Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the annual general meeting and presentation night of the Salisbury Athletics Club. This club sources its athletes from the Salisbury and Salisbury East little athletics centres.

I commend the club not only because over the years it has produced some of South Australia's and indeed Australia' best track and field athletes, including hammer thrower Sean Carlin who was an Commonwealth Games gold medallist, but also because of the crop of young athletes that are currently going through the club. Hearing about their performances, achievements and records on the night that they had set over the past season, they truly need to be commended for their performance to date.

I also want to commend the management committee which, under very difficult circumstances, has managed to maintain the club in a very sound position financially and also in an administratively sound position where there is not only the president and the committee members but a whole range of different support programs and facilities provided by the club on behalf of its members, including for athletes in the Mildura area. Mildura is in fact across the border in Victoria where their own state association did not want to give them the support that they quite properly deserved, but the South Australian club was prepared to do so because they value and support athletes not only in their own region but right across the state. Once again, I commend all involved in that club for their years of service to the local community.