Commonwealth Games - Motion
Thursday 8 September 2022
S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (15:41): I rise to support the minister's motion and bring to the attention of the house the achievements of three residents in my electorate who competed at the recent Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Between them, they brought home four gold and three silver medals from their participation in swimming and cricket.
Australia sent a team of 430 athletes, including 199 men and 231 women to compete in 21 sports, including parasports, and won 178 medals. I was pleased to see the team led by four champion women: chef de mission, Petria Thomas, and general managers, Anna Meares, Sharelle McMahon and Katrina Webb, plus two female flag bearers, Rachael Grinham and Melissa Wu.
It is my pleasure to acknowledge and congratulate the 55 South Australian athletes who competed at the Games on their achievements, dedication, commitment and hard work in representing their country on the world stage. From Gibson, Tahlia McGrath (T-Mac) is the senior athlete at 26 and has been playing cricket at the highest level for Australia since November 2016 and for South Australia since 2011.
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, this South Aussie all-rounder also batted fourth in the order and is also a right-arm medium bowler and played in all the women's T20 matches. Tahlia scored a total of 128 runs, including 19 fours and one six from four matches. As a bowler, her medium pacers claimed eight wickets in 14 overs for 97 runs.
Tahlia and her team claimed gold in the final, defeating India by nine runs. I wish Tahlia all the best with her future matches with Australia, South Australia and the Adelaide Strikers, plus the Southern Brave at Hampshire in the United Kingdom, where she plays with fellow South Aussie Amanda-Jade Wellington and Tasmania's Molly Strano.
Matthew Temple is the next athlete I will speak about. Matthew is 23 years old and collected a gold medal at the 2019 world championships and two bronze medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Matthew trains under Peter Bishop at the South Australian Sports Institute and is a member of the Marion Swimming Club based at the State Aquatic Centre right across from my office.
In Birmingham, Matt had a busy program, competing in five events and winning medals in four of them. He swam to gold with his teammates in the men's 4 x 100-metre freestyle relay final and mixed 4 x 100-metre medley relay final. He claimed silver in the men's 100-metre butterfly final and the men's 4 x 100-metre medley relay final and finished fifth in the men's 50-metre butterfly, ahead of fellow South Australian Kyle Chalmers.
Since the Commonwealth Games, Matthew has competed at the 2022 Australian Short Course Swimming Championships in Sydney, winning the gold medal in the 50-metre butterfly with a personal best time of 22.7 seconds, and the 100-metre butterfly plus the bronze medal in the 100-metre freestyle.
The final Commonwealth Games athlete from Gibson was Meg Harris OAM. Meg, like Matt, trains under Peter Bishop at the SASI institute and is a member of Marion Swimming Club based at the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre. Meg had a slightly quieter program than Matt but medalled in both of her events. Meg claimed gold in the mixed 4 x 100-metre freestyle relay final and silver in the women's 50-metre freestyle final. This is impressive, given she broke her arm in January this year.
Meg received her Order of Australia in the Australia Day 2022 Honours List for service to sport as a gold medallist at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020 where she won both a gold and bronze. I wish Matthew and Meg all the best with their careers and I am sure I will be speaking about their achievements again in the future.
Humanity, equality and diversity are the Commonwealth Games Federation values, and values that I believe we should all embody. Humanity: to embrace all commonwealth athletes, citizens, communities and nations. We should embrace all members of our community and learn from their insights and experiences. I believe it is important to acknowledge that Commonwealth Games are the 'friendly games' where para and able-bodied athletes compete on the same stage, promoting inclusivity and achievement through sport.
Equality: to promote fairness, non-discrimination and inclusion in all that we do. We can demonstrate this by promoting fair play, providing appropriate facilities for male and female sportspeople and ensure that racism and homophobia is unacceptable. I was pleased to see British diver Tom Daley OBE make a powerful statement about our LGBTQI+ rights during the opening ceremony to highlight the 35 commonwealth countries where being part of this community is illegal.
Diversity: through impactful, high-performance sport, we help commonwealth athletes, citizens and communities realise their aspirations and ambitions. Everyone should be given the opportunity to strive towards their ambitions and dreams in their profession or interest of choice.
Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to speak to all junior athletes and sportspeople across Gibson and encourage them to be inspired by the Commonwealth Games athletes but not discouraged if they are not winning medals. Participation in sport at any level is a great achievement and, while winners and medallists might get the glory, a personal best or just giving it a go is equally as important. I commend this motion.
