Ms PAYNE (Canberra) (13:47): Today I want to speak about someone very special: Karen Bissaker, from my team, who is retiring today after a 40-year career with the Australian Labor Party. Karen has worked for Labor greats Barry Jones, Kim Beazley and the current Prime Minister. For the last five years, I've been lucky enough to have her on my team. She's here today with her husband, Greg, and daughters, Ellen and Sophie, and she never would have been in here if she had known I was going to do this.

Karen personifies the dedication and professionalism that it takes to be an amazing staffer. As a newly elected MP, I was so lucky to have someone of her expertise and experience in my team, and she's been integral to building my team, mentoring staff and helping me to develop as an MP. Her advice and guidance have meant the world to me, as has her commitment to Canberra constituents and the hard work she has always been happy to do. I know so many constituents have been thankful for her help solving problems and always taking the time to listen.

Everything I've achieved as the member for Canberra, Karen has had a hand in. Our staff are the unsung heroes of politics. Everything we as politicians achieve, we can thank our staff for. Today we farewell one of the absolute best from our Labor team. These are demanding jobs, and it's a rare and special thing to make such a long commitment. So thank you, Karen, for all you've done for the Australian Labor Party and the Australian people.