Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the incredible performances of Australia's top athletes in recent times including:

(a) the Matildas reaching the final 16 in the FIFA World Cup;

(b) Ash Barty winning the French Open and acing her way to the top of the world tennis rankings;

(c) Sally Fitzgibbons making waves by winning the 2019 Oi Rio Pro - World Surf League event and surfing her way to the top of the world rankings;

(d) Hannah Green winning the Women's PGA Championship and in doing so taking home Australia's first major win in a women's golf tournament in over a decade; and

(e) the Hockeyroos reaching the final of the inaugural Women's International Hockey Federation Pro League;

(2) acknowledges the teams that support our athletes including their coaches, managers, physiotherapists, dieticians and their families; and

(3) encourages Australian athletes in upcoming competitions including:

(a) the Australian Diamonds who will be competing in the Netball World Cup in Liverpool, England between 12 and 21 July 2019; and

(b) the Australian Women's Cricket Team who will be competing in the ICC Women's T20 Cricket World Cup in 2020.

It is my pleasure to move this motion to celebrate some of the extraordinary achievements of our Australian athletes across the last few months. Obviously, as an absolute netball tragic, I have been glued to the television across the World Cup. But netball is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Australian talent being showcased on the international stage. Being passionate about sport and being passionate about women in sport means that I am equally passionate about ensuring that the sporting achievements of our Australian women are acknowledged and celebrated. Hence this motion today. This is not only because our sporting stars deserve kudos for their hard work; it is also that the next generation will follow in their idols' footsteps and begin to play at community level and beyond. So to all those young girls sitting at home today, if they haven't been watching our fabulous international sports stars, I would encourage them to go to their televisions and at least see the replays of the T20 cricket international that is being played at the moment.

In recent times it has been a genuine joy to watch out athletes make their mark in their respective sports—playing with passion, winning and losing with dignity, and, above all, being positive role models for aspiring athletes watching on in admiration. There have been many highlights, including a few that this chamber should acknowledge: the incredible performance of the Matildas, who captivated the nation with their recent World Cup performance; Ash Barty, who aced her way to winning the French Open and the world No. 1 ranking, a pretty good effort from our young Queenslander; Sally Fitzgibbons, who made waves by winning the World Surf League's Rio Pro and surfing her way to the top of the World Cup rankings; Hannah Green, who won the PGA Championship and, in doing so, took home Australia's first major win in a women's golf tournament in over a decade; the Hockeyroos, who played in the final of the inaugural Women's International Hockey Federation Pro League; and our Australian women's cricket team, who have done us proud against our rivals by taking the Ashes series. And a special note to ensure this is recorded in Hansard: congratulations to Elise Perry. She has set a new standard, reaching something that no man or woman has done before in international cricket: 1,000 runs in the T20 international and 100 wickets in the T20 international. Congratulations, Ellyse. It makes me so proud that our Australian sporting heroes are playing out their own dreams on the international stage and that their achievements are being broadcast for the next generation of athletes to idolise and, of course, to be acknowledged.

But, Deputy Speaker Mitchell, you would have noticed that, traditionally, men's sport in this country has enjoyed being acknowledged in this place. Today, this motion is about turning that on its head and ensuring that there is never again an Australian female athlete that is not acknowledged for their determination, their effort and the pride they bring to their country. For too long female athletes have not been on an equal footing with their male counterparts in many regards, including pay equity, broadcast time or national acknowledgement. As we have seen through celebrating the successes of the Australian women athletes mentioned earlier, the time for change has come and we are well and truly ready to embrace women's sport in this country. On that note, I acknowledge one more time in this chamber the fabulous performance from our Australian Diamonds in bringing home silver in the Netball World Cup. And on a personal note, I acknowledge Morgan Mitchell, a young girl from my electorate who's an Australian 400-metre champion and has qualified for the world championships with a personal best in the last seven days.

I'm reminded all the time that you can't be what you can't see. I want to thank all of those athletes, the teams behind those athletes, the coaches, the physios, the managers and the families that get kids up every day to get to their sport for ensuring that we continue in this way to create a healthy Australia and for the things that sport brings to us—teamwork comes to mind as the most important thing, but also a respect for our nutrition and a respect for our health, and, in doing so, ensures that Australia maintains its fabulous record on the world stage, with world champions, silver medallists, bronze medallists and those just getting out there and competing.

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