David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Patty Mills—what can I say? Our first Indigenous flag bearer, an NBA champion and a proud Canberran who grew up on Ngunawal-Ngambri land in the Bean electorate. He started his basketball journey at the Shadows Basketball Club, a club formed by his mum and dad in the eighties with a drive to engender a sense of identity and strength in young Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal people in Canberra. Patty also spent his early basketball days at Marist College in Canberra, and shooting hoops in his Monash backyard.

History and connections to generations past matter to Patty: through his dad, through his great-uncle Eddy Mabo and, through his mother, the pain of the stolen generations; and, in basketball, through his recognition of the work of generations of players, coaches and support staff on the national men's and women's programs. From trailblazers like Eddie Palubinskas and Patty's uncle Danny Morseu through to the Gazes, the Barneses, the Jacksons and the teams that have gone so close in recent championships.

Patty is a leader on and off the court, establishing Indigenous Basketball Australia, supporting bushfire affected and underprivileged communities and supporting social justice across Australia. On the court, backed by a great team, he led by example. He scored the highest number of points scored by an individual in a game with a medal on the line—42 points—to help the Boomers finally make that podium and to achieve a dream he and Joe Ingles talked about back in their days at the AIS. Thank you Patty and all in the Boomers and Opals family.

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