Parliamentary Updates

12 August 2024

 It is such a great honour to be able to be in the space to congratulate the outstanding success of our elite sports people who competed at least 2024 Paris Olympics. The most successful medal tally ever but more importantly I think it is the spirit that has come through that is shining through from this team. I want to give a huge congratulations to Anna Mears, for her outstanding leadership, previously as an athlete and now as a chef de mission for this incredible team. We have seen astonishing performances from swimming, road cycling, canoes slalom, equestrian, shooting, athletics, rowing, sailing, tennis – so many. All these competitors, they should be so proud. But what I really want to talk about is also that it is something truly special to be an Olympian. It is often a dream formed at a really young age from these athletes, that they dared to dream, dare to set their sights on something that might seem so incredibly impossible. And then these athletes dedicate years and years to training, to travel. They sacrificed what many others take for granted, their families and friends prioritise their needs. It is incredibly hard and gruelling. And unfortunately, society focuses too much on the cream on top, which is the medals, which is an incredible privilege, the tiny, tiny percentage that make it to the medal dais. And too often we focus on that and do not focus on the heroism of sport which is often happening far away from the limelight. And it is actually just the amazing heroism of sport often it is the hard runs, it’s when the dreams are shattered, when you pull a hammy, when you fall or that slight bit of luck when things just did not go your way. It is in those hard moments when dreams are shattered, that athletes have to find that strength, the dedication, the perseverance to come back, to come back stronger, faster, harder then they actually put in that extra training and goals. So, my message is a huge congratulations to everyone who has the dreams come true becoming an Olympian and then that extra cream on top of maybe being a medallist. But also my message to Olympians is all those skills you have worked so hard for over 70 years, they are incredible assets to you. As an Olympian myself, having been to four Olympics as an athlete, the fifth one as an administrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, I know so well how much those skills you develop as athletes will serve you well in life, in terms of your dedication, your ability to train, to focus, to work hard, to take criticisms, because there are always plenty from the outside world, always plenty of armchair critics looking at performances but it is only you who truly know what you have put into it but we also know sport brings us together. I have looked in wonder at the refugee team that has performed at the Paris Olympics now that they’re going, and a congratulations to Cindy Ngamba who won a medal in boxing, the first ever team medal for a refugee team. It is hard to imagine how it would feel to be displaced from your country but still have that opportunity to bring that plight to light. From an Australian perspective, it has been incredible to watch the Australian women really do us proud and as a female ex- athlete I have to take some note of that because women have had to fight hard for that equal opportunity to participate in sport, to be recognised in sport and it is still not there when it comes to fully equal funding and recognition in terms of pay for example. Because training and juggling your commitments is a full-time job and it is incredibly hard. What we have seen is now female athletes have been competing for over 100 years at Olympic events. If you go back to 1912 Stockholm Olympics, we had Sarah Fanny Durack, Nina Whiley, compete in the 100 a freestyle. They finished first and second places respectively. And they were inspired to do so in protest of New South Wales Amateur Swimming Association's assertion that women should not compete in competitions when men were present. We have certainly come a long way but so much more is needed. I must also do a shoutout to Warringah constituents; Rowena Meredith competing in rowing; Sariah Paki and Sharni Smale competing in Rugby Sevens; Sean Connor competing in sailing; Clare Wheeler competing in football; Sienna Green, Bronte Halligan, Sienna Hearn and Tilly Kearns competing in the water polo and congratulations on such an exciting silver medal. I have a great love for the Olympics, please don’t forget the winter olympians they do Australians proud as well on the world stage.