Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am delighted to be able to stand here on behalf of the Higgins electorate to congratulate those competitors who competed at the Paralympic Games in London. In particular, I would like to congratulate two residents of Higgins—Shelley Chaplin and Cobi Crispin, both of Ashburton—as well as South Yarra's Katy Parrish, who all represented Australia with great pride. Close friends Shelley and Cobi represented Australia in wheelchair basketball and were able to achieve the wonderful feat of a silver medal—a great testament to all the years of hard work and dedication that they have put into their sport. Twenty-one-year-old Katy Parrish first competed at the Paralympics in Beijing, when she was just 17, an experience that she described then as one of her greatest moments. Katy was born with cerebral palsy but she has never let it hold her back. At the London games, she competed in the 100-metre sprint, the 200-metre sprint, the four-by-100 metre relay and the long jump—an incredible achievement, especially for one so young.

I was also delighted to be able to provide Russell Short, who works in my electorate of Higgins, with a flag before he went away. He has competed in an amazing seven Paralympic Games, dating back to Seoul in 1988, winning six gold, two silver and three bronze medals in discus, shot-put and javelin for the vision impaired. In this most recent games in London, he won a bronze in the shot-put, a most extraordinary achievement. In the Beijing Paralympics, Russell was awarded the great honour of being the flag-bearer in 2008. He has competed at an international level in multiple world championships and is a real inspiration to those who look to try and match his incredible record of seven Paralympic Games. Russell has been recognised before through being awarded an OAM for his contribution to sport and was the first athlete with a disability to be accepted into the Australian Institute of Sport. I was delighted to be able to personally send him off on his way with an Australian flag and to wish him all the very, very best when he competed in the games.

Of course, all of those who compete do so with a great deal of support. They do it with the support, love and care of their families, who sacrifice so very much so that their loved ones can compete at this elite level. They compete with the support of a team around them of coaches, of doctors and of so many people, who ensure that they can make their training on time so that they can be at their very best and represent Australia at our very best.

Australia did incredibly well in the Paralympic Games, ranking five on the medal tally. I think I join with all Australians in saying that it exceeded our wildest expectations. Those of us who watched the Paralympic Games were absolutely thrilled and delighted with the athleticism on display and with the incredible courage, hard work and dedication that clearly it took for every single one of our athletes to be there to represent our great nation.

While he is not a Higgins resident, I would like to also congratulate Matthew Cowdrey, who achieved an incredible five gold medals this Olympics, which is a record, for swimming. He has, over his Paralympic athletic career, achieved a record of 13 gold medals over three Olympics in Athens, Beijing and London.

Each of the Paralympians who represented Australia did so with incredible pride, and we had huge pride in them representing us. We thank them for their wonderful achievements, we congratulate them and we wish all of those who will go on to the next Paralympic Games in Rio all the very best.

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