Motions — New Zealand Winter Olympic Team 2022—Congratulations

I seek leave to move a motion without notice congratulating the New Zealand Winter Olympic team.

💬 SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that course of action? There appears to be none.

I move, That this House congratulate the New Zealand Winter Olympic team for their outstanding achievements at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

With two golds medals and one silver medal, placing New Zealand 17th on the medal table, the 2022 Winter Olympics were the country’s most successful ever. Throughout the Winter Olympics, our team of 15 athletes, nine men and six women, competing in five sports, kept New Zealand enthralled with their gutsy performances which included, for the first time ever, two Winter Olympic gold medals from Zoi Sadowski-Synnott in the women’s snowboarding Slopestyle and freestyle skier Nico Porteous who claimed victory in the men’s Halfpipe competition.

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott’s additional silver medal in the women’s snowboarding Big Air proved her dominance in her sport. Over the last four years since she won bronze in the women’s Big Air at the 2018 Winter Olympics. This has made her, over the last four years and in this competition, one of the best snowboarders in the world. To win New Zealand’s first Winter Olympic gold medal on Waitangi Day gave Zoi’s achievement a special place in our sporting history. Her courage and determination to win on the final run of the competition was an extraordinary effort and a moment that New Zealanders will never forget.

Not to be outdone by Zoi’s achievements, 20-year-old Nico Porteous’ gold medal saw him become the youngest New Zealander to win a Winter Olympics medal, overcoming some very windy and wild conditions during his competition. It was the culmination of an incredible four years since the 2018 games, where he also won bronze. Since that time, he has consistently been on the podium at international events and, as has Zoi as well, innovated with new tricks that pushed the boundaries of their sports.

I’d also like to acknowledge all the other members of team who gave it everything and delivered fantastic performances, proving that we have raft of young talent making its way through the ranks and inspiring the next generation of Kiwi snow sports stars. We are immensely proud of our athletes who rose above the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the challenge of competing without friends and whānau on the side lines for their events, and we acknowledge those friends and whānau as well.

I also want to acknowledge the support staff on the ground who played a critical role in the success of our team at these games. In particular, I’d like to mention chef de mission Martin Toomey and his team. Marty was formerly the chief executive of Snow Sports New Zealand and was part of the long-term planning and development that lay behind the success at these games. I want to acknowledge the whole snow sports New Zealand team, the New Zealand Olympic Committee, High Performance Sport New Zealand, and Sport New Zealand for their critical role in these stunning achievements.

On behalf of the Government, our congratulations to all the members of the 2022 New Zealand Winter Olympic team. They have made us extremely proud and are an inspiration to all New Zealand. Now we can look forward to the Winter Paralympics starting later this week, where our New Zealand para-athletes will compete in the para - alpine ski events and, no doubt, will continue to make New Zealanders proud.

The question is that the motion be agreed to.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I think the Minister stole my speech! But the National Party is delighted to support the motion of congratulations to the New Zealand Winter Olympic team, and agrees with the Minister’s comments in support of them.

I think at a time when there are so many concerning issues and events to consider, our 2022 Winter Olympians have provided us with a tremendous distraction as we stopped and watched their amazing performance. And I think we should all be grateful for that distraction. But what a day Sunday, 6 February was: I think the whole country was holding its breath as Zoi Sadowski-Synnott tore down the slope-style course, knowing that the difference between nailing it and failing it were very, very fine margins. And that final run to win gold will go down, I think, not only as one of New Zealand’s great Olympic moments but as one of our great sporting moments. And to follow that up with a medal in the Big Air to become the first New Zealander to win multiple medals at a Winter Olympic Games, and to now hold medals of all colours, is a wonderful achievement. And then came Nico Porteous, already a world champion, who won