Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

As the member for Sturt has just said, Paralympians from Australia and all over the world have provided great inspiration to able-bodied people, to able-bodied athletes and to those people with a disability, the fact that great things can be achieved despite either birth defects or unfortunate accidents which might have occurred. They provide great inspiration and their feats are to be admired by one and all.

As top-level athletes from all over the world began to head home following the 2012 London Olympic Games, top-level athletes whose only difference was having a disability were starting to descend on the Olympic Village for the 2012 London Paralympic Games, which took place from 29 August to 9 September. A total of 4,294 athletes from 164 countries took part in 503 events in 20 sports during these games, with Australia sending a total of 304 athletes. This was the largest team we have ever fielded and our representatives did us proud by achieving excellent results. Australia finished fifth on the final medal tally board with 32 gold, 23 silver and 28 bronze medals. Of the 13 sports Australian athletes contested in London, medals were won in nine. This included Australia's first ever medal in hand cycling and the swimming team won more than half the gold medals on offer. The president of the Australian Paralympic Committee, Greg Hartung, was full of praise, saying that the performance of the Australian Paralympic team at the London 2012 Paralympic Games had exceeded all expectations.

Scott Reardon, one of our Paralympic athletes, grew up in the Riverina town of Temora with sports playing a prominent role in his life. On 10 July 2002 Scott's shoelaces caught in the power takeoff shaft of a tractor, with devastating consequences. His right leg was severed through the knee. Scott, just 12 years of age at the time, was desperately unlucky but he was also remarkably plucky. He spent nearly a month in hospital recovering and being rehabilitated, learning to walk again in just one week and amazing doctors in the process. Scott Reardon is one gutsy individual.

I read now from Scott's own website as he poignantly recalls 10 years on his life-changing accident and his deep love of family, which bears repeating here as an inspiration to others. He wrote:

Everyone has an idol when growing up, I was no different. There were a few people on this list but one stood out, that person was my brother Phil. There was something with the way that he conducted himself in training and competition that was inspiring! There was never an excuse.

I must have been around ten maybe even younger when Phil would invite me down the paddock with a football under one arm. We would kick and pass all the way down to a stretch of dirt where we would do some sprint training. He would handicap me so that he had something to chase and I would do my best to stay in front. Once we were done we would grab the footy and head home. This is probably what ignited my competiveness and the realisation that if you want to achieve something you have to be willing to work for it.

On the 10th of July 2002 he became more than an idol of mine, he became a life saver. The day that I lost my leg could have ended very differently if not for him and my family. When faced with a difficult situation their decisions and actions ensured that I am still here. I will give you an idea of this situation. The family farm is located 35 kilometres from the closest town, no mobile phone service, roads that are not clearly named which makes it a nightmare when trying to tell emergency support where you are. So if an accident was to happen in our area the odds aren’t really in your favour. So when my leg was severed down a paddock 2km from our house, there was always going to be a battle to survive.

I remember regaining consciousness on the ground, looking down to discover that the lower part of my leg was no longer attached and realising that I was in a bit of trouble. Instinctively I got up and hopped to the ute, where Phil, 16 at the time, drove the fastest trip back to the house I had ever experienced. The decision was made by mum and dad not to call the ambulance and wait, but begin the trip and meet them on the way. Dad wrapped a belt around my leg and Phil grabbed my leg in attempt to slow the bleeding. Dad was faced with a situation that would have had to do one of the hardest things that I could imagine, drive with his 12 year old son in agony in the back seat knowing that time was short. Somehow he was able to compose himself and keep the car on the road. We had driven around 25km before we met the ambulance, I can only guess times but it would have been around 35 minutes since the accident and I was now in the care of trained professionals, although I was still not out of trouble, Temora hospital is not equipped in severe cases of trauma, so it was vital to obtain external support and that came when Snowy Hydro south care were tasked to stabilise and airlift me to Canberra where I would have more chances of survival.

Over the following 3.5 weeks I underwent around 12 operations where the doctors had to amputate my leg higher, then put me back together. Being an amputee is something that I had to come to terms with, But I was soon to realise the amazing support network that I had always had around me but never appreciated. This support not only came from my family who were amazing but from the entire district. The support that they gave Mum, Dad, brother and sisters, enabled them to keep me in good spirits and get me back home as fast as possible.

Today marks the tenth anniversary since I lost my leg, It is one of mixed emotions, and although the accident took away some of my hopes and dreams, it has enabled me to be a part of something amazing, Three water-ski world championships and now the biggest sporting event for athletes with disability, the London Paralympics. So I think today should be a celebration of what I have rather than what I have lost, which at the end of the day was only a leg!

Phil is still someone that I idolise, but this day made him more than an idol, he became someone that I owe my life to. The word hero gets thrown around regularly; to me my family are my heroes, without them I may not be alive. I am grateful that I have such wonderful people in my life!

Stirring words indeed—love of family and love of district. Young Scott—he is 22 years old now—comes from a great sporting district. Paleface Adios came from Temora, and there is a great statue of Paleface Adios in the main street, Hoskins Street. They celebrate Paleface Adios all the time. The local Australian Rules football team on Saturday won the Farrer League first grade premiership. It was the first premiership team for that club, the Kangaroos, since the late 1950s, and I know that they are still celebrating that great achievement. The Governor-General was in town on the weekend for an event, but I think her being there, whilst it was celebrated, was probably drowned out in the din that the local Aussie Rules team made over winning that wonderful flag.

Scott Reardon learned how to continue to play the sports he loved with only one leg, and in 2005 he was named the Temora and District Sportsperson of the Year, a wonderful achievement. In 2006 he attended a Paralympic talent search day and was immediately identified as having the potential to perform on the track at the London Paralympic Games. Scott has also represented Australia three times at the waterskiing world championships and won the world title in 2007 and 2009.

Watching the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games gave Scott the further desire to pursue his talent of running and, after juggling waterskiing and athletics for a while, he relocated to Canberra in 2009 to train at the Australian Institute of Sport. At the London 2012 games Scott was part of the athletics team, competing in the T42 100 metres and the T42 200 metres, and in the T42 four by 100 metres relay team. He placed fourth in his 200 metres final, just missing out on getting a podium finish. This gave him all the drive he needed, and he came out for his 100 metres final with everything he had and finished a close second behind German Heinrich Popow, earning the brave Riverina boy a well-deserved silver medal.

I congratulate Scott on all of his hard work and dedication and, indeed, his success at the 2012 Paralympic Games. Temora's popular deputy mayor, Councillor Rick Firman, was lavish in his praise for Scott. 'He embodies all that an outstanding young sportsman can and should be,' Councillor Firman told me this afternoon. 'Scott is genuine, he is passionate and he has turned adversity into triumph. Like everyone in the Temora district, I have the utmost respect for him and what he has done.'

Congratulations are extended to all athletes who partook in the games and to those whose efforts saw them place on the podium and take home a medal. It is an outstanding honour to represent your country at the Olympic or Paralympic games, and with it comes the pressure of the expectations of your fellow countrymen. Australia's Paralympians can hold their heads high with their outstanding results which were achieved as individuals and collectively. They have inspired Australians to have a go and indeed represent what can be achieved with commitment and perseverance. I look forward to seeing what Scott Reardon will achieve in the future, because quite frankly his powers are limitless. I am sure that we are going to hear much more from him and about him in the years ahead.

See this speech in context