Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to share with the House a report from a trip to Sydney by the Australian federal parliamentary netball team on the weekend. Our colleagues from this place and the other place—including the member for Newcastle, who is in the room now; the member for Boothby, who was here a little while ago; and Senators McAllister, McKenzie and Hanson-Young—represented this parliament in a three-way test between New South Wales, New Zealand and the Australian federal parliament. We did manage to defeat the New South Wales parliament, but lowered our colours, once again, to New Zealand, who returned across the ditch with the Diggeress Cup. However, we did join our New South Wales and New Zealand colleagues at the first Constellation Cup, where Australia gave New Zealand a routing on the netball court in the real game.

I also want to commend the Australian netball association on their program called Confident Girls, which seeks to support young girls to be confident girls through sport. I welcome New Zealand, who is intending to join us in that program.