory Party Hire, XXXX Gold, Tyrrells Wines, Women that Work, and Darwin Turf Club all made sure that the corporate marquee went off well. I also thank my friend Max who puts up the power pole, and the Litchfield Shire which allows us to use their sponsorship to cover public liability for the day, which can always be a problem. I thank the government for permission to use the cricket ground 4008