Linda White (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Following their triumph over England on Monday, I would like to congratulate Australia's Diamonds on becoming Netball World Cup champions for the 12th time. The World Cup win is emblematic of the place netball holds in Australia's sport culture and history. It is our country's largest participant sport and has a legacy of inclusion, teamwork and women's empowerment. I've personally experienced netball's power to bring people together and sense of community. As a girl, I played with the Miranda Magpies and representative netball for Eastwood Ryde. I then continued playing and umpiring for the Melbourne University Blues. Netball yielded great social opportunities. The sport facilitates people from different walks of life coming together and bonding as teammates.

Beyond participating in netball, I have also had the privilege of learning about the sport's long history. Last Friday I visited the Grit & Gold exhibition at the National Library of Australia. This exhibition, which is open until November, showcases Australia's long and colourful sporting heritage. There's an extensive collection of memorabilia, art, books, magazines and photographs that gives the viewer a fully immersive experience into our nation's sporting triumphs, trials and tribulations. To my surprise, the exhibition includes a 1984 copy of the Umpire's Guide to Netball. This was particularly exciting because I owned this same guide during my umpiring days at Melbourne University.

To reflect on netball's culture and history is immensely special to me. It was also amazing to see Ash Barty's Wimbledon tennis dress, photos of the SCG in the 1930s and the Olympic torches from Sydney 2000 and Melbourne 1956. If you're in Canberra, I recommend you visit the Grit & Gold exhibition at the National Library. It will only add to your admiration for the Diamonds and netball's contribution to Australia's green and gold sporting tapestry and to our love of sport generally.