Motions — Commonwealth Games 2018—Success of New Zealand Team

I seek leave to move a motion without notice to congratulate the New Zealand Commonwealth Games team in their best ever away result.

💬 SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that course of action being followed? There is none.

I move, That this House congratulate the members of the New Zealand Commonwealth team on their best ever away result.

On behalf of the Government, I want to acknowledge the 251 athletes who were members of this team and congratulate them collectively on their achievement. They delivered an outstanding performance, achieving 15 golds, 16 silvers, and 15 bronze medals. Those 46 medals make it our most successful ever result at a Commonwealth Games held overseas.

I want to particularly acknowledge Chef de Mission Rob Waddell and his team, who created a superb team spirit. It is also fitting that we acknowledge and celebrate the coaches, support staff, and families, who play such an important role in these triumphs, and also the hard work and dedication of staff at High Performance Sport New Zealand, who have supported many of these athletes.

It is hard to single out any one athlete, but I do want to mention a few: our flag bearer Sophie Pascoe, who won two gold medals in the pool; Sam Webster and Joelle King, who both won individual and team goals in cycling and squash respectively; and I don’t think anyone who saw the finals of either the women’s sevens or the women’s hockey will forget those games in a hurry—an incredible set of performances by dedicated teams.

The exceptional sporting spirit of weightlifting gold medallist David Liti was a particular highlight. Epitomising the values of respect and integrity, David was awarded the overall games sportsmanship award at the closing ceremony after his kind gestures to an injured rival. These games were made even more special by the fact that all our athletes were able to compete alongside each other, with an impressive group competing in para events and equal medal opportunities for men and women at the games. These were a games of inclusivity and diversity, with our athletes serving as an inspiration to all New Zealanders. Once again, on behalf of the Government, I offer our congratulations to all the members of the 2018 Commonwealth Games team, who have made us extremely proud.

I am pleased to speak in support of this motion on behalf of the National Party. The party joins with the rest of New Zealand in congratulating our team on achieving their best ever away result this year. I would like to acknowledge all of the athletes who have shown their tenacity and endurance through the participation in this event. As the Minister for Sport and Recreation has already mentioned, the fact that for the first time we have more than 250 athletes competing, plus 11 para-athletes, is a huge achievement.

Our athletes collected an impressive 46 medals, which is something to be proud of. It was also great to see so many New Zealanders there at the games. I was proud to be in the stands to watch, as the Minister’s already said, the Black Sticks win their first ever gold medal. What an amazing moment that was. But also, it is difficult when you try and single out particular individuals, but to see Sophie Pascoe as a flag bearer for New Zealand was an incredibly inspirational moment for many New Zealanders and then to see her haul in the two medals as well. Also, I want to acknowledge the iconic New Zealand sportswoman Dame Valerie Adams. It was a great moment to see her get a personal best but also to bring home a silver.

I do want to take a moment as well to acknowledge Australia. It is sometimes a very competitive relationship that we have with them, but they did a hugely amazing job in hosting this event, and the organisation and facilities were world class. I want to extend our congratulations to the Commonwealth Games Federation, Commonwealth Games Australia, and the New Zealand Olympic Committee. I want to also acknowledge that while we are very proud as a country of the medals that have been won, the Commonwealth Games are more than that. They are actually about national pride. It is a fact that the diversity of people that come together, the nations that have some shared values, and the fact that all of this contributes to national identity—that is so special.

So, finally, it is important that New Zealand and the Parliament comes together to be proud of our team and the example that it sets for many young New Zealanders who aspire to compete in the future.

On behalf of New Zealand First and part of the Government, I’d like to stand to congratulate our New Zealand team in the recent Commonwealth Games and support this motion moving forward. Particularly, I’d like to acknowledge Stacey Michelsen, the captain for the Black Sticks, who is a very highly regarded person from Whananaki, another place close to one of our member’s homes.

Look, we’ve had an exceptional Commonwealth Games this year—our best result ever. There are so many golds to mention it’s hard to go through them all, but we’ve done exceptionally well in a number of sports, particularly in our boxing. We’ve got some great results for our sevens. We’ve had some fantastic results with the hammer throw, which is something that we haven’t particularly seen a lot from in the past, so well done to all those athletes.

We’re fifth overall out of all the Commonwealth countries—I think we’ve done exceptionally well—and equal to Canada. When you look at a per capita basis we’re certainly batting well and truly outside of our weight class internationally. One thing that people do seem to talk about is the fact that New Zealand does bat per capita outside of its weight class, but they do tend to forget Norfolk Island, who did get a bronze medal and per capita outstripped the entire globe, I think—with a population of around 3,000 people—in picking up a bronze medal. So congratulations to Norfolk Island.

Just a final note also that it was great to see that these games were broadcast live and free to air. Some of the commentary in the media was that this was not going to happen or it wasn’t possible, and to Mike Hosking I say, “Well, let’s see more of that.” And I’m sure we’re going to. But again, to all of our team members, our team captains, and our families who support the Commonwealth Games and play a big part of our New Zealand Kiwi culture, congratulations and thank you very much for doing so well.

The Greens too congratulate the members of the Commonwealth Games team on their best ever result, at the 2018 Gold Coast Australia games. There were 251 athletes: 130 men and 121 women, across 17 sports. That goes right back to the beginnings of their achievements in our communities; in our grassroots family and community member volunteer work, which is always the starting point for our amazing athletes, our amazing sports teams, and the incredible achievements and the big hitting that we do for our wee country. And I want to acknowledge all of our community volunteers who do it purely for the love and passion of seeing our people achieve in the area of sports.

I notice we got our first medal ever in beach volleyball, and we got our first gold medal in hockey. There were a few particular moments—so many—that stood out. I, of course, add my congratulations to the particular teams and moments that people have already mentioned, but I couldn’t help but watch and court the incredible story of David Liti, the New Zealand weightlifter, on his gold medal win. And watching—hey, 403 kilograms, everybody. What did you all do today? He lifted that. First he gets it up to his chest, and then I just thought, “I’m going to go into a heart attack.”, and then he had to lift it again the rest of the way, and lift that 403 kilograms up into the air. And so it just made me think, “What are we doing right now?”

Anyway, congratulations to the whole entire team, right from the opening flag bearer, Sophie Pascoe, to the closing flag bearer Stacey Michelsen, on the way that you did us proud and the way you conducted yourselves. Well done. Kia ora.

On behalf of the ACT Party, I’d like to join with other leaders in congratulating our Commonwealth Games team on their record-breaking performance. Can I say, having recently gained a more acute appreciation for the challenge of athletic and related pursuits, I can say that what those men and women have achieved for New Zealand is truly an inspiration for us all. They have worked incredibly hard. Can I make a prediction that this Commonwealth Games performance is a precursor to a record-breaking performance by our Olympians in two years’ time. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

💬 Hon Damien O’Connor: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker.

Well, Mr O’Connor, am I allowed to put the motion?

💬 Hon Damien O’Connor: Certainly, Mr Speaker.

Motion agreed to.