Cowdrey, Mr Matthew

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. K.L. Vincent:

That this council acknowledges the extraordinary Paralympic swimming career of South Australian Matthew Cowdrey and on his retirement from elite sport notes that—

1. He embodies a social model of disability which acknowledges that it is society that creates barriers to people with disability succeeding, not disability itself;

2. Amongst the 20 medals, he won 11 gold medals across three Paralympic Games in 2004, 2008 and 2012, making him Australia’s most successful Paralympian; and

3. Throughout his successful career, he has become an outstanding ambassador for the Paralympic movement.

(Continued from 25 February 2015.)

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (22:44): On behalf of Liberal members, it is with a great deal of pride that I rise to support the motion. Paralympic swimmer Matthew Cowdrey has been an outstanding athlete and, on his retirement, we would like to note that, in fact, he won 11 gold medals across three Paralympic Games (those being in 2004, 2008 and 2012) making him Australia's most successful Paralympian.

Throughout his incredibly successful career, we concur that he has become an outstanding ambassador for the Paralympic movement of Australia and, in fact, probably worldwide. I have not had the pleasure of meeting Matthew Cowdrey myself but I am reliably informed by a number of Liberal members of parliament that they have had that privilege. They tell me he is an incredibly humble but talented young man and he has the capacity, we believe, to succeed at anything he turns his mind to.

With those few words, it is with a great deal of pride that I, on behalf of the Liberal Party, support the motion of the Hon. K.L. Vincent and congratulate her for bringing this motion to the parliament.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (22:46): I rise to support the motion. I do not have much more to add to the comments of my colleague the Hon. Terry Stephens other than to say that I have met Matthew and I can only acknowledge that, whilst he has been extraordinarily successful in all that he has done thus far, the world is his oyster.

There are many challenges ahead for Matthew and, given that he is such a personable young man with the capacity to meet many people and make a very favourable impression on all those he meets, I have no doubt that whatever future path he chooses he will be very, very successful. In any role that he was to adopt which involved meeting people, representing people and engaging with people in the wider community, I am sure he would be very successful.

I join with the Hon. Kelly Vincent and my colleague the Hon. Terry Stephens in supporting this particular motion and acknowledging his achievements but, more particularly, wishing him well for future endeavours and future challenges.

The Hon. T.T. NGO (22:48): I would like to congratulate one of Australia's most successful sportspersons, Paralympian Matthew Cowdrey OAM, who announced his retirement on 10 February 2015 at the age of 26 after an incredible competitive swimming career. I would like to thank the Hon. Kelly Vincent for this motion.

Matthew was born with a congenital amputation to his lower left arm. He competed in the S9, SB9 classification of physical impairment. He was raised by his parents in South Australia. At a young age, they taught him that he could achieve whatever he wanted. He was allowed to participate in the same activities like everyone else his age, from riding a bike to playing football. Like many parents, they introduced Matthew to water when he was a baby and he found a love for it immediately.

By the age of five years, he had learnt to swim at the Golden Grove State Swim Centre, before joining his first swim club at Norwood. He was guided by his long-term coach, Peter Bishop, who recognised Matthew's ability. Peter and Matthew have maintained a strong relationship throughout his career.

Before Matthew made the national team at age 13, his coach Peter set a long-term goal for him to become Australia's best ever Paralympian. In 2000, he broke his first Australian Open record at age 11 and a world record at just 13 years of age. In 2004, at the age of 15, he earned the right to represent Australia and compete at his first Paralympics in Athens. He was incredibly successful on his debut and won three gold, two silver and two bronze medals. For his accomplishments at his first Paralympic Games in Athens, Matthew was awarded with the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).

In 2008, he captained the Australian Paralympic swimming team at the Beijing Olympics and he won more medals than any other Paralympian attending the event, claiming five gold and three silver medals. Each of his five gold medals were won in world record time. He also had the privilege of being chosen to be Australia's flag bearer at the closing ceremony. In London 2012, he won five gold, two silver and a bronze medal, which made him Australia's most successful Paralympian ever. After competing in three consecutive Paralympics, he has won gold in each of his specialty events: the 100 metres freestyle and the 200 metre individual medley. In three Paralympic Games: Athens, Beijing and London, Matthew won a total of 23 medals.

In 2009, he was named the Young South Australian of the Year. In September 2012, in recognition of his achievements, the Premier officially named the South Australian State Aquatic and Leisure Centre's main competition pool the Matthew Cowdrey Competition Pool. One of his most treasured possessions are the keys to the City of Salisbury, which he received in 2013. He became the third person to receive the keys to the area in which he grew up.

While swimming competitively, Matthew enrolled in a Bachelor of Law at the University of Adelaide. He completed his law degree and he is now working full time at KPMG. In life, it just shows that when you have courage, dedication and determination you can achieve many things. Matthew is an inspiration and role model for all Australians, not just those with a disability. I am very happy to support this motion.

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (22:53): I have a few brief words to sum up. Can I thank the speakers to this motion, the Hon. Tung Ngo, the Hon. Terry Stephens, the Hon. Rob Lucas and those who have indicated their support without necessarily verbalising it in the chamber today. I will admit that when I first started to think about putting this motion forward congratulating Matthew Cowdrey on his successful Paralympic career, I did it with a small amount of hesitation. I was a little bit hesitant about the way this motion might be interpreted because often the way people's disabilities are perceived by the broader society, not everyone but the broader society, and particularly the media, is a spectrum of—in fact, I would not even call it a spectrum.

I would call it two polar opposites where one is where the bludgers sit at home all day feeling forlorn and looking sick in crocs and a lap rug—not that there is anything wrong with wearing crocs and a lap rug, if that is what you choose—and feeling sorry for ourselves. The other is what I have deemed affectionately or perhaps not so affectionately as 'supercrip' where you are climbing Mount Everest with no oxygen tank despite your complete lack of limbs and so on. Often we forget, and the media in particular forgets, that most of us fall somewhere in the middle.

I wondered whether moving a motion drawing attention to a successful Paralympian would again perpetrate that idea that all people with disabilities are born to be Paralympians who show us how to overcome every obstacle that we have ever faced and so on, but that certainly was not my intention. Neither was it my intention to illustrate that with bravery and courage, as I think the Hon. Tung Ngo put it, you could achieve anything. While to an extent that is true I would respectfully submit that it is not really bravery and courage that give you the opportunities, it is the lack of barriers that you face that translates to you having those opportunities. That is exactly why in the motion I talk about Mr Cowdrey's work being a great example of the social model of disability where we recognise that it is not the disability in and of itself that is the issue, it is the barriers that are erected to us as society's reaction to our disabilities that create the issue.

I move this motion to thank Mr Cowdrey for his contribution to the state of South Australia and to Australia as a nation with a proud history of participation in sport and to illustrate that the only difference between people with and without disability is opportunity.

Motion carried.