Motions

Commonwealth Games

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (11:21): I move:

That this council—

1. Acknowledges and congratulates the 55 South Australian athletes who competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, for their achievements, dedication and hard work in representing their country on the world stage.

2. Recognises the achievements of all medallists who helped Australia finish on top of both the gold medal and overall medal tally in Birmingham.

3. Recognises all the performances of South Australian athletes who, individually and as teammates, won 23 gold medals, including:

(a) Sophie Edwards, Chloe Moran, Leigh Hoffman, Matthew Richardson, Matthew Glaetzer, Georgia Baker, Rohan Dennis and Maeve Plouffe (cycling);

(b) Christopher McHugh and Paul Burnett (beach volleyball);

(c) Jessica Stenson (marathon) and Kurtis Marschall (pole vault);

(d) Tahlia McGrath, Megan Schutt, Amanda-Jade Wellington and Darcie Brown (cricket);

(e) Matthew Temple, Meg Harris, Kyle Chalmers and Madison Wilson and Zac Incerti (swimming);

(f) Sarah Klau (netball).

4. Acknowledges that the Commonwealth Games are the 'friendly games' where para and able-bodied athletes compete on the same stage, promoting inclusivity and achievement through sport.

5. Recognises the huge sacrifices and part played by parents, family members, partners and friends in the lives of all athletes, whether it be at the elite or community level, to support their loved ones in their achievements.

This motion acknowledges and congratulates the athletes from South Australia who competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Australia was represented by 433 athletes at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, 55 of whom were based in South Australia. South Australian athletes made up a very respectable 12.8 per cent of the total Australian team, well above our 7 per cent per capita level.

Our 55 South Australian athletes competed in 17 different sports, including athletics, 3x3 basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, cricket, track cycling, road cycling, diving, gymnastics, hockey, lawn bowls, netball, squash, swimming, table tennis, triathlon and weightlifting.

The Games created many memorable moments, and Australia enjoyed great success, finishing first in the overall Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games medal tally, bringing home 67 gold, 57 silver and 54 bronze—178 medals in all. South Australian athletes contributed 23 gold, 11 silver and eight bronze medals in the overall Australian tally, which was 24 per cent of all Australian medals. What a remarkable result.

Firstly, I want to recognise the outstanding results of our 23 gold medallists, who competed either individually or in a team, including: Sophie Edwards, Chloe Moran, Leigh Hoffman, Matthew Richardson, Matthew Glaetzer, Georgia Baker, Rohan Dennis, Maeve Plouffe, Kristina Clonan and Caitlin Ward (cycling); Christopher McHugh and Paul Burnett (beach volleyball); Jessica Stenson (marathon) and Kurtis Marschall (pole vault); Tahlia McGrath, Megan Schutt, Amanda-Jade Wellington and Darcie Brown (cricket); Matthew Temple, Meg Harris, Kyle Chalmers, Madison Wilson and Zac Incerti (swimming); Sarah Klau (netball); and Tom Wickham (hockey).

Now, as a regional member of this place, I want to particularly highlight the achievements of athletes who are currently from or have their roots in regional South Australia. The path to competing for your country is challenging for any athlete, but athletes from the regions have additional hurdles to jump—if I may say—including less access to high-level coaching and competition, along with a significant amount of extra travel and expense, just to name a few.

I will start with marathon gold medallist Jess Stenson, whose passion for running began as a child in her home town of Naracoorte in South Australia's Limestone Coast. I am told that as a child she was heavily involved in a variety of sports, including netball, basketball, tennis, athletics and school cross-country.

Jess created Commonwealth marathon history, being the first female marathoner to win three Commonwealth medals, following on from bronze medals in 2014 and 2018. However, Jess was very humble in victory, paying tribute to her teammates and pointing out it was a team effort and that she could not have done it without her teammate Eloise Wellings selflessly passing her her own caffeine gel at a crucial stage of the race.

Callum Peters hails from Kapunda and was one of 10 Indigenous athletes on the Australian team, which is a record for the Birmingham team. Callum was the youngest member of the boxing team, competing in the 75 kilogram middleweight division, where he claimed a silver medal in his first ever international event. Callum is one of nine children and is coached by his father, Bradley, at the North Central Boxing Club at Kapunda.

Beau Wootton is from the Mawson electorate and won a bronze medal in track cycling in the men's sprint para sport B tandem event. Beau was one of four South Australian para athletes, two of whom won medals. Beau was born with a genetic condition, optic atrophy, that interferes with messages from the eye to the brain. He had never thought about competing in cycling until he was paired with Mike Hoile and they won the national men's road title. Beau was part of the tandem project, which was a proactive initiative of the late Kieran Modra, who thought if more pilot riders could be found and trained then more para riders would be convinced to take up the event.

Miles Scotson is from the Schubert electorate and competed in road cycling in his second Commonwealth Games. Miles attended Trinity College in Gawler and has had a stellar career in cycling, winning team pursuit world titles alongside his brother, Callum, national time trial titles and the senior national road race in 2017. Scotson joined the world tour team, BMC Racing, in 2018 and he has since competed in the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France and the Tour Down Under.

Amanda Tscharke was born in the Barossa Valley and made her Commonwealth Games debut in Birmingham in table tennis. Amanda represented South Australia as a junior in athletics before she was injured at the age of 15 when the motorbike sidecar she was travelling in hit a tree, dislocating her spine. She used exercise to find her way back physically and mentally, and in 2013  she was scouted by her former high school counsellor, Cathy Lambert, to compete in para sport. Over the next two years, she excelled in javelin, shot-put and discus, before switching to table tennis in 2015. A silver medal at the Oceania titles convinced her that she had indeed made the right choice.

Finally, Alex Wilson from Murray Bridge competed in 3x3 basketball, winning the bronze medal game 15 to 3 against New Zealand. While we celebrate athletes who achieve medals, I want to acknowledge the hard work, sacrifice and commitment of athletes, and their families, who participate at the highest level. We are all proud of every athlete and para athlete for the dedication and effort required to even get to the Commonwealth Games, and for their results, whatever they may be. Well done to you all.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. L.A. Curran.