Private Members' Statements

Private Members' Statements

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (15:53): It was busy over the weekend in the Riverland and Mallee, with lots of sports finals and I have many to rattle out, so I will be quick. The under 13 premiership at Panther Park saw Loxton defeat Barmera-Monash. Best on ground was Lucas Deren. The under 15 premiers were Barmera-Monash, that defeated Renmark by one point. Best on ground was Mitchell Johnson. The under 18 premiers were Barmera-Monash, defeating Berri. Best on ground was Tony Drogemuller. The B grade premiers were Loxton. They defeated Barmera-Monash. Best on ground was Talyn Eagle. The A grade, the premier match of the day, saw Renmark get up over Barmera-Monash, with Tim Woolford best on ground. In the Murray Valley League, Murrayville defeated Brown's Well down at Cambrai, and in the netball we saw Murrayville defeat Sedan Cambrai.

In the netball, the 11A Premiers saw Renmark get up over Loxton, and Elsa Malinovski was best on court. The 11B Premiers saw Loxton get up over Renmark, and best on court was Marlia Serafin. In the 11C Premiers, Loxton got up over Berri, and Olivia Curtis was best on court. In the 13A Premiers we saw Loxton get up over Berri, and Nyah Uren was best on court.

The A1 Premiers saw Loxton get up over Loxton North, and Summer Smith was best on court. The A2 Premiers saw Berri get up over Barmera, and Mackenzie Pitt was best on court. In the B1 Premiers, Loxton North got up over Waikerie, and Sara-Jane Wharton was best on court. There are many more, but I know I have to stop.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:55): Today I rise to honour Raymond Gobell, a World War II veteran and a master carpenter and general builder in our region. He celebrated his 100^th birthday yesterday. Raymond served as an airframe fitter in the Royal Australian Air Force and trained as a pilot during World War II. Given how Raymond described flying low through Tanunda on one occasion, I am surprised he did not attract demerit points under the Road Traffic Act.

After his service, he retrained as a carpenter and built his own home on Lyndoch Road, where he still resides today. Raymond's craftsmanship is evident across Gawler and the Barossa in homes and iconic buildings like the old Mitre 10 building in Gawler and the Weintal Hotel in Tanunda. His dedication and skills were evident in homes, where he was able to do all the work himself, except for the electrical wiring, which is truly inspiring.

Raymond's family revealed that his secret for longevity includes a healthy lifestyle, good country food and strong genetics. It was heartwarming to see his family gather from across the state and Queensland to celebrate this milestone. Raymond's life is filled with rich experiences, including witnessing Don Bradman play at the Adelaide Oval and a passion for gold prospecting and aircraft. Yet his greatest joy was in marrying Jean, who sadly passed away in 2014, and in raising their six children. Happy 100^th birthday, Raymond, and thank you for your contributions to our community.

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (15:57): I rise today to celebrate and recognise our 2024 Paris Paralympic team who competed at games that will be remembered for iconic venues, inspired performances and continued forward steps, inclusion and opportunity on the back of the Paralympic Movement.

There was Alexa Leary's comeback victory and story in the pool, Tim Hodge securing his first individual gold medal in the 200-metre individual medley, and Vanessa Low jumping further than she ever has, with her young son watching in the stand, and with her husband and coach, Scott Reardon, there as well. Lauren Parker dominated not one but two sports to claim redemption in the triathlon and gold in the tense cycling road race, and there was James Turner's 400-metre and 100-metre double, with a last 10 metres that you would not believe.

Can I specifically highlight some of our South Australian medallists, in particular Jed Altschwager and Nikki Ayers in the rowing mixed-doubles sculls, where they took gold. Amanda Reid also took gold in the 500-metre time trial in the track cycling. Jesse Aungles, a member of the significant 4 x 100-metre medley mixed relay team, also took home his first gold, at his third games. Michael Roeger took silver in the T46 1,500 metres. Meg Lemon, on the road time trial, took a silver, while Darren Hicks took bronze in the road time trial and Sam Von Einem took bronze in the men's singles in the table tennis.

I congratulate all our South Australian Paralympic athletes, and we look forward to welcoming both them and our Olympic representatives home this weekend.

Ms SAVVAS (Newland) (15:58): I thought I would take a moment today to acknowledge all the successes of netball in my community in the north-eastern suburbs in the last few weeks. My own club, the Strikers Netball Club, made it into nine grand finals last week, which is an incredible feat by a club that only officially started in 2020. I am so impressed by not just the sports ability of the girls in our netball club but also the sportswomanship of each and every player in our club. When I started playing for the club about a year ago, I could not believe just how much I was welcomed into the Strikers family, particularly as not a particularly great netballer. I well and truly enjoyed it so much.

Last week, playing in the grand final with my team was so wonderful, but not quite as wonderful as watching all the sub-juniors, the juniors and the other primary teams in their grand finals, looking at how excited they were. Lots of them had matching glitter in their hair and matching ribbons, and also, of course, watching the Strikers v Strikers grand final on the Tuesday night was particularly cool, seeing a club play against each other, but show each other such wonderful support.

I would like to acknowledge all the teams playing at SADNA and John Adams and the team at SADNA who have put in so much in the grand finals of the last few weeks. I would also like to acknowledge our umpires Eva and Imogen from the Strikers, who were awarded umpire's awards in their grades. We are so proud of you all.