Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. R.I. Lucas:
That this council welcomes the Hon. Robert Simms, elected by an Assembly of Members of both houses on 4 May 2021 to replace the Hon. M.C. Parnell (resigned).
The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: Unsurprisingly, I rise to support the motion and welcome the Hon. Rob Simms to this place. It has been a long time coming, in many ways, for him to arrive here, and I look at it as a little bit of a Goldilocks effect. He has finally found a place in the middle: just right, not too big and not too small but just right. I hope that he will make himself a welcome home here, not just to the next election but well beyond that.
The Hon. Robert Simms and I actually go back to when he was 17. I know a lot of those stories the Hon. Kyam Maher has alluded to, and I shall not share any of them here. I think the Greens will be well served by Robert's presence in this place. Our shared values and our four pillars—environmental sustainability, social justice, peace and nonviolence—and of course grassroots democracy, will be adequately and with amplitude personified in this place.
The Hon. Robert Simms and I will share one of the portfolios the Hon. Mark Parnell used to hold. We will have a shared portfolio of climate change and environment because we believe that is too important to divide amongst us. We also think that it will double our capacity in those areas. We look forward to working collaboratively as team Greens but also collaboratively with all members of the council. I cannot wait to get on with the job, and I know the Hon. Robert Simms has already proven this afternoon that he cannot wait either.