Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Sport. Will the minister update the House on Australia’s achievements at the recent Olympic Games in Beijing and achievements off the field to harness the benefits of sport?

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Youth and Sport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. I begin by congratulating the wonderful Australian team for its inspiring Olympic performance. I think we all agree that the team has represented our nation with great honour and distinction. Of over 200 nations to compete in China, to finish sixth on the medal tally is a remarkable achievement and one that we should all be celebrating. Much to the disappointment of the House, I do not intend to name all of our medal recipients and all of those who com-peted on behalf of our country, nor do I have the opportunity to share all of the inspiring stories such as that of the truly heroic Anna Meares. But I will add my congratulations to those that have already been offered by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.

For the record, Australia won medals in 14 sports, which is the same number of sports as in Athens. We had 136 individual medallists in the team of 435. Incidentally, in comparison, Great Britain had 74 individual medallists. That again illustrates what a truly amazing performance Australia put in. I congratulate John Coates and the Australian Olympic Committee as well as the vast number of coaches, support staff and managers who have all given their time to assist our fabulous team. I thank those at the Australian Sports Commission and the Australian Institute of Sport who have worked so long and hard on behalf the government—both past and present—to prepare our teams and to support them while in China. I commend the wonderful parents and family members of our athletes. Of course, I also commend the magnificent athletes themselves who have filled so many of us with pride and inspiration. They truly are remarkable ambassadors for our nation. The government has made very clear its intention to remain close and very strong supporters of them long into the future.

Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How much extra?

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Youth and Sport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I invite the member opposite to ask a question if he would like to discuss funding issues further. I am more than happy to discuss our government’s intention to maintain our commitment to our athletes.

Of course, much was also achieved off the sporting field. This government is working to promote sport across Australia from the grassroots to the elite level not only every four years at the Olympics when the eyes of the world shine on sport but indeed every year, all year around. We recognise that sport is incredibly powerful in delivering healthy role models for our community, addressing obesity levels and preventable diseases, promoting social inclusion and achieving educational outcomes. The Olympic Games is a time when many stakeholders from the sporting community gather in one venue and much can be achieved through negotiation with other government representatives or other stakeholders and sporting officials. I had the opportunity whilst in China to chair a meeting of the Commonwealth sports ministers. It is with great pleasure that I can report back to the parliament on a number of very important issues that were successfully resolved at the meeting. At the Commonwealth sports ministers meeting we agreed to a communique which, amongst other issues, strengthened the resolve of governments to tackle doping in sport in our regions—something that the member opposite might think is lightweight but that we think is very important to supporting and maintaining the integrity of sport. Whilst developed nations often need to take the lead on these issues, we must remain focused on ensuring that developing nations have also got successful antidoping measures in place in order to ensure that our athletes are competing on a level playing field.

We gave our ongoing support to the work of the regional antidoping offices in Africa, the Caribbean and Oceania. We also recommended greater cooperation and information sharing amongst Commonwealth countries through the establishment of a new sports adviser position for the Commonwealth. We recognise that sport can be a mechanism for social change and economic advancement, particularly in developing countries. So this was an opportunity for us to have a look at some very successful programs across the Commonwealth such as the healthy benefits of sport in the Caribbean, the inclusive benefits of sport in India, an Australian program which is running in South Africa to increase participation rates, as well as the educational initiatives which are being progressed in the United Kingdom. It was agreed that we would work more cooperatively and share information rather than each of us reinventing the wheel on this. I also had the opportunity to meet with the British sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe. This meeting gained some coverage as a result of some other discussions which took place there. I would like to inform the House today that during that meeting we learned of—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Five minutes!

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Youth and Sport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am sorry if the members opposite do not think it is important to welcome back our Olympic athletes and share that—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Those on my left will cease interjecting! The minister will ignore the interjections.

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Youth and Sport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to share with the House that this government is committed to promoting the position of women in Australian sport. I note that when the Senate did an inquiry into this issue a couple of years ago the previous government left the report sitting on a shelf gathering dust. I had the opportunity to discuss with the British sports minister our work and our commitment to promoting women in Australian sport. We have committed to working with the United Kingdom to progress these issues and ensure that we can strengthen this.

We celebrate the success of the Olympics and of the Australian Olympic team. I would like to extend my heartfelt welcome home to them and wish them a well-earned break. Equally, I assure the parliament that this government is committed to ensuring that the energy and inspiration which have been provided by our athletes at the Olympic Games will be continually built upon, and we will ensure that we use that to continue to bring our sporting structures, from grassroots to elite level, up to the position where we can continue to prepare Australia for the challenges that will face us in the future.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.