Justine Keay (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yesterday, the city of Burnie in my electorate on the north-west coast of Tasmania held the Burnie Ten. This running race has a successful history of over 25 years. This year's Burnie Ten was also an Australian Masters Games 10-kilometre road race event, which added to the excitement. This event attracts runners from all levels, and yesterday saw close to 3,000 entries in both the 10-kilometre and five-kilometre races. One of those entries was mine.

The town yesterday was a centre of activity, with runners and walkers, young and old, fit and not fit, elite and slow—like yours truly—lining up along Wilson Street to run along the Bass Highway, with many watching from footpaths. There were many stories of personal achievements. As I participated, I witnessed stories of inspiration and motivation being played out during the race—stories of people doing amazing things. For the men's winner, it was the story of childhood dreams being achieved, and for the women's winner it was the story of an incredible back-to-back victory.

Another story is about the team Just Like Jack. Just Like Jack is an organisation run by volunteers with a mission of delivering to children with additional needs adventures and experiences that they never thought were possible. Their words of motivation—'No matter your ability, with the right team support and positive attitude you can achieve anything, just like Jack'—are such fitting words for a 10-kilometre road race. I congratulate the wonderful volunteers of Just Like Jack, and a big congratulations to the many who competed and the many volunteers who made yesterday possible.

See this speech in context