Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Congratulations to the Australian Paralympic team on a remarkable effort at this year's Paralympics. The Australian team came home with an impressive 85 medals: 32 gold, 23 silver and 30 bronze. Not only did this see our team come fifth on the medal tally, but they bettered their haul of 79 medals in Beijing. There are many, many stories of success, of resilience and of determination. There is Liesl Tesch, who, after the passing of her mother on the first day of competition, went on to win gold in the Skud 18 with her team mate, Daniel Fitzgibbon. There are the Steelers, the Australian men's wheelchair rugby team, who won Australia's first-ever gold in that event. There is Kurt Fearnley's epic marathon that, after having raced the four-loop course around London, resulted in just a second separating the top three—a photo finish saw Kurt earn the bronze. Kurt, it is also worth noting, after competing in the Paralympic marathon showed up last Sunday to compete in his eighth Sydney marathon.

I would like to make mention of two particularly courageous athletes. Rachael Dodds, a student at Cannon Hill Anglican College in my electorate in Brisbane, was born with cerebral palsy. She developed a love of running, encouraged by her physiotherapist. Her parents say that Rachael has always worked hard at whatever she does. When asked by a local paper how she was going to manage the year-12 study workload and training for the Paralympics, Rachel replied, 'I have been able to hone my time management skills and I am a pretty good planner.' Rachael is one determined young woman. In London, Rachael competed in the women's 100-metre T35 and the women's 200-metre T35. Rachael did not come home with a medal, but I have no doubt that this is just the beginning for her.

A second talented young woman I want to pay tribute to is Ellie Cole. Ellie was diagnosed with sarcoma when she was two years old and had her leg amputated as a result of the cancer when she was just three years old. Ellie began to swim as part of her rehabilitation and it quickly became apparent that she was very good at it. She returned from London with four gold and two bronze from seven events. I met Ellie earlier this year when she was announced as patron of Kick Sarcoma, a charity both Ellie and I are quite passionate about. Ellie's passion, generosity and determination mean that the sky is the limit for her and the Kick Sarcoma campaign is very lucky to have her on board.

Sarcoma is a dreadful cancer that accounts for 15 to 20 per cent of childhood cancer diagnoses and about one per cent of adult cancer diagnoses. The vision of Kick Sarcoma is: raising funds for research fellows with grants; through community awareness, improving early diagnosis; aiming to improve sarcoma prognosis by 25 per cent in 25 years; improving outcomes in sarcoma therapy, with a dedication to curing all types of sarcoma; and, through research and medical trials, aiming to find therapies to improve the sarcoma prognosis more generally. I look forward to working with Ellie in her effort to 'kick sarcoma' and I wish her the very best for the next steps of her Paralympic career.

The Paralympics have always been particularly special for my wife, Therese, and I. Therese's father, John Rein, was an RAAF veteran. He became wheelchair bound after a plane crash during World War 2. He was sent to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England as part of his rehabilitation. It was at that hospital where the Stoke Mandeville games—regarded as the forerunner to the Paralympics—began back in 1948. And it was John Rein, my wife's Dad, who carried the flag for Australia at the 1956 games when he competed in archery and wheelchair basketball. Therese's lived experience with her father has inspired her throughout her life as she is dedicated to assisting marginalised and disadvantaged people to achieve the means for an optimal quality of life. Today Therese is an honorary board member of the International Paralympic Committee.

Many have said the 2012 Paralympics will be recognised as a turning point for how disability is seen by the Australian community and the world. For 11 days we watched Paralympic athletes competed in a myriad of sports and very quickly our minds turned from seeing their disability to recognising and celebrating their ability. It is fitting that this happened in England, the first country to give wheelchair athletes a platform to compete and to display their abilities.

From its humble beginnings of 16 injured service men and women who took part in archery back in 1948, the Paralympic movement has grown to what it is today. It is no longer the younger sibling of the juggernaut that is the Olympic Games; it is a professional competition of elite athletes. It is well and truly living up to its name, as these two movements now exist side by side as equals. So congratulations to the athletes, the coaches, the friends and extended community for a remarkable effort at the Paralympics, but also for opening all of Australia's eyes to the incredible abilities of our Paralympians and those who suffer disabilities more generally in our community, our society, Australia.

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