Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Three swimmers from Trinity Lismore Swimming Club have performed exceptionally well at the Pacific School Games in Adelaide last week. The event is held every four years, and athletes from 12 countries between the ages of 10 and 19 converge for the games. Countries include China, India, Pakistan, Fiji and New Zealand, to name just a few. In order to qualify, the swimmers must win their individual events at state level. All three girls performed exceptionally well, finishing in the top 10 for every event that they competed in. Elsie Cooper, aged 14, broke the North Coast 200-metre breaststroke record, which has been the benchmark since 2012. Samantha McKenna, aged 17, and Karla Gilmore, also aged 17, were in the 50-metre freestyle relay team that picked up the bronze medal, with both girls swimming their leg in 28 seconds. Samantha followed up that performance with a bronze medal in the 100-metre breaststroke. The trinity club is now focusing on the Queensland state championships in two weeks time. The lead-up to the Queensland titles is the North Coast championships, which are run at Coffs Harbour this weekend, and the club will have 46 representatives competing. Congratulations to all the girls and to coach Ken Malcolm for his fantastic success with the club.

I would like to acknowledge Keith Hosking. Last Friday was Keith's last day at the Lismore NRMA after half a century in the job. A self-confessed car nut, Keith said his job was a perfect fit because it allowed him to get paid to talk about cars. But the job was much more. It was about providing his customers from across the Northern Rivers with exemplary service for 50 years. It was also about instilling the values of hard work and customer service in his children. Keith said in a recent newspaper article marking his 50 year milestone that it was not about the amount of money he earned but about having a regular job that allowed he and his wife Lucia, who, by the way, is a well-known member of the ANZ workforce, to save and plan for their family's future. It has paid off. His daughter Jodie is the co-founder of the international award-winning online company Shoes of Prey. In the newspaper article, Jodie paid homage to the ethics of father taught her as a child saying it was the lesson around customer service that droves everything they do at Shoes of Prey. Congratulations, Keith, good luck in your retirement and you will be missed.

Several Grafton junior girls travelled to Sydney recently to perform at the physical culture national championships. Shanae Crispin, Bree Hunter and Ellee Hunter all reached the national finals—that is, the top 18 in Australia—in their age division. Other members Maeve Dougherty, Josie Bindon, Mikayla O'Mahony and Candice Ingram reached the semi-finals, which is the top 36 in Australia in their respective age divisions. Seven-year-old Shanae has been doing physical culture since the age of three. She has achieved fantastic success in a very short time. She has placed in major competitions since starting and also placed at all zone championships she has competed in. This year was the first year she reached the finals, the top 18, at the nationals. She is also very talented, plays hockey and is a very good swimmer. Nine-year-old Bree Hunter commenced at the age of four, has also achieved great success and is very dedicated. She has also been very successful at all the qualifying competitions. Her consistent success saw her reach the finals for the second time. She is also very good at athletics at particular running events.

Ten-year-old Josie Bindon also commenced this sport at the age of three and has also always been a high achiever. She won her zone championship the last two years and placed every other year that she has competed. She won her lead-up competition this year and then went on to win the zone. This qualified her for the nationals, where she made it through to the semi-finals. She is also a very good hockey player and has many years of ballet eisteddfods under her belt. Twelve-year-old Maeve has been doing physical culture since the age of five she was. She has worked very hard to reach the stone zone level. It is the third year in a row that she has made it to the semi-finals. She is also very good at ballet and also regularly competes in the dance eisteddfods.

Fourteen-year-old Ellee Hunter commenced at the age of eight and has always been very dedicated to practice and this sport is her main interest. She placed fourth in her lead-up competition this year then went on to place second at the same competition and reached the finals, the top 18, this year. Fifteen-year-old Mikayla O'Mahony commenced at the age of three as well. She has placed almost every year at zone and has made it through to the nationals on several occasions. This year she won the qualifying competition and then went on to place third at the zone championships. This performance put her into the nationals. She is also a very talented netball player and has represented Grafton in the last three years in various regional competitions.

Lastly, 16-year-old Candice Ingram commenced the sport at the age of five. She has also been very successful at zone championships on numerous occasions. This year, she won her qualifying competition and then went on to place third at the zone championships. This allowed her to competed the nationals where she made the semi-finals. Candice also has a strong grounding in ballet and often competes at regional eisteddfods well. Congratulations to all the girls on their outstanding success. A special thank you also goes to the Grafton Physical Culture teacher, Justine Crispin, who has done an outstanding job with all of the students. She competes herself, and during the weeks leading up to the zone and national competitions she had 59 students competing in both individual and team events. So congratulations to all involved.

Caitlin Bargwanna, who was diagnosed last year with intellectual disability, has qualified to compete in the National Para-Athletic Championships in Canberra next month. Caitlin is a 10-year-old girl who attends the Lismore Heights Public School and is competing in the 200-metre sprint and the discus at the national track and field championships. Caitlin's mother, Kerry Wanstall, says that the sport has helped Caitlin build her self-confidence and become a role model for younger children who do not believe in themselves, as well as those with a disability.

Caitlin comes from a family with three elder brothers, Stephen, Nicholas and Thomas, all of whom have autism. Due to her children's disability, Caitlin's mother, Kerry, moved the family from Mungindi in Queensland to Lismore to have better access to essential services, support groups and doctors. Without doubt, Lismore has taken Caitlin to its heart, with the Lord's Taverners in Lismore giving a $1,000 grant to Caitlin to assist with the cost of attending the national championships, a donation that Kerry told me she is very thankful for. You can see from Caitlin's story that, if you have the drive and determination to succeed, nothing can stand in your way. I would like to wish her the very best at the championships.