Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So many Australians have spent the past fortnight on Paris time, our eyes glued to the extraordinary scenes in the pool, on the track, in the velodrome, on the whitewater course, at the skate park, in the BMX arena, in the boxing ring and even on the Seine river. Everywhere there have been green and gold champions to cheer on, and every one of them has done our country proud. Every one of them has brought us joy and excitement and brought us together as Australians.

Paris 2024 has been Australia's most successful Olympics ever—a record 18 gold medals, 19 silver and 16 bronze, taking us to fourth in the overall medal tally. If you compare the size of our population, just 27 million, with that of the United States, China and, of course, Japan, the three countries that are ahead of us, they have far more sizeable populations to draw on than we do. But, over the past two weeks, the heroics of our athletes have captivated Australians.

Just as importantly, they have inspired the next generation of Australians to be active, play sport, be part of their community, learn life lessons and make friends, because having a go, participating and testing yourself is what the Olympic spirit is all about, as Anna Meares has so eloquently said. We see that when the competition is over and the athletes are interviewed, overcome by joy or relief, when we watch as they embrace their families and friends in the stands, and when we see the tears of pride in their eyes as they stand on the podium while 'Advance Australia Fair' plays.

In all these special scenes, we are reminded of how much this moment means to our athletes and to the people who love them—the coaches, mentors, parents, spouses and siblings who have been on the journey with them through years of very early morning starts and unwavering dedication, working to overcome the challenges that every Olympian faces along the way. It's important to remember that for most of these athletes, overwhelmingly, there is not great financial reward; they put in because of their love for their sport and their aim of representing their country. I also want to pay tribute to Anna Meares and the leadership that she has shown, standing up for all of our athletes. I was struck by something that Ariarne Titmus said straight after winning gold in the 400:

I hope it goes to show anyone can do what they want to do if they work hard and believe in themselves. Here I am, from little old Lonnie, a town of 90,000, and I'm out here living the dream.

What a wonderful message from a great Tasmanian, from a remarkable champion. All of our athletes have given inspiration to boys and girls all over Australia. At a time when I think everyone in this chamber wants to see young Australians spend more time off their devices and on the netball court, the swimming pool or the oval, this is a great thing to inspire them.

In victory or defeat, we have been proud of every single one of our athletes. The Olympic spirit is about striving to be your best. It is about having a go and discovering something you love. Many of those young Australians will be thinking about Brisbane 2032 and about the potential of standing on the podium when, for the third time, Australia has the honour of hosting the Olympics. I'm sure that those Olympic Games will be just as successful as Melbourne was in 1956 and my home city of Sydney was in 2000. Many of the Olympians that we were cheering on in Paris grew up cheering for their heroes in Sydney, Athens or Beijing. It seems that Lauren Jackson just goes on forever. I was watching coverage of the bronze medal match last night, and it showed her off the court encouraging those who were doing Australia proud in defeating Belgium to win the bronze medal. What a great champion she has been.

All of these athletes started their journey at Little Athletics or the local community sports centre. From time to time, the government gets questions like, 'Why should you invest in sport?' Investing in sport reduces our health bill, for a start; it helps with both physical and mental health; and it also helps the health of our country. That has been really lifted up.

I look forward to welcoming the athletes home on Wednesday morning along with the Leader of the Opposition and others who will be there to welcome them home. I pay tribute to Anika Wells, as Minister for Sport, for the work that she did in the lead-up to the Olympics. We look forward to welcoming them home on Wednesday and we look forward to further inspiration when we watch our Paralympians in just a short period of time—because they as well will do us proud; I am certain of that.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the Prime Minister for his fine words and join him in celebrating the triumph of the Australian team at the Paris Olympic Games. This really was our finest Olympics. The medal tally says it all: 18 glorious gold, 19 splendid silver and 16 breathtaking bronze, with 53 medals in total and a fourth-place finish overall. For a country of 27 million people, Australia's result was outstanding in terms of medals per capita. By any stretch, this is an amazing result, and it's a great credit to all those involved. Our athletes showed the world once again that we're a sporting nation which punches above its weight.

Every Olympics has its magnificent and magical moments which we can commit to our national memory. Paris 2024 was no exception. We always anticipated we would prevail in the pool. Our swimmers did not disappoint. Ariarne Titmus, Kaylee McKeown, Mollie O'Callaghan, Cameron McEvoy—all have become household names, just like Dawn Fraser, Ian Thorpe and Kieren Perkins. Of course, we salute the outstanding Emma McKeon, who is retiring. Having won her sixth gold medal in Paris, Emma is our most decorated athlete in Olympic history, with 14 medals in total. In Paris, we saw the triumph of seasoned athletes, most prominent among them Jess Fox with her two golds in the kayak and the canoe. There were also the feats of emerging stars like 14-year-old skateboarder Arisa Trew. Australians were overjoyed to see our youngest ever gold medallist bearing our nation's flag across her shoulders. It was a joy surpassed only by her delight in knowing her parents would have to keep their promise and buy her a pet duck. The Olympics will also be remembered for Australia's achievements on the athletics track and field, most notably Nina Kennedy, who soared over the bar to win Australia's first ever Olympic gold medal in the women's pole vault and Jess Hull's sensational silver in the women's 1,500 metres—our first medal in that event in 56 years.

In any Olympics, amidst the cheers there are inevitably tears. There will be Australians returning from these games disappointed with their performances. For those Australians who have fallen short of their goals, I hope they'll remember the truism in life that our character is strengthened as much by our setbacks as by our successes. I hope that they appreciate just how incredibly proud every Australian is of their achievement on and off the sporting arena. Few people can call themselves Olympians. It's a title our athletes can carry with them throughout their lives with pride, regardless of their individual results. Our athletes have known a life defined by discipline, rising early, training for hours multiple times a day, sticking to strict diets and relinquishing precious time with family and friends to master their chosen sport. They have reached the summit of sporting endeavour, and their physical training and mental agility will see them excel in their personal and professional lives long after they've left the sport.

On behalf of the coalition, I commend all of our Olympians for their successes and spirit—on the field and on the track, on the court and in the ring, in the water and on it. They were magnanimous in victory and gracious in defeat, testimony to the calibre of the Australian character. Of course, it takes a team to condition an athlete and keep them at their best. I also want to take the opportunity to applaud the wider team. I applaud Anna Meares, the coaches, the managers, the sport scientists, the nutritionists, the doctors, the psychologists, the physios, the massage therapists and more people besides, like all of the family who were involved and the sacrifices they made. In many cases they pulled every dollar together to enjoy that trip to watch that moment of great pride.

Many commentators are already speaking about our prospects for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles and the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane. When I look around the gallery today and see the students here from across the country, I think perhaps one of them will be inspired by a performance that they saw on their television screens. Maybe it will be more than one—maybe many of them. I'm sure many across the country will be excelling and trying that bit harder as we approach 2032 in Brisbane. But let's stay in the moment, for this has been a historic Olympics for Australia, and this generation of athletes deserves our praise and our gratitude for many days, months and years to come. This is their moment. In their moment, they have done our country very proud.