Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) 7 September 2015 marks one year to go until the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games;

(b) the Paralympic Games will bring over 11 days of competition, with more than 4,350 athletes from 178 nations expected to participate in 528 medal events across 22 sports;

(c) the sports of Para-canoe and Para-triathlon will appear on the Paralympic program for the first time;

(d) the Australian Paralympic Committee is currently preparing to send an Australian team of more than 170 athletes from every Australian state and territory to compete in up to 15 sports at the Paralympic Games;

(e) the team will be led by Chef de Mission Kate McLoughlin, who will become the first woman to lead an Australian team at the Paralympic Games;

(f) Australia has a proud history of success at the Paralympic Games and has competed at every one since the first in Rome in 1960, finishing in the top five at every summer Paralympic Games since the Barcelona Games in 1992; and

(g) the Australian Paralympic Team is one of Australia's most important sporting teams, helping shape community attitudes towards disability and assisting Australians with a disability to participate in sport to the level of their choice;

(2) congratulates:

(a) the Australian Paralympic Committee and relevant national sporting organisations on their preparation for the Paralympic Games so far; and

(b) all potential Australian team members for their dedication to their chosen Paralympic sport; and

(3) calls on all Members of Parliament to support the Australian Paralympic Team in its preparations for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

On 29 July 1948, a brilliant sunny day, the games of the 14th Olympiad were opened by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, in London. They were the first Olympics in 12 years, with the 1940 Helsinki games and the 1944 London games cancelled because of World War II. Great attention was drawn to the games. A new world was being celebrated, events were being broadcast on television for the first time, and it was a sign of normality returning to the world, following the disruptions caused during the war. While these games were significant, an event held some 42 miles away in parallel to the opening ceremony, holds more significance to the motion before us today. In a small town, Stoke Mandeville, in Buckinghamshire, 16 paralysed service men and women were competing in the Stoke Mandeville games for men and women.

The games were the brainchild of neurologist Sir Ludwig Guttmann, head of the National Spinal Injuries Centre, a treatment centre for injured World War II servicemen. Sir Ludwig had come up with the revolutionary idea of using sport as a key part of rehabilitation for spinal injuries, and people under his care were encouraged to try wheelchair polo, basketball, and archery. Until this point, people with spinal cord injuries often died within a year of sustaining those injuries, having been given no hope of returning to their previous life. Sir Ludwig's treatment methods and the games were a great success, and the games were held at Stoke Mandeville again in future years. With competitors from the Netherlands joining in the Stoke Mandeville games in 1952, an international competition was born. That was the precursor to the modern 'Parallel Olympics', or Paralympics as we now call it, which were held for the first time in Rome in 1960. Twelve Australian athletes competed in those inaugural 1960 games, bringing home a total of 10 medals, and Australia has been represented at every Paralympic Games since.

Today marks one year to go until the 15th edition of the Paralympics, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Rio games will see some 4,350 athletes with disability from 178 nations right across the globe competing over 11 days, with an Australian team of more than 170 athletes competing in some 15 sports. The Australian team will be led by chef de mission Kate McLoughlin, who will be the first woman to lead an Australian team at the Paralympic Games. This is a really significant milestone for Australian women in sport too. It will follow closely the first woman to lead an Australian Olympic team, with former pentathlete Kitty Chiller leading the Australian team into the stadium at the Rio Olympics. At the Rio Paralympics we will see outstanding Australian athletes on the world sporting stage—athletes like the multiple Paralympic gold medallist and world record sprinter Evan O'Hanlon, who will take to the athletics track. Today in Rio, to celebrate one year to go, Evan competes in a demonstration race to find the world's fastest para-athlete. We will also see 2014 Young Australian of the Year swimmer Jacqueline Freney attempt to replicate her success at the London Paralympics, when she brought home a record eight gold medals. And we will see a number of wheelchair teams and individuals striving to keep Australia's record of wheelchair sporting success at the Paralympics alive.

Our Paralympians are extraordinary athletes and they play an important role not only in our sporting community but also in our national psyche. I encourage all members in this place to embrace the spirit of the Paralympic Games, and call on them to support the Australian Paralympic team in its preparations for Rio 2016. Rio is a long way from Stoke Mandeville, and the world is a very different place now than in 1948, but the original intention of Sir Ludwig Guttmann lives on in the modern Paralympic movement.

See this speech in context