Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to acknowledge the efforts of two of my constituents, Matt and Wendy Napier, who have gone to extraordinary efforts to raise awareness about global poverty. Matt Napier, who his wife describes as 'an inspirational man', is currently walking 4,400 kilometres across Australia to raise awareness about this issue. Matt is not just walking; he is taking over five million steps and bouncing an AFL football the whole way.

Anyone who knows about an Aussie Rules football will tell you that it isn't the easiest ball to bounce—so to do this from one side of the country to the other is indeed an incredible feat. Matt left Perth on 2 February after a very well-attended launch and is already making his way across the Nullarbor. When I last heard from Matt and Wendy, they were about 20 kilometres from the border of Western Australia and South Australia and reported that they were making good time. They have received a lot of support from the Western Australian public and have had several offers of support from the South Australian public as well. They have said their journey is going well and they have got some good media coverage too.

I look forward to seeing Matt and his wife Wendy when they reach the east coast later this year. Matt and Wendy Napier are passionate about the Global Poverty Walk, which is their incredible contribution to addressing world poverty. They have told me that they believe all children, no matter what country they are born in, should have access to food, clean water, basic health care and a primary education. They simply want Australia to do its fair share to ensure this happens.