Wilson Margaret: Adjournment — Sittings of the House 
Wilson Margaret: Adjournment — Sittings of the House 
[Volume:644;Page:14075] 
Madam SPEAKER 
: As the 2007 parliamentary year comes to a close I wish to pay tribute in the traditional manner to all those people who contribute to the efficient functioning of the House. First I must acknowledge the support of my colleagues the Deputy Speaker Clem Simich and the Assistant Speakers Ann Hartley and Ross Robertson who have been great to work with and who have never failed to perform when asked. I also acknowledge the tireless work of Parliament’s kaumatua and kuia John Tahuparae and Rose White. I say thank you to you because frequently you are overlooked. 
Once again I formally record my thanks to the former Clerk of the House Dave McGee and wish him every success in his new position as Ombudsman. I record my congratulations to Mary Harris who has been appointed the new Clerk of the House. I also thank the staff of the Clerk’s Office for their professional and administrative skills in servicing the Table of the House; compiling the  
Hansard 
 records; processing legislation questions and petitions; and serving select committees. 
Thanks go also to George Tanner the former Chief Parliamentary Counsel and a welcome is given to David Noble the new Chief Parliamentary Counsel. Without the support and professionalism of the Parliamentary Counsel Office it would be impossible to deliver the quality of service for which this Parliament is known. 
Although the Chamber is of course the focus of parliamentary activities the activities of the House are supported by the staff of Parliamentary Service. It has been a year of much change for the service and I record my thanks for the work that staff have undertaken to improve the quality of that service to members of Parliament and to the public. I formally record my thanks to the former General Manager of Parliamentary Service Joel George and his senior managers; members’ support staff including their executive assistants; support staff of the various parliamentary parties; staff of the library; research units; the Chamber and gallery officers; interpreters; security staff; building services staff; telephonists; travel office staff; and reception and visitor services staff. I also welcome our new general manager Geoff Thorn who joins us next year. 
I record a very special thanks to the Serjeant-at-Arms Brent Smith and to all those who support him to uphold the traditions and propriety of the Chamber and to welcome visitors to the parliamentary galleries. They are an essential part of the running of this Parliament and events such as the highly successful open day at Parliament in October are testimony to that. Others who work hard to ensure that guests and visitors to the parliamentary complex have an enjoyable experience include Beverly Cathcart and Michelle Janse. 
Thank you to all of you who have worked to support the committees that I chair: the Business Committee Parliamentary Service Commission Standing Orders Committee and Officers of Parliament Committee. It has been a busy year as most of you know especially for the Parliamentary Service Commission which has worked tirelessly to produce the new determination and directions. 
I also acknowledge the work of the officers of Parliament. I offer a special thanks to the Leader of the House the Hon Dr Michael Cullen and to the shadow Leader of the House Gerry Brownlee and also to the leaders of all the parties in this House their deputies the party whips—a special thankyou to the party whips—and their deputies. You have all contributed to the smooth operation of the business of the House. 
I acknowledge and thank the members of the press gallery who are a necessary part of a democratic Parliament. I acknowledge also the work of all members of Parliament who despite enormous workloads serve this House well. I extend very very heartfelt personal thanks to my own staff—Pam Roland the two Roses and Nina. It would be impossible to do my job without you. 
Although people can now see how hard we work through the televising of Parliament—late into the night as was witnessed last week—I would like to reinforce that impression of our hard work with a few statistics. These are the sitting hours for 2007 as recorded to 14 December. We had 88 sitting days and 91 calendar days—you could put in a quiz a sort of trick question as to why they are different. The sitting hours were 523 hours and 58 minutes. The bills passed were 110 Government bills three members’ bills one local bill and one private bill. Of the questions asked there were 20772 written questions and 1059 oral questions excluding supplementary questions. There have been 413 select committee meetings this year—comprising 1044 hours and 20 minutes—which produced 302 reports. 
After that and as I draw this session of Parliament to a close I wish for you to join your families and friends for the coming break; to eat drink sensibly and have a break during that time; and to come back refreshed to the House where we start all over again in February 2008. 
Motion agreed to.