Emma Husar (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that the XXI Commonwealth Games will commence on the Gold Coast with the opening ceremony on Wednesday, 4 April 2018 and the closing ceremony on Sunday, 15 April 2018;

(2) notes that:

(a) more than 6,600 athletes and team officials from 70 Commonwealth Nations and Territories will be competing;

(b) the athletes will compete in 275 events in 18 different sports and seven para-sports; and

  (c) beach volleyball, para triathlon and women's Rugby Sevens will make their Commonwealth Games debuts and for the first time at a Commonwealth Games, an equal number of men's and women's medal events will be contested;

(3) acknowledges that this year the Commonwealth Games motto will be 'Share the Dream'; and

(4) encourages all Members of Parliament to support the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and the Australian sports people representing Australia at the Commonwealth Games.

I'm delighted that the 21st Commonwealth Games are due to start on the Gold Coast from 4 April and will run for 11 days, concluding on 15 April. There will be 71 nations competing, including Gambia, which has been readmitted to the Commonwealth. We will see the best of the best competing, with more than 6,600 athletes and team officials already moving into the villages, competing in 275 events in 18 different sports and seven parasports. Some of the traditional inclusions in this year's games are swimming, athletics, basketball, boxing, gymnastics, hockey, netball and triathlon. I'm probably proficient in about one of those sports. Hopefully the people competing are much better than I am! This year, it's great to see that beach volleyball and paratriathlon are included, as well as the women's rugby sevens making their Commonwealth Games debut. For the first time in the Commonwealth Games, an equal number of men's and women's medal events will be contested, which is an absolutely fabulous outcome for equality.

There are 1.5 million tickets to watch the games and more than a million have already been sold. Preparations are well underway for the opening ceremony on 4 April. A number of communities have participated in the Queen's Baton Relay as the baton has made its way up to the Gold Coast for the 21st Commonwealth Games. The relay has travelled a record 230,000 kilometres around the world, and, while in Australia, will be carried by just under 4,000 baton bearers, including through my own community of Lindsay. I would love to congratulate all of the baton bearers and make special mention of those people in Lindsay who took the baton throughout our community: teacher Craig Beacroft from Penrith, who has been inspirational with his school in fundraising for Relay for Life; Mitchell Beggs-Mowczan from Glenmore Park, the Young Penrith Citizen of the Year 2017, who has contributed to improving the health of our region's Indigenous community; Betty Gallagher from Colyton, an amazing woman who has fostered more than 100 children; Cathy Gardiner from St Clair—St Clair is slightly out of Lindsay, but, as with all good things, we like to claim people from St Clair as our own—who has represented Australia in athletics and now trains athletes with a disability; Alysha Pearson from Cranebrook, who is the current New South Wales under-16 women's hammer-throw champion and recipient of a Local Sporting Champions award—I can throw a hammer, but not really to a medal standard and only usually in frustration during home renovations!—so well done to Alysha; Robert Wearn from Mulgoa, the patron of the Great Walk Foundation; and Cheryl Webb from Werrington, a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist. Thank you to all of those people, who made an incredible show bringing that baton through our community.

The world will be watching our games. It's estimated that we will have a global audience of about 1.5 billion people. Hundreds of international media organisations will begin arriving this week. Let's hope that we are on our best behaviour.

Viewers will see the sporting talents and be enthralled by the games, and they will see our beautiful country. These games are a great opportunity to showcase the Gold Coast, Queensland and Australia to the world and, if we're watching at home, they might encourage some of us to get up off the couch, stop being armchair athletes, be a bit more active and catch up with our mates for a game or two.

The economic benefits to holding the games are about $4 billion, including a $2 billion boost to Queensland's economy, including $1.7 billion for the Gold Coast. There are also around $2.6 billion of additional government and private sector investments. To support businesses and to take advantage of the opportunities arising before, during and post games, a number of programs to build capability and capacity have been developed, including the Be Games Ready program, tourism initiatives, support for Indigenous businesses and major event capability development. Everything is absolutely on track for the games. Eighteen world-class venues were built or upgraded, and the amazing infrastructure program supported 1,000 full-time construction jobs.

The first nations welcome ceremony will be hosted on 1 April, and I'm proud that there has been a reconciliation action plan, which has actually delivered a really great outcome for the Yugambeh people on the coast. Gold Coast 2018 is the first major sporting event to have a reconciliation action plan driving employment opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and for arts and culture. More than 200 employment opportunities have been created for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as one of the key outcomes of the Gold Coast 2018 reconciliation plan. I'm really, really pleased to see that this has happened. And it will be Gold Coast's biggest event.

It is a tremendous effort to prepare for the games, and I congratulate Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Commonwealth Games minister Kate Jones and make mention of the Commonwealth Games stakeholders and thank them. It is very exciting for Australia to be once again involved in hosting the games. We can all share the dream.

I would like to say a special mention to the 1,500 volunteers who will be out there making sure that everyone gets to the venues on time. I thank them for their volunteerism.

See this speech in context