Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to join the chorus of congratulations for our Aussie Diamonds netball team, who yesterday were triumphant winners over New Zealand at the World Cup final at the Sydney Olympic Park. This is the third-straight Netball World Cup crown for the Diamonds and their 11th overall. It is a fantastic achievement. I know the Diamonds are a real inspiration to thousands of Central Coast netballers, who hit the courts each weekend in my electorate. I am sure many of them would have been among the home crowd yesterday. Locally, our Gosford Netball Association, which has been around for more than 50 years, is thriving. Adcock Park in West Gosford is regularly packed out with local teams from right across our region.

This is not the only link that the Central Coast has with the Netball World Cup. The court surface they played on was actually designed and developed in Somersby by Shoreline Sports Floors. I went to visit Troy and Kylie Marquart and their team just last week. I saw firsthand how these specialised sprung timber floor systems work. Shoreline delivered two of these high-quality court floors for the tournament, including a portable timber floor. While I will not profess to be an expert on exactly how they work, they absolutely looked fantastic.

In another great achievement for this small business in my electorate, Shoreline has also secured a contract for the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. This success is a great win for our local area, as Shoreline will need to employ more Central Coast locals to complete these works. It is a positive story from our region and caps off what is an outstanding achievement from the Diamonds.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It has been a wonderful 24 hours for Australian sport. A few hours ago, Jason Day broke a PGA record on the way to his first major. Yesterday, in a thrilling contest in Sydney, before a packed house of more than 16,000 fans, our Aussie Diamonds defeated the Silver Ferns to win their third consecutive Netball World Cup. Today, I salute the tactical smarts of coach Lisa Alexander, the inspirational leadership of captain Laura Geitz, the incredible accuracy of Caitlin Bassett and the courage of defender Julie Corletto, who in her last game for the Diamonds played through injury and pain to finish with a moon boot on her foot, icepacks on both knees and a third World Cup medal in her pocket.

Australia is a netball nation. At all levels and all ages, more than 1.2 million Australians play and tens of thousands more umpire, coach, wash the team bibs each week and, in my case, cheer from the sidelines. This triumph will inspire a new generation of Australian netballers. On behalf of all Australians, I congratulate the Diamonds. (Time expired)