Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Prime Minister for his fine words and thank him for the opportunity to be there in Sydney today. On behalf of the Leader of the Nationals, as well as shadow ministers Sukkar and Ruston, who were with me this morning: it was an inspiration to be in the company of those Paralympians—and not just the Paralympians but the incredibly proud family members and supporters who were there in the hangar. Qantas do an amazing job in bringing back our Paralympians and Olympians and have done so since the end of the Second World War in the case of the Olympics and since 1968 in terms of the Paralympics. It is quite an amazing event. To look up at the screen and see the pride that the parents and the supporters there had in those athletes, whether they medalled or not, was quite phenomenal. Those young kids who are in the audience today and those who have been watching on their television screens over the 11 days have been inspired, themselves, to overcome their adversity, to deal with their disability and to put themselves into a training regime or to have the commitment to represent their country in Los Angeles or in 2032 in Brisbane. That is an amazing achievement in and of itself that our Paralympians should be so proud of.

I want to thank very much the chefs de mission, the co-captains, Angie and Curtis. Curtis's own story is quite amazing, having served our country in uniform. To go on to achieve a gold medal at this Paralympics was quite a phenomenal story. I was incredibly proud, as I know every Australian was, to see the Paralympians performing on-screen. We medalled in nine different sports. I pay particular recognition to Brendan Hall, who I've watched grow up as a very young fellow. He first competed in 2008 in the Paralympics. He lived in my electorate and he lost his right leg to chickenpox. The work that he has done—his family supported him through a training regime in the pool, and the way that he has lived his life and the way that he has turned his opportunity as a Paralympian into an outstanding achievement is the story of many of those that we met today. As Australians, we should all be incredibly proud of the Paralympians, of the medical support staff, of all of those around them who provided support to allow them to represent our country in the best possible way. We pay true and full tribute to them today.

See this speech in context