Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

All of us over recent weeks have watched with pride as each of our Olympians donned the green and gold to compete for our country. The commitment, determination and courage of our athletes symbolised and embodied the Olympic spirit and propelled Australia to another top 10 finish in the medals tally. Of course, being selected for the Olympics is about more than being a gifted athlete; it is about hard work, discipline and sacrifice. Most of us, most Australians, will never know what it is like to compete in sport at an elite level. We can only imagine how those few minutes on the track, in the boat or on the bike represent the culmination of years of sacrifice, hours of training, overcoming self-doubt, pushing bodies to the limit and missing out on time with family and friends—all for the love of sport. Gold medal glory, let alone any financial reward, is all too rare.

Each of our Olympians has won the respect of a proud nation. For a country of 24 million we have again punched well above our weight—an outstanding achievement and a credit to each of our athletes. The team brought home eight gold medals, 11 silver and 10 bronze. Let me reflect on a few of the many great moments. Anna Meares, a real Olympic legend, became our most successful track cyclist with four Olympics and six Olympic medals under her belt. What an achievement. Our women's rugby sevens team made history to secure the first rugby sevens gold at an Olympics, and of course they beat New Zealand in the final. Our champion swim team includes individual gold medal winners Kyle Chalmers and Mack Horton, and our triumphant 4 x 100 metre women's relay team. Then there is Tom Burton, the young sailor. His faultless tactics won him gold in the Laser. That will be emulated I am sure by many junior sailors for many years to come at every sailing race on every weekend. Kim Brennan—what a wonderful role model for women's rowing and for women's sport—now has a gold medal to add to her collection. Chloe Esposito made history with Australia's first medal—and a gold—in the Olympic modern pentathlon. Jared Tallent—what a great Australian athlete. His great performance in the 50-kilometre walk won him silver. No other Australian male has won four Olympic medals in track and field.

And, of course, there were so many more. But Australia's performance is not just measured by the final medal tally. Some of the most memorable moments, as we witnessed, were events where our athletes achieved their personal best and showed incredible grace and sportsmanship under the glare of the spotlight, often in the face of disappointment. These moments are an indelible part of our national life. To the athletes, the officials, the coaches, the families and friends that supported them with so much enthusiasm and love over so many years, to all of that wide family of the 2016 Australian Olympic Team, I know that I speak on behalf of all honourable members and indeed all Australians in saying congratulations on a job well done.

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

It is a pleasure to join the Prime Minister in congratulating all 422 of our Australian Olympians on their efforts in Rio. Before we go any further, we send the goodwill and best wishes of this House and the Australian people to the 178 members of our Paralympic Team who are preparing for their games which will begin on 7 September. Every four years, Australians from all walks of life are consumed by the performance, by the athleticism, by the opportunity to watch the best in the world perform at the Olympic Games. We sacrifice sleep to follow the fortunes of people who have given up years of their lives in pursuit of excellence.

At these Olympics, we had so much to be proud of and so much to cheer about. Mack Horton reclaimed the 400-metre freestyle title for Australia. We had the remarkable comeback of Kyle Chalmers, who was seventh at the turn and first to the wall in the 100-metre freestyle. In that same race we saw the extraordinary sportsmanship of Cam McEvoy, who was overjoyed for his friend rather than disappointed for himself. Our sailors, as we have heard, raked in the medals yet again. And, as is so often the case, the women of the Australian team carried the torch for us at the Olympics, claiming five of our eight gold medals. We had the trailblazing success of our rugby sevens and Kim Brennan's stunning victory in the singles sculls. Catherine Skinner is the new hero of Mansfield in Australia, winning gold in the trap shooting. Our women's 4 x 100 metre relay team defended their London title. Chloe Esposito became the first Australian to win a gold medal in the modern pentathlon. Rather than basking in her well-deserved glory, she rushed back to the stands to watch her brother compete.

In winter, we honour the achievements of our football codes. But, when it comes to the Olympics, our women athletes always deliver. The tradition we saw in Rio was the same tradition of the 1956 Melbourne golden girls—Marlene Mathews, Marjorie Jackson and Dawn Fraser—and Susie O'Neil and so many other Australian women champions. In Rio our women were led by the remarkable Anna Mears. Perhaps this might prompt us to redouble our efforts in supporting women's sport and the coverage of women's sport in this country. In Rio the Boomers, the Opals, the Stingers, the Sharks, the Kookaburras, the Matildas and the Hockeyroos gave their all against the best in the world.

When I think about Australia's performance, I am a little disappointed by the lack of generous comment in some parts of our media about the accomplishments of our young athletes. When you look at any medal tally in the world, we do very well. And there is not an Australian who does not feel more proud of Australia at the end of an Olympics than at the start. Sure, we would always like to have more medals. But, when you think about how Australian athletes performed at the Olympics, they have everything to hold their heads up about.

The Prime Minister and I had the opportunity to meet the Olympic athletes on their return from Rio. There, we also saw other people who deserve to be mentioned—the parents who drove their kids to practice before first light; the coaches inspiring, motivating, driving, timing and demanding every inch of effort and absolute self-discipline with early starts and late finishes; and the physios, the medicos and the support staff at Rio who kept these high-performing people healthy and well.

And now so many of our heroes we honour today have spent the past week visiting their former schools and their junior sporting clubs, showing a new generation that the track marked on their school oval, the little lasers at their local beach and the humble community pool were the training grounds of athletes and dreams. If the efforts of our athletes inspire more Aussie kids to try something new, to step away from the screen, to go for a ride or a run, to join a team and to be active and healthy, then it is a very good thing that they do. And for all those young Australians who watched these games, who witnessed the toughest of athletes shed tears of both joy and pain, who could see athletes from small and developing nations struck by the vivid delight of wearing their country's name in the highest global stage, it is not too much to hope that the Olympic ideal will live in their memory too—not just the pursuit of individual excellence to be the strongest, to jump the highest and to run the fastest, but to draw satisfaction from beating your personal best and from the thrill of simply taking part.

In the 'modern spectators pentathlon', complaining about the broadcast coverage comes right after pretending you knew about judo! My particular favourite is 'the diver's splash was too big'! And, of course, there is the perennial event 'I reckon I could do that if I trained'—it is a great event and many of us enter it! I think we can agree that Channel Seven did an outstanding job of bringing the Rio games into our lounge rooms and onto our phones. The deeds of the Australian Olympic team deserve the widest possible audience and Seven did a great job in making it happen.

In the weeks to come, some our team will already be turning their minds to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018. I am sure all Australians, including our top sports administrators, will be backing our team for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and for the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020. Others from Rio will be moving on to a new phase of their lives. But wherever our Olympians go, whatever the do, no-one can take away from them the fact that they were Australian Olympians and the rest of us are very proud of them.