Trish Cook (Bullwinkel, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today, I rise to speak about my necklace. It's a gold medal from the Australian Masters Games that I won just two weeks ago right here in Canberra with my team mates from the Perth team called Southerns. This medal represents more than just a win on the softball diamond; it represents the importance of staying in the game. There is an alarming trend in Australia where girls and women drop out of sport. Recent data shows a dropout rate of approximately 60 per cent for girls aged 15 and older. Life gets busy, with study, careers and, for many women, raising a family taking priority, and it becomes too easy to hang up the glove. But what I've learned is that sport is the very thing that can get you through all those things. It's about much more than physical health; it's about your support network and your community.

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 12:12 to 12:22

The amazing women I played alongside during these games, some of us have been playing together, or in opposition, for nearly 40 years. These are my second family and we've celebrated life's wins and supported each other through the losses, both on and off the field. That social connection is highly valued and something that you don't always find. So I share this gold medal win with my Southerns team members: Jeanie Antonovich, Barb Priest, Robyn Davies, Julie May, Marie and Kay Walley, Vicki Egan, Sherri Huntress, Leesa Hogarth, Di Chreia, Sandy Thompson, Donna Delarie, Toni Staples, Jill Green and Bullwinkel residents Lynda Harvey and my sister, Diane Parker. To all the women and girls out there I say: find your team and stay in the game. I will leave you with this quote: 'If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself!'