Motions — New Zealand Winter Paralympics Team 2018—Congratulations

On behalf of Labour and New Zealand First, I seek leave to move a motion without notice congratulating the New Zealand team for their performance at the Winter Paralympics.

💬 SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that process? There appears to be none.

I move, That this House congratulates New Zealand’s team at the recent Winter Paralympics in South Korea and recognises the achievement of our medal-winning skiers Corey Peters, bronze medallist in the men’s downhill skiing event, and Adam Hall, gold medallist in the men’s slalom standing and bronze medallist in the super combined.

As the Minister for Disability Issues, I extend my warmest congratulations to three of this country’s inspiring sporting heroes—our talented Kiwi Paralympians Adam Hall, Corey Peters, and Carl Murphy. We can all be incredibly proud of our high-performing Kiwi team. They exceeded expectations, winning New Zealand a gold and two bronze medals over the intense 10-day competition at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang.

Adam, Corey, and Carl gave it their all, representing us on the world stage, where 670 athletes from 45 countries battled it out in 80 medal events. Para-alpine skier Corey Peters led the 10-strong Kiwi team of three Paralympians and seven support staff into the opening ceremony. He put New Zealand on the medal table on the very first day of the competition, winning bronze in the men’s downhill sitting event, adding to his silver from Sochi 2014.

Snowboarder Carl Murphy gave it his all, placing 5th in the banked slalom event. Alpine skier Adam Hall not only scored gold in the men’s slalom and bronze in the men’s super combined standing; he was also awarded the top honour of the event. He is the first Kiwi to be bestowed the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award, presented to those who best exemplify the spirit and values of the Paralympics. Adam, a previous gold medallist from Vancouver 2010, is an inspiration to all New Zealanders.

It takes a team effort to achieve at this level. I would like to acknowledge the hard work, training, and dedication of Paralympics New Zealand and the Kiwi support team, coaches, officials, and their families in helping prepare our paralympians to compete at the top of their sports. I also acknowledge Aaron Ewen, who was ready to represent us but had to withdraw due to injury.

Our paralympians have persevered to achieve at the highest level in their sports. They epitomise everything elite New Zealand athletes stand for, and are inspirational role models to us all. Today we celebrate the success of our paralympians, and at the same time reiterate our commitment to all disabled New Zealanders, as articulated in the vision of our New Zealand Disability Strategy, to ensure New Zealand is a place “where disabled people have an equal opportunity to achieve their goals and aspirations, and all … [New Zealanders work] together to make this happen.”

We congratulate this year’s Paralympic team wholeheartedly. They have made our country proud.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. On behalf of the National Party, we also would like to congratulate the 2018 New Zealand Paralympic Winter Games Team, who represented New Zealand in Pyeongchang, winning three medals, as we’ve heard: bronze by Corey Peters, and a bronze and gold medal by Adam Hall, who was also awarded the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award, out of 650 competitors, for his contribution to Paralympic sport. We congratulate and celebrate them for what they epitomise in sport. Thank you.

The Greens are stoked to stand and add our support and congratulations to the winter Paralympics Team from the South Korean campaign 2018. Of course, Adam Hall: gold in the men’s slalom and bronze in the super combined; Corey Peters: bronze in the men’s downhill; and Carl Murphy, the other member of the Paralympics Team.

💬 David Seymour: Is this a ministerial statement?

I’ll just wait for my colleague to stop talking in my ear, while I continue to congratulate this amazing team. I had a fantastic watch of the documentary of their training, and I want to acknowledge the huge emotional strain that the training has brought. Adam Hall, in particular, talks about and questions whether he will actually, for example, return to the next campaign in another four years, because of the emotional strain, the physical strain, the spiritual strain that that takes on our Olympians—of course, noting in this case that Adam Hall, with his 16 consecutive campaigns and seasons for winter, has gifted his skill to our nation. Corey Peters, of course, became a sit-ski Olympic athlete only two years after he became paralysed in an accident.

So these are amazing feats for any human, any human on this planet—certainly amazing feats for people who are more excluded from our community than we normally are. So go with appreciation of the nation. Whatever these athletes of our nation decide they can do and decide they are up for, I hope they continue to get the support if they decide they want to continue. But go with the appreciation of our nation for what you have already given us, and how you have represented us overseas. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

On behalf of the ACT Party, I join with other leaders in expressing tremendous congratulations for these three outstanding New Zealanders and the success that they have achieved in Pyeongchang. They set a target of winning two medals and they won a total of three. It’s an outstanding performance that we can all be proud of, and I hope that they enjoy their success to every extent possible. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Motion agreed to.