Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I stand to acknowledge the recent amazing achievements of Australian athletes on the world stage. I want to congratulate those who have already won, I want to cheer on those who are getting to the pointy end of their competitions and I want to wish all the best to those teams that are about to start their competitions. To start, I'd like to acknowledge the outstanding game of the Matildas on Monday night. The team overcame the disappointment of losing their captain to injury before the World Cup even begin and then, of course, their loss to Nigeria last week. But thanks to Hayley Russo's double, one from Mary Fowler and a penalty from Steph Catley not only did they win but they finished top of their group. On Monday night, before 27,000 fans live at AAMI stadium and another 4.7 million Australian watching on at home, the Matildas played like the champion team they are.

But I believe the importance of this game and other athletic achievements goes far beyond the victory on the field and the elation that Australian spectators felt at that victory on Monday night. The inspiration that's provided by these amazing athletes, particularly competing on the world stage, encourages Australians, particularly young Australians, to pick up a soccer ball, get out there on the sporting field, have a go themselves and get active. That inspiration is absolutely essential not only for the future pipeline of our elite athletes and players but also for ensuring that young Australians live healthy and active lives here in the community in Australia. Elite sport is the pinnacle—it's the inspiration—but it's the participation that must be the end goal of sport, because we know that a healthy and active lifestyle has so many physical and mental benefits for Australians. It improves wellbeing and it strengthens our community, but it also provides us with an opportunity for hope.

The preventive health benefits of staying active are immeasurable not only, but importantly, for Australian health outcomes but also for the sustainability of our healthcare system. It's so much more than a game and it can be an absolute tool for transformation. That's why I've always been a really huge supporter of the Sport4All program delivered by Dylan Allcott and the team that he has at Get Skilled Access. Get Skilled Access is an amazing organisation focusing on access and inclusion for people who live with disability in sport. Dylan could not provide a better example of how competing in a sporting competition has changed someone's life. Importantly, Sport4All aims to ensure that all Australians who live with a disability have the opportunity to play sport if they wish to do so, recognising the important health and wellbeing benefits of participation.

This is such an important example of why we must embrace the inspiring legacies that our athletes create for all members of our community, and it's certainly a really exciting time for Australian sport right now. We've just seen the Ashes wrap up in the UK, with both our men's and our women's Aussie cricket teams retaining the Ashes, and the urns are coming back to Australia, where they rightly belong. Yesterday we watched the Diamonds win their fifth game in the Netball World Cup in Cape Town, and we saw a great night last night at the World Para Swimming championships in Manchester, with our Aussies winning five medals: three gold, a silver and a bronze. Coming back to Australia, I know we're all gearing up to watch the Matildas next Monday night. They are now going to be playing Denmark, and we can expect a capacity crowd of 80,000 people at Stadium Australia and millions more to be watching on from home, cheering on our superstar players as they hopefully edge their way closer to getting that World Cup. The grand final, excitingly, will be held here in Australia on 20 August this year.

I'm also superexcited to wish all the best to our young athletes who are about to start the kick-off of the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago. It's great to see our young athletes competing at the top of their field. These Commonwealth Youth Games are a critical pathway for our elite athletes. For some of them, this event may well be the peak of their sporting careers, and I'm sure the memory of representing Australia will last for a lifetime for every one of those young people competing in Trinidad and Tobago. For others, it may be a stepping stone for higher representation at future Commonwealth Games and world championships, as well as the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

But, regardless of their particular sporting careers, the legacy that these people leave behind in inspiring young Aussie people to get out on the field is so important. I know that, across the country, as young Australians watch Sam Kerr hopefully take to the field on Monday night, who will demonstrate the extraordinary resilience and such incredible power that that young woman has faced, or as they cheered on Usman Khawaja as he posted the highest runs aggregate across the Ashes series or watched Emma McKeon, who became Australia's most successful Commonwealth Games athlete in history last year, they will be inspired to get involved in their local sporting associations and organisations but, most particularly, to get out there on the field.

Looking forward to the next nine years, we will hopefully continue to see the critical benefits that hosting elite athletes and elite events here in Australia has for our community, for the pipeline of sporting infrastructure and for our international reputation as a world-class place to play international sport. In the spirit of good sportsmanship, I will not mention today the very disappointing decision by the Victorian government to cancel the Commonwealth Games in Victoria in 2026, but Australia is very well placed to showcase the talent of world-class athletics and athletes at the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We have a strong track record in delivering world-class sporting events, and hosting the Olympics and Paralympics will be an amazing celebration of elite sporting talent. But both the Queensland government and the federal government must ensure that Australia is well prepared and that the legacy opportunities of the Games are maximised not just for our elite athletes but for every Australian. That's because the big investment that the Australian taxpayer makes in putting on these events can only be properly rewarded if we use the legacy opportunities of these amazing sporting events, like World Rugby and the Netball World Cup. These are the kinds of things that we must achieve to ensure the legacy and to make sure that the investment that is made returns to the Australian public, the Australian community and the Australian economy the benefits that it can.

Today, it's with great pride that I acknowledge the extraordinary sporting achievements of so many Australian athletes who have been out on the field in recent times and are out on the field at the moment and those young people in Trinidad and Tobago that are going to take the field on 4 August. As Australians, we are extraordinarily proud of the achievements of our amazing athletes. We, as governments, should also be extremely proud of the investment that we make on behalf of Australian taxpayers to ensure that we have the best opportunity to be able to present Australia to the world but most particularly that we are able to inspire young Australians to get on the sporting field and lead active lives and to make sure we have the most active and healthy Australia that we can.