Debates Day 3 - Thursday 21 October 2010
Parliamentary Record 15
Debates for 11th Assembly 2008 - 2012; ParliamentNT; Parliamentary Record; 11th Assembly 2008 - 2012
2010-10-21
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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 21 October 2010 You must continue with the great work in true respect and acknowledgement of what Ben and Susannah Hollands have done and the dedication they have provided for your community. Do not let things slip; do not let your transition to Year 12 program struggle. You must hold the fort; you must go on and show true self-determining outcomes for your community and, at the end of the day, we know you can do it. We are there to help and we are about being positive and making sure you achieve the next step in your journey. Mr CHANDLER (Brennan): Madam Deputy Speaker, I thank Tommy Nichols and his team of rangers for showing me firsthand how crocodile numbers are monitored and managed in the Shoal Bay area. I found all of the governments team: Brett Easton, Tommy Nichols, Robbie Risk and Joe Buckerfield to be passionate about their roles and extremely professional. When asked, these officers provided frank and honest answers to my questions, and the experience was invaluable. We can all read reports and evaluate statistics, but until you see the job firsthand, statistics can mean little. Seeing the time involved in the process of setting traps, rebaiting and, of course, removing and preparing a crocodile for transport, makes reading and evaluating reports and statistics mean so much more. You can now appreciate what a statistic is telling you. As politicians, we are often criticised and even abused for travelling, getting out of the office and visiting the coalface. I have to say again, you just cannot appreciate everything from an office desk, as this tour aptly demonstrated to me. Again, thank you to Brett, Tommy and their team. Your role is worthwhile, and all Territorians should be thankful for what you do each and every day. I also pay tribute to two very special people in my electorate who have just celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. I first met Peter and Margaret Saunders when doorknocking the electorate before the last Territory election. Peter and Margaret had just moved from Karama to the wonderful city of Palmerston, and spending time with them was tremendous. Peter, having had a long a career in law enforcement in the UK, has a wicked wit, matched equally by his beautiful wife, Margaret. I look forward to my next visit, a chinwag and a beer; but I think it is my shout this time. I wish them continued health and happiness. While my knees may never quite recover, I pay tribute to Rebecca Forrest, who organised the recent Total Recreation Dancing with the Celebrities Ball, together with fantastic support from Bronwyn Graham and all of her dancing instructors from the Darwin Dance and Drama Academy and, of course, all the other people, including the judges, of which the member for Fannie Bay was one. Thank you. They were able to take an absolute rabble of talentless celebrities and turn them into a rabble with just a tad of talent. Of course, the real celebrities on the night were the fantastic crew from Total Recreation. To my partner, Tammy, thank you and I apologise wholeheartedly for stepping on your toes, bowling you over, and just being a general nuisance with absolutely no idea of what I was doing. I have a lot of time for what Total Recreation do. My son, Jackson, has been the recipient of some of the very good work they do. To Bec, what a fantastic young lady you are and I can only imagine what a wonderful society we would have if there were more Rebeccas in this world. Not only to organise the people, backup support, venues, equipment and training, but also to organise an event of the magnitude of the Total Recreation Dancing with the Celebrities Ball is simply amazing. Your dedication, passion and commitment to our community will not be forgotten. Thank you, and I would love to see you again next year, knees permitting. A couple of weeks ago at the Australian Institute of Animal Managements conference, I had the pleasure of listening to Jeff Cook, a South Australian local poet, who very quickly drafted a poem to describe the conference. He does this most years. I asked if I could repeat the poem in parliament. Since then, Jeff has supplied me with a number of poems he has written. One, in particular, which I would like to read today, impressed me as a wonderful addition to the famous poem, Waltzing Matilda. It is called A Swagman Returns: I was resting on the bank while the river passed me by With my line draped in the water as I gazed into the sky At the fluffy, woolly clouds making patterns just for me And I felt so relaxed beneath that weeping willow tree. But a man popped up before me and I was shaken and aghast And he floundered in the water as the current swept him past. He was spluttering and wheezing as I dragged him to the bank. It took minutes till he spoke, though his face was far from blank. He eyed me up and down and stayed quiet for a while 6545