E&OE.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
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.
Fifty-three 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 just 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 ‘24 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 and retiring Emma McKeon.
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.
Among them, most prominently, 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.
A joy surpassed only by Arisa’s delight in knowing that her parents would have to keep their promise and buy her a pet duck.
This Olympics will also be remembered for Australia’s achievements on the athletics track and field.
Most notably, Nina Kennedy soaring over the bar to win Australia’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in the women’s pole vault.
Or Jess Hull’s sensational silver in the women’s 1500 metres – our first medal in this event in 56 years.
Mr Speaker, in any Olympics, amidst the cheers, there are inevitably tears.
There will be Australians returning from these games who will be disappointed with their performance.
For those Australians who have fallen short of their goals, I hope they will remember that truism in life that our character is strengthened as much by our setbacks as by our successes.
And 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.
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 have left sport behind.
On behalf of the Coalition, I commend all of our Olympians for their success 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 this opportunity to applaud the wider team.
To Anna Meares, to the coaches, to the managers, the sports scientists, the nutritionists, the doctors, the psychologists, the physios, the massage therapists and more people besides.
All of the family who are involved, the sacrifice that they made, in many cases, pulling every dollar together to enjoy that trip across 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, perhaps one of them will be inspired by the performance that they saw on their television screens – maybe more than one, maybe many of them, and 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, many months, and many years to come.
This is their moment.
Mr Speaker, in their moment, they have done our country very proud.
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