Ewen Jones (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is with great pleasure that I rise to speak about something that is very near and dear to my heart. This weekend the Townsville Fire, the Women's National Basketball League team, travels to Melbourne to take on the Dandenong Rangers in what will surely be a win for the Townsville Fire and will surely result in us making our second grand final in a row. If you draw a line from Perth to Brisbane, there is one professional women's sporting team north of that line. In more than half the country there is one professional women's sporting team north of that line, and that is the Townsville Fire. These girls have just beaten the Melbourne Boomers twice in two weeks. We are taking on the Dandenong Rangers and will probably have to go to Bendigo the week after that to finally beat Bendigo.

These girls have degrees but work in basic jobs. They travel around to pursue their passion. Some people say they are putting their lives on hold for basketball but I do not think anyone there agrees with that. What they are doing is pursuing an absolute passion. They play for next to nothing, some contracts being as little as $5,000 per annum. You could fit an entire Women's Basketball League team into the salary of a marquee player in the men's basketball league. When you look at Australia and the Olympics, twice women's basketball silver medallists and unlucky at that, it is something we have to look at as a nation.

I would like to mention for the Hansard that Jayne Arlett, who took this franchise on, is a very busy and professional person. She has taken on this role because she believes in women in sport. She is a podiatrist by profession and she believes in the community, so she got a board together and saved the Townsville Fire. She brought coach Chris Lucas from South Australia. She has got ex-Canadian Olympian Claudia Brassard, who played with the old Fire and is now a permanent Townsville resident and Australian citizen, I believe, as the assistant coach. Judy Higgins is the acting general manager and Eleni Millios, one of my best friends in the world, is the part-time sales and marketing manager. I will run through the players' names: No. 4, Alex Wilson, No. 5, Rachel McCully, who used to be Rachel Flanagan; No. 6, Tiana Mangakahia; No. 7, Stephanie Cumming; No. 8, Suzy Batkovic, multiple Olympian; No. 9 and No. 11 are the Froling twins, Alicia and Keely; No. 10 is Mia Newley, who has had the hottest of hot hands in the last couple of weeks. Kayla Standish has been playing with a busted shoulder like you would not believe. She has finished games in tears with the pain but it has not stopped her manning up, or womening up, on the court. Rosie Fadljevic; Olivia Thompson is No. 15 and Micaela Cocks is No. 32. She is a Kiwi international with a degree in science. She works in Townsville and she is a great basketballer. Development players Emma McKenzie and Shanekia Ross are doing a great job. I thank the House for the opportunity to wish these girls the absolute best for the weekend. They are truly great things for sport in Australia. They are truly great role models that you can have an education, you can have a sporting passion and you can follow it through in this country.

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