STATEMENTS ON INDULGENCE

Mr THISTLETHWAITE (Kingsford Smith—Assistant Minister for Immigration and Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade) (10:30): I grew up in Maroubra. Like every kid growing up in Maroubra in the seventies and eighties, I learned to surf and swim. When I was swimming at Heffron Pool, the people that I idolised as a kid were a few lanes down, swimming under the tutelage of the great John Rodgers—the likes of Max Metzker, Ron McKeon, Graeme Brewer, Michelle Ford and Trevor Cracknell.

I saw the gruelling sets they used to get put through by JR and how hard they trained for that one shot at representing their nation in the pinnacle of sport, the Olympics. I imagine it's the same for every Olympian in every sport they train for, day after day, month after month, year after year, waiting for the opportunity to fulfil their dream of representing their country at the Olympics.

For the 1980 team, to have that dream ripped away would have been heartbreaking and harrowing, particularly in circumstances beyond their control. In an unfair manner, sportspeople were asked to undertake a boycott but in other facets of society, most notably in the economy, we still continued to trade with Russia. It was fitting that those 1980 Olympians were welcomed home yesterday by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition here in the parliament.

We thanked them for coming to Canberra, we thanked them for coming to parliament and, most importantly, we thanked them for representing our nation with pride and distinction at the 1980 Olympics. It was a tribute to their courage, to their conviction and to their hard work in representing Australia at that time. That team gave Australia one of its greatest Olympic moments ever.

Who could ever forget those iconic words of Norman May in calling the men's 4x100 medley relay; he uttered those immortal words— Mr Tehan: 'Gold, gold!' Mr THISTLETHWAITE: 'Gold, gold to Australia!'—the member for Wannon remembers it! Since that time, every athlete that competes at the Olympics for Australia hopes to hear those iconic words being called in their race.

That team gave that moment to us, to our nation and to every Olympic athlete after that, and for that we truly thank them. I reckon the best time I've ever experienced as an Australian, and the proudest that I've ever been, was during the Sydney Olympics. The feeling and the buzz around Sydney at the time was unbelievable.

Everyone had a smile on their face and everyone was proud to be Australian because the world had been invited to that spectacle of the Olympics, and Australia had done such a good job in putting it together. I imagine it would have been the same in 1956, as it will be in 2032 in Brisbane. The Olympics is humanity at its best, and that is something that should be celebrated and that we should be very proud of.

Those Olympians we paid tribute to yesterday, and the fact that they came to Canberra with no bitterness, no animosity and no regret, symbolise that Olympic spirit, and that is something that they should be very, very proud of. That is why it was appropriate that we, as a government, as a nation, welcomed them home finally after 45 years and said: 'Thank you.

Thank you for representing Australia with pride and distinction. Thank you for being proud Australians, and thank you for continuing the Olympic dream.'