Ms PRUE CAR (Londonderry—Deputy Premier, Minister for Education and Early Learning, and Minister for Western Sydney): I move:

That the House take note of Christmas felicitations.

NATHAN HAGARTY MP:

While we have not had much chance to get around to shopping centres lately, I am reliably informed that the sound of Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé is getting plenty of airplay around shopping centres, which leaves us in little doubt that the festive season is upon us once more as well as the end of the parliamentary year. It is a good time to reflect on the year that has been. While we get rather animated and have robust and combative debates from the dispatch box, I give my best wishes to all members of this place and the other place. I particularly thank you, Mr Speaker. You are the best Speaker I have ever had in my time here, without a doubt. As a member, a Whip and your office neighbour upstairs, you have been generous with your advice and your time by welcoming us newbies with a dinner on the Mondays before sitting weeks. That has been an excellent initiative, and we can feel the history in the room. Thank you for being so generous with your time and mentorship.

I thank the leadership team of the Government, including the Premier, the Deputy Premier, the Leader of the House, and everyone on the frontbench as well as their staff. I give a special thanks to the class of 2023. We have all come into this place together and, regardless of what political stripe we might bear on our way in, we are getting along and looking after each other. We are helping each other navigate this funny old place. So far, so good. I hope everyone enjoys their time off this holiday season and spends it wisely, with family and friends. I am sure they are missing us after what has been a very long week and a long seven or eight months. We have well and truly earned a break, given our late nights this week.

I give my best wishes to the fantastic parliamentary staff, including the Clerk and her team, the guys from Hansard, the LA team, IT, and those people who we might not notice as much, like catering and cleaning. The Speaker mentioned Carmen in particular. My office has a whip cam, which is a live stream of whatever is happening in the Chamber. Whether it is sitting or not, we can see what is happening. Carmen comes into the Chamber every morning with a feather duster to make sure that this place is spick-and-span every time the House sits. I thank her and the other cleaners who keep this place looking fantastic.

As a newbie to Macquarie Street, the assistance of the parliamentary staff has been instrumental to helping me learn the ropes and find my feet, both as an MP and as a Whip. I give a special shout-out to the team in the Department of Parliamentary Services who spent a large chunk of the year getting my brand-new electorate office ready in Leppington—David, Jayden, Ryan, Sean, Brandon and Maddie. There were many more people involved in that job, and I thank them on behalf of my team as well. We absolutely love our new digs. The MPs who have visited me at my office are jealous, and that is a good thing.

Speaking of my electorate office, I thank my electorate office team, including Sharon Rawlins, Nicholas Petkovic, Shannen Potter, Liam Thorne and my fantastic short-term relief, Hazel Neville, who filled in while one of the other four were away. I thank them for coming on this adventure with me. It has been a big year and I could not have done it without them. All members in this place would accept that they would not be much without the hard work of their staff every day behind the scenes.

I give a big thanks to Colleen Symington, who, as every member in this place knows, keeps this place running. When I was asked if I wanted to become Whip, I was told, "We recommend that you keep Colleen in the job." I said, "I'm mad for taking the job. I would be even madder if I let Colleen go anywhere." I thank Colleen for helping me with this steep learning curve. She has made the transition a breeze. I thank her for her fantastic work. She is getting a well-earned break over the Christmas season. I hope she puts her leg up to rest and has a few on behalf of all of us. I give another big thank you to my Deputy Whip, the member for Lismore, Janelle. Her experience and wisdom have helped me find my feet. She has been an excellent adviser and guide during my short time as Whip. I wish her and her constituents in the north a safe and happy holidays.

We all know the sacrifices our families make to get us to this place, and my family is no different, including my wife, Christy, and my two amazing children, Evan and Nia. My daughter, much like the Premier at the moment, is battling COVID. I know this job takes me away from them, so I thank them for their support. To the constituents of Leppington, I am eternally thankful for bestowing on me the honour of being the first member for Leppington. I wish them a happy Christmas season and I look forward to working with them for many years ahead. I am sure I have missed countless people, but I extend my well wishes to all of them. I encourage everyone to rest up, listen to their favourite Christmas songs and watch their favourite Christmas movies. In the spirit of my favourite Christmas movie, in the words of John McClane, "Yippee ki-yay!"