Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) 7 September 2015 marks one year to go until the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games;

(b) the Paralympic Games will bring over 11 days of competition, with more than 4,350 athletes from 178 nations expected to participate in 528 medal events across 22 sports;

(c) the sports of Para-canoe and Para-triathlon will appear on the Paralympic program for the first time;

(d) the Australian Paralympic Committee is currently preparing to send an Australian team of more than 170 athletes from every Australian state and territory to compete in up to 15 sports at the Paralympic Games;

(e) the team will be led by Chef de Mission Kate McLoughlin, who will become the first woman to lead an Australian team at the Paralympic Games;

(f) Australia has a proud history of success at the Paralympic Games and has competed at every one since the first in Rome in 1960, finishing in the top five at every summer Paralympic Games since the Barcelona Games in 1992; and

(g) the Australian Paralympic Team is one of Australia's most important sporting teams, helping shape community attitudes towards disability and assisting Australians with a disability to participate in sport to the level of their choice;

(2) congratulates:

(a) the Australian Paralympic Committee and relevant national sporting organisations on their preparation for the Paralympic Games so far; and

(b) all potential Australian team members for their dedication to their chosen Paralympic sport; and

(3) calls on all Members of Parliament to support the Australian Paralympic Team in its preparations for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

On 29 July 1948, a brilliant sunny day, the games of the 14th Olympiad were opened by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, in London. They were the first Olympics in 12 years, with the 1940 Helsinki games and the 1944 London games cancelled because of World War II. Great attention was drawn to the games. A new world was being celebrated, events were being broadcast on television for the first time, and it was a sign of normality returning to the world, following the disruptions caused during the war. While these games were significant, an event held some 42 miles away in parallel to the opening ceremony, holds more significance to the motion before us today. In a small town, Stoke Mandeville, in Buckinghamshire, 16 paralysed service men and women were competing in the Stoke Mandeville games for men and women.

The games were the brainchild of neurologist Sir Ludwig Guttmann, head of the National Spinal Injuries Centre, a treatment centre for injured World War II servicemen. Sir Ludwig had come up with the revolutionary idea of using sport as a key part of rehabilitation for spinal injuries, and people under his care were encouraged to try wheelchair polo, basketball, and archery. Until this point, people with spinal cord injuries often died within a year of sustaining those injuries, having been given no hope of returning to their previous life. Sir Ludwig's treatment methods and the games were a great success, and the games were held at Stoke Mandeville again in future years. With competitors from the Netherlands joining in the Stoke Mandeville games in 1952, an international competition was born. That was the precursor to the modern 'Parallel Olympics', or Paralympics as we now call it, which were held for the first time in Rome in 1960. Twelve Australian athletes competed in those inaugural 1960 games, bringing home a total of 10 medals, and Australia has been represented at every Paralympic Games since.

Today marks one year to go until the 15th edition of the Paralympics, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Rio games will see some 4,350 athletes with disability from 178 nations right across the globe competing over 11 days, with an Australian team of more than 170 athletes competing in some 15 sports. The Australian team will be led by chef de mission Kate McLoughlin, who will be the first woman to lead an Australian team at the Paralympic Games. This is a really significant milestone for Australian women in sport too. It will follow closely the first woman to lead an Australian Olympic team, with former pentathlete Kitty Chiller leading the Australian team into the stadium at the Rio Olympics. At the Rio Paralympics we will see outstanding Australian athletes on the world sporting stage—athletes like the multiple Paralympic gold medallist and world record sprinter Evan O'Hanlon, who will take to the athletics track. Today in Rio, to celebrate one year to go, Evan competes in a demonstration race to find the world's fastest para-athlete. We will also see 2014 Young Australian of the Year swimmer Jacqueline Freney attempt to replicate her success at the London Paralympics, when she brought home a record eight gold medals. And we will see a number of wheelchair teams and individuals striving to keep Australia's record of wheelchair sporting success at the Paralympics alive.

