John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk about a growing sport that becomes more popular every week, it seems—the sport of cycling. My home town of Inverell is a keen cycling community and this year the Grafton to Inverell Cycle Classic will celebrate its 50th year. It is held over a distance of 142 miles, or 228 kilometres. When the event began 50 years ago, much of the road was gravel and only 30-odd riders took part, including the Australian champion, Alan Grindal of Victoria. A huge crowd of some 6,000 welcomed the riders onto Otho Street in Inverell for the very first Grafton to Inverell Cycle Classic. A bloke by the name of Harold Strahley was regarded as the father of the race, and his nephew, Don Strahley, whom I know well, went on to win the 1970 Grafton to Inverell Cycle Classic. In fact, he and Leon Cook, who won the race in 1965, are the only two locals to take line honours over the past 49 years.

Since that first race in 1961, many thousands of cyclists from Australia and overseas have competed in this one-day cycling classic, the toughest single-stage race in Australia. The route climbs the Great Dividing Range and the Gibraltar Range to the summit and descends through Glen Innes to Inverell, with many steep hills and downhill gullies to contend with. For many years, Jack Griffin was the driving force behind the event, then the late Malcolm Campbell and then Robert Munday. Inverell has produced plenty of state cycling champions, but in 1986 Scott Sunderland won the Australian road title before embarking on a very successful professional career based in Belgium. Today Scott Sunderland is the sports manager of Team Sky in Britain.

I would like to talk about a current champion, whom our community is very proud of, a young man by the name of Heinrich Haussler. We must not get confused here, because Heinrich’s father is also called Heinrich, and Heinrich Haussler Sr and his wife, Wendy, have been a great support to young Heinrich. Young Heinrich left Inverell at the age of 14 to live in Germany, a country halfway around the world where he could not speak the language, so he could pursue his career in cycling. What a career he is having—and there is much more to come. At the age of 25, in the great cycle classic the Tour de France, Heinrich last year won the 13th stage. I do not know how many thousands of cyclists have competed in the Tour de France and never won a stage, but I do know that last year young Heinrich was rated No. 1 rider in the world. We are very proud of him. It was good to have him back in Australia prior to Christmas to welcome him to my office in Inverell and present him with a small token from my staff and me. Scott Sunderland and Heinrich Haussler are two young cyclists from Inverell who have really made their mark internationally. As I said, young Heinrich left his family at the age of 14 to go overseas and live in a strange country where he could not even speak the language. With determination, training and persistence he has become one of the best in the world—a magnificent feat.

But he is not satisfied with that; he is now making a contribution back into the sport. This makes young Heinrich a real shining star. He sponsors the Grafton to Inverell Cycle Classic each year. Just a couple of weeks ago I attended a function in Inverell, where some 300 people were present, to launch the Racing Kangaroos. This is an initiative of Heinrich Haussler Sr and Wendy Haussler. With the support of their son, young Heinrich, they are getting behind a sport that has given the family so much satisfaction. They have raised a lot of sponsorship and have formed the Racing Kangaroos, based in Inverell. It is the brainchild of Heinrich Haussler Sr and Inverell coach Kurt Pollock and is designed to give young cyclists an opportunity to receive the same professional training and experience here in Australia as they would gain overseas, without having to go overseas. Also, they are pursuing education for the young riders along with their cycle training so that, when the youngsters grow up and, hopefully, become champions in their sport, they have a decent education and have a career to go back to when they leave the sport of cycling. There is a strong focus on team members completing their education, including through scholarships at special boarding schools, and it is also aimed at helping them grow as people and become good citizens.

There are 12 riders in the Racing Kangaroos team, with four from each age group of under 15s, under 17s and under 19s. The aim is not just to make each rider a better cyclist and ambassador for the sport but also to help steer them into the professional ranks. The team consists of world record holders and Australia medal holders, including Tirian McManus, who is a six-time Australian road and track champion. The Racing Kangaroos, based in Inverell, is not just about sport; it is also about teaching our young to have a healthy lifestyle. It has great support from the cycling fraternity, sponsors and parents. Maybe one day one of these youngsters will proudly ride to victory in one of the world’s great classics.

At the function in Inverell a couple of weeks ago, there was an auction for the jersey that Heinrich wore when he won the 13th stage of the Tour de France, and $4,000 was raised. A considerable amount of money has been raised to give these youngsters a start in life in a professional sport. I have no doubt that at some time in the future, hopefully the near future rather than the distant future, the Racing Kangaroos will return gold medals to Australia in the Olympics, in the Commonwealth Games or in some of the world’s classics. It was announced just yesterday that the 50th Grafton to Inverell Cycle Classic will be held on Saturday, 23 October. It will cap a big year of cycling in the Inverell community.

The amazing thing about the Hausslers is the way they contribute back to the community. The support that young Heinrich has received from his parents has enabled him to go around the world, focus on a career and become a world champion—and now to contribute back to the sport. The whole idea of the Racing Kangaroos is to train these cyclists locally instead of their having to leave their families and travel overseas, with the cost of food, accommodation and so on, and, of course, education is required. It is a magnificent scheme that is supported by so many. I think that in time to come this will prove to be a great success not only for the Inverell cycling community but for Australia as a whole. I commend those people who have committed so much to it. We look forward to the great results that I know our nation will see in the future. I thank the Senate.