TRIBUTES TO MEMBER FOR MONTGOMERY

Mrs ARMITAGE (Launceston) - Madam President, I would firstly like to wish the honourable member for Nelson and the honourable member for Pembroke the best of luck for the upcoming election. I have no doubt they will be back here in May and probably will not need any luck.

Madam President, this Chamber will be much poorer for your retirement. On a personal note, you have been very welcoming and always had the time to give advice and I really thank you for that. You have never lost touch with your community and you are respected and loved by all, even those who do not agree with you. That is something that is very important; people do not necessarily agree but they still have a great respect and love for you. While I have not had the benefit of hearing you on the floor too often because you have been President, I have heard from many people that that was one the losses, that when you were President they did not get to hear you on the floor as often as they had in the past. There were occasional clause 1s, as the leader said, and budget time, but when you have spoken it has been from the heart with a lot of commonsense, passion, wisdom and definitely no nonsense. I wish you and your family all the best and I am sure we will be hearing from you a lot in the future. In fact, a lot of people have said to me, 'Wouldn't it be great if she had a little break and perhaps came back next year as Premier'.