Our Paralympians are extraordinary athletes and they play an important role not only in our sporting community but also in our national psyche. I encourage all members in this place to embrace the spirit of the Paralympic Games, and call on them to support the Australian Paralympic team in its preparations for Rio 2016. Rio is a long way from Stoke Mandeville, and the world is a very different place now than in 1948, but the original intention of Sir Ludwig Guttmann lives on in the modern Paralympic movement.

Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion. I thank the member for Newcastle for moving this motion, a motion that I am sure will enjoy the support of all members of this House. It seems like only yesterday that we were farewelling athletes about to head to London for the 2014 Olympic and Paralympic games. Back then, I attended the Australian Paralympic team's launch ceremony at Parliament House. There I had the opportunity to meet young stars such as University of Queensland alumnus Bridie Kean. Bridie was captain of the women's wheelchair basketball team, the Gliders. I also met Dylan Alcott, a member of the men's wheelchair basketball team, the Rollers. Both teams went on to represent Australia with distinction in London and both won silver medals. In total, 161 Australian athletes went to London as part of the Australian Paralympic team. Between them, they achieved outstanding success, resulting in 85 medals, including 32 gold medals. This was the biggest gold medal success since the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was strong enough to place Australia fifth on the overall medal tally.

Among the team were some standout performances, particularly in the pool. Swimmer Matthew Cowdrey cemented his status as an Australian sporting legend by picking up another eight medals, including five gold medals. That took his overall medal tally to 13 gold medals-the most of any Paralympian in Australian history. Another swimmer, Ellie Cole, won four gold medals and two bronze medals. At the age of 13, swimmer Maddison Elliott became the youngest ever Australian gold medallist.

But arguably the star of the games was Brisbane-born swimmer Jacqueline Freney. Jacqueline won an outstanding eight gold medals, the most ever won by an Australian at a single Olympics. This included gold medals in six individual events: 100 metres backstroke, 50 metres butterfly, 200 metres individual medley, 100 metres freestyle, 50 metres freestyle and 400 metres freestyle. She was also part of the successful four by 100 metres women's freestyle and four by 100 metres medley relay teams.

In 2012 a total of 18 Queenslanders participated in their first Paralympics, and no doubt Rio 2016 will present an opportunity for more Queenslanders to participate for the first time. One such participant may well be 26-year-old paracanoeist Curtis McGrath. Every athlete has a story to tell about how they got to where they are, but few stories are as compelling as that of Curtis McGrath. In August 2012, the same month as the 2012 Paralympics opened in London, Sapper Curtis McGrath was a combat engineer with the Army's 6th Engineer Support Regiment based in Brisbane. Sapper McGrath was serving in Oruzgan province, leading a team, when he inadvertently stood on an improvised explosive device, or IED. Despite extensive injuries to his legs, he miraculously survived, but the injuries rendered him a double leg amputee.

Curtis's Paralympic ambition began that day. He later shared with the Gold Coast Bulletin newspaper that even as he was being stretchered from the site of the blast he was telling his colleagues that he would become a Paralympian one day. After months of rehabilitation, I was honoured to be present when he rejoined his mates at the welcome home parade at Gallipoli Barracks at Enoggera. He then dedicated himself to his chosen sport of paracanoeing, which will appear for the first time at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. Having won gold medals in his class at the 2014 and 2015 world championships, Curtis stands a good chance of making the team. To raise money to make it to Rio next year, he is being supported by Mates4Mates, a charity dedicated to the rehabilitation of current and ex-serving ADF members who have suffered physical or psychological wounds. Mates4Mates have set up a fundraising page to help Curtis fulfil his Paralympic dream, and have raised more than $8,000 so far in aid of his cause.

The motion makes note of Chef de Mission Kate McLoughlin, who will become the first woman to lead an Australian team at a summer Paralympic Games. It is hoped that she will lead a 170-strong team to the Rio Paralympics, which would be the largest team since the Paralympics were held on home soil in Australia back in 2000. Members of the Australian Paralympic team are tremendous role models for all Australians. As mainly amateur athletes, they represent the original Olympic ideals and compete for glory and for their country, their team and themselves without the promise of extensive financial reward. I join with the member for Newcastle and the rest of this House in wishing all aspiring Paralympians the very best as they make their final preparations for Rio next year.

Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to speak on this motion, a motion that notes a range of things, including:

(a) 7 September 2015 marks one year to go until the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games—

a very important event for the world and for Australia. Over 11 days of competition, there will be nearly 4,500 athletes from 178 nations competing in about 528 medal events across 22 sports. The sports of paracanoeing and paratriathlon will appear on the Paralympic program for the first time as well, which is great news for those wanting to compete in those events.

The Australian Paralympic Committee have been working very hard. They are preparing a very large team of around 170 athletes from every state and territory, who will be competing in up to 15 sports at the Rio games. Also, for the first time a woman will be leading our mission there. Chef de Mission, Kate McLoughlin, will be leading the Australian team. Australia obviously has a very proud history of success at the Paralympic Games, and we have competed in every one since the first in Rome in 1960—finishing in the top 5 at every summer Paralympic Games since Barcelona in 1992.

I congratulate the Paralympic Committee and the relevant national sporting organisations on their preparations for the Games so far and the potential Australian team members for their dedication to their chosen Paralympic sport. Very importantly, all members of parliament are called on to support the Australian Paralympic team in their preparation for Rio and, in that spirit, we call on all Australians to support the Games as well.

It is a pleasure to support my colleague the member for Newcastle in this very good motion, because Australia is a very proud sporting nation and has had many sporting successes that have shaped our identity, from our early contributions and conflicts overseas to the local match with kids in our neighbours. Not just as a nation but as regions, towns and cities, we are all very proud of our sporting achievements and participation. Newcastle is, of course, one of those renowned Australian sporting towns, and I am sure the member would attest to the impact that sport has on her city. It would probably be fair to say that the mood in the city on a Monday morning goes up and down and varies depending on how the Newcastle Knights have played over the weekend, as is the case in Brisbane and Ipswich. I am very proud to say that our Broncos are about to start yet another finals campaign and we wish them well.

I am also very happy to speak on this motion about Paralympic sport more generally because it gives me an opportunity to remind members, the House and all Australians that in just one year's time we will be seeing some of the best sporting events in world, with some of the finest athletes in the world and with some of the best performances in the world. If we look back at the history of the Paralympic competition we can see that the origins, when they were not known as the Paralympics, are in the competitions that were held for service veterans who had suffered spinal cord injuries during World War II. The games for these veterans were held at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England and were known as the Stoke Mandeville Games. First Summer Paralympics were held in Rome in 1960 and the first Winter Paralympics in Toronto in 1976—a great history throughout that period.

I mentioned earlier Australia's proud history as a sporting nation and, indeed, it can be argued that in no field of sport has Australian enjoyed more consistent excellence of achievement than in Paralympic sport. Australian athletes have consistently excelled at the Summer Paralympics. Australia has participated in all the Games since and has done an excellent job in all of them. In the Sydney 2000 Games, Australia topped the medal tally with 149 medals: 63 gold, 39 silver and 47 bronze. Australia also demonstrated an enormous record of winning medals and participation.

I had the great privilege on Saturday night to be at the Australian Swimming Awards in Brisbane, representing the Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten. I was also there to witness firsthand the great job that our Olympic and Paralympic swimming participants have done and the great comradery and competitiveness they enjoy across all of those sports. It was a great honour to be there to see a focus on their ability, their friendship and their comradery, and the competitive spirit that lives within Australian sport. I wish them well and I know that all Australians will be supporting our Paralympic champions as they go to Rio in 2016.

Debate interrupted.