Ms MACKLIN (6:16 PM) —I am very pleased to join with the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in wishing all members of the parliament, both in the House and in the Senate, and everybody who works here the very best for Christmas and the new year. It is at this time of year, when most of us are going off and enjoying a break with our families, that I am sure we would all want to extend our thoughts and sympathies to those families around Australia who will have an empty place at the table on Christmas Day. The tragic loss of life in Bali has been keenly felt by all Australians but no more than by those who lost loved ones in that terrible event. We know that that sense of loss and grief will be particularly bad at this time of year, and our hearts go out to them.

The Deputy Prime Minister talked about the people in Bali, the young people who lost their lives and the impact that that may have, particularly on young people. On a happier note, one of the things I take great heart in is seeing the way young people can bounce back from these terrible events. From my personal experience, it is wonderful to see young people heading off at this time—one of my own children is about to head off overseas for this university break—and to see the way they are able to take on the challenges of the world and not be deterred by the actions of terrorists who we know have done so much damage. We know there are going to be a lot of other people who are suffering over Christmas. Some of them are families who still have people in hospital, and our thoughts go out to all of them.

It is also important for us to think about those who will be working over this time, particularly those people in our hospitals who will be dedicating their time and care not only to the people who were injured in Bali but also to the many others who, whether through accident or illness, will spend Christmas in hospital. Our thanks go out to all of the people who are prepared to give up their Christmas Day and not spend the time with their families, as we will all enjoy doing. There are a lot of other people who will be working over the Christmas period, and all of us rely on their hard work. There is an army of unsung heroes—the people who actually keep things operating while we all try to have a holiday. Whether they be people delivering things such as gifts or flowers, people cleaning and catering or shopkeepers, they will be working day and night to keep all of our essential services going.

The ones we hope will not have to swing into gear, although we have seen a lot of them lately—and others have already mentioned it tonight—are the firefighters. We need to pay tribute to the enormous and hard work done by volunteers and to those who have already been out fighting the bushfires. We all say thank you, especially to the volunteer firefighters, who do so much. I say a special word of thanks to the volunteer firefighters in my own electorate, who unfortunately have had to regularly troop up to New South Wales to help out. Last summer many of them were away from their families over Christmas, and I very much hope that the fires abate and that all firefighters will be able to be with their families this summer. Many of you would know that I am a bit of a fanatical surfer. I thank all of those who work on the beaches: the lifesavers, those who save us from the terrible things in the sea that sting and those who patrol our beaches. There are also those who do a wonderful job looking after those who do not have a home and who need food and shelter at what can be a very lonely time. Our thoughts go out to all of those volunteers.

I thank all of my colleagues. There is nothing like the Australian Labor Party caucus. We are a very tight-knit group, and all of us know that it has been a very tough year on this side of the parliament. I think everyone in the parliament knows what opposition is like, and the first year after an election defeat is always difficult. I think the Prime Minister would agree that the toughest job of all in the parliament is that of the Leader of the Opposition. I think we have the toughest Leader of the Opposition this country has seen. He shows enormous guts and determination in leading our party, and we all thank him very much for that. We all hope he has a very peaceful break over the next few weeks and that nothing bad happens while I have to look after the show!

The Leader of the Opposition has been ably assisted by the Manager of Opposition Business, Wayne Swan, who is an extraordinarily hard worker—as well as a terrier, as the government well knows. The Chief Opposition Whip is a fantastic person to work with, and the staff in both Wayne's and Janice's offices also do a wonderful job, not only in supporting the opposition but in helping the parliament to run smoothly. I say a special thank you to Joan and Courtney in Janice's and Wayne's offices. I gather Joan's voice is almost gone so we certainly wish her a very relaxing break. She keeps us all very well organised. I would like to say a special thank you to my own staff both here in Canberra and in my electorate. They do an outstanding job; they are totally dedicated and nobody could wish for a more talented group of people. To the people in the Australian Labor Party, so well led by Geoff Walsh: we appreciate your creativity and your dedication to seeing the Labor Party continues its success all around the country and sometime soon, we hope, federally.

To you, Mr Speaker: I know I sometimes test your patience. Some of my constituents say they hear the member for Jagajaga being asked to sit down or be quiet a bit too often but I know you mean it well. I do thank you for your patience and dedication to the task, and I thank all of your staff for trying to keep us in order; we know that it is not always an easy task. Oppositions of any political persuasion are, as is the government, always very keen on robust political debate, and we are certainly no exception. I know that can sometimes be difficult both for you and the clerks and the staff of the parliament. We do not make any apology for that; I am sure it will continue, but we do thank you for working with us. To all the staff of the parliament, whether they are the clerks and their staff, Hansard, the Comcar drivers, the people who organise our travel, the library, the cleaners, the attendants, the maintenance workers, the security staff—there are enormous numbers of people who keep this place functioning so well. We wish them all the very best for Christmas.

We go into this break with the shadow of international conflict hanging over us. This is a time when we often talk about peace, but I am sure I speak for all of us here when I say tonight that our hope is very much for peace to prevail in the world. I do hope that we have a very happy summer break and that we look forward to a very prosperous and peaceful 2003.