Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Thistlethwaite for his question. I know he is a big supporter of the Paralympics and has been keenly following it from home. Senate colleagues, as you would be aware, this morning Australian time the London 2012 Paralympics came to an end with their closing ceremony. The performances of our team are applauded and acknowledged. As stated by the President of the Australian Paralympic Committee, their results exceeded their expectations. In fact, the goal of the APC was to maintain a position as high as possible within the top 10 nations competing and, since the year 2000 games in Sydney, many of those countries have significantly increased their investment in paralympic sports, which has ensured a high level of competition across a larger number of countries. This has made our achievements in London all the more special.

All up, Australia won medals in nine of the 13 sports that we contested in London, including our first-ever medal in hand cycling and our first gold medal in equestrian since the year 2000. We had our first goalball team competing since Sydney and our swimmers had their best performance in the pool since 1984. We are all extremely proud of the performances of our athletes in London and the way in which they have represented Australia during, before and after competition. I would like to place on the record our collective gratitude to those athletes not only for the inspiration they provide to other people who have been living with a disability or have incurred a disability through a tragic event in their lives, but for the inspiration they provide which has permeated the whole of Australia and bought a great deal of joy and enthusiasm for the Paralympic Games.