Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The former federal Labor government introduced the Local Sporting Champions program in 2008 to provide funding assistance to young men and women to participate in national or state sporting competitions. On 14 February, I held an afternoon tea to congratulate our local sporting champions. I congratulate the following Blair sporting champions: Cade Bandit, who was selected to represent Queensland at the hockey championships in Darwin; Steve Grayson, who hopes to progress into the Queensland cricket team and, eventually, the Australian cricket team; Jackson Tinney, who has been involved in school and club sport since the age of six playing rugby league, tennis, lawn bowls, swimming, athletics, soccer and cricket; Miranda McNamara, who is enjoying the friendship bond associated with traveling with the hockey team; Emily Witheyman-Crump, who was selected in the Queensland Remote and Indigenous Hockey Program Rubies squad, under 19 Indigenous women's team, and who hopes that she will one day play for Australia; Jamie Prasser, who has been playing hockey since the age of four; Teresa Webb, who has been committed to sport and playing softball since the age of seven; Kelly McNamara, who represented Queensland in cross-country; Layla Eleison, for whom making the Queensland hockey team is a stepping stone towards her goal to play for Australia; Mitchell Moran, who was selected for the third time in the Queensland hockey team; Gabrielle Nicholls, who competed in the national hockey titles and who hopes one day to wear the green and gold; Clinton Suther; Thomas Wheeler; Emma Reynolds; Alanna Perry and Zoe Lambi all representing our region in national and state championships. (Time expired)