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

This morning in Sydney we welcomed home Australia's Paralympians. They had some special carry-on baggage with them on the plane: 18 gold medals, 17 silver and 28 bronze. That all adds up to an outstanding games, and it's a credit to the entire Australian team, led by co-captains Angie Ballard and Curtis McGrath and the chef de mission, Kate McLoughlin. Seventeen of our athletes won multiple medals. Swimmers Alexa Leary, Callum Simpson and Timothy Hodge each won two golds and a silver, as did Lauren Parker in triathlon and cycling.

I want to give a shout-out to Vanessa Low, who I caught up with today. She got an earlier plane there, so she was there when the other athletes arrived. And I had the opportunity to have a FaceTime with her from Paris. Vanessa broke her own world record, to win gold in the long jump in front of her husband, Scott, and two-year-old son, Matteo. Every Australian Paralympian brought such joy and pride to the coaches, support staff and their loved ones, whether they were on the ground with them there in Paris or cheering from home, and one of the comments that was made by many of the Paralympians who had also completed in Tokyo is what a difference it made having crowds there in Paris, including their loved ones and other athletes and friends being able to cheer them on.

As we tuned in to watch our athletes over those 11 days, we also learned some of their stories: the adversity they had overcome, the challenges they had faced, the determination and commitment that took them to the very pinnacle of world sport. In the most intense moments, in the glare of the brightest spotlight, that strength of character shone through. Every Paralympian would have had a moment in their life when they set themselves the goal of representing Australia. Perhaps it was a junior coach who recognised their potential, or a parent or loved one who urged them to chase their dream and made sacrifices to see them realise it. Equally, they might have found inspiration in the deeds of other athletes in Sydney or Athens, Beijing, London or Rio. That is the tradition that their names indeed belong to now. That is the inspiration that they have given to the next generation of Australians. Together, there are girls and boys around our nation dreaming of wearing the green and gold at Brisbane in 2032 because of everyone who competed in Paris. The next generation of Paralympians have been given a great new sense of what they can achieve, a new goal to strive for and new heroes to follow.

Today I was pleased to be joined by the Minister for Sport, the Minister for the NDIS, the Minister for Social Services, the Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the National Party and other shadow ministers. It was a great honour for all of us to be there. And it was a great way to spend the morning, I must say.

To every member of the Australian team, I simply say: You've done yourself proud, you've done your families proud, but you've done our nation proud as well. Australia is so proud of you. Congratulations, and welcome home.

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

I thank the Prime Minister for his fine words and thank him for the opportunity to be there in Sydney today. On behalf of the Leader of the Nationals, as well as shadow ministers Sukkar and Ruston, who were with me this morning: it was an inspiration to be in the company of those Paralympians—and not just the Paralympians but the incredibly proud family members and supporters who were there in the hangar. Qantas do an amazing job in bringing back our Paralympians and Olympians and have done so since the end of the Second World War in the case of the Olympics and since 1968 in terms of the Paralympics. It is quite an amazing event. To look up at the screen and see the pride that the parents and the supporters there had in those athletes, whether they medalled or not, was quite phenomenal. Those young kids who are in the audience today and those who have been watching on their television screens over the 11 days have been inspired, themselves, to overcome their adversity, to deal with their disability and to put themselves into a training regime or to have the commitment to represent their country in Los Angeles or in 2032 in Brisbane. That is an amazing achievement in and of itself that our Paralympians should be so proud of.

I want to thank very much the chefs de mission, the co-captains, Angie and Curtis. Curtis's own story is quite amazing, having served our country in uniform. To go on to achieve a gold medal at this Paralympics was quite a phenomenal story. I was incredibly proud, as I know every Australian was, to see the Paralympians performing on-screen. We medalled in nine different sports. I pay particular recognition to Brendan Hall, who I've watched grow up as a very young fellow. He first competed in 2008 in the Paralympics. He lived in my electorate and he lost his right leg to chickenpox. The work that he has done—his family supported him through a training regime in the pool, and the way that he has lived his life and the way that he has turned his opportunity as a Paralympian into an outstanding achievement is the story of many of those that we met today. As Australians, we should all be incredibly proud of the Paralympians, of the medical support staff, of all of those around them who provided support to allow them to represent our country in the best possible way. We pay true and full tribute to them today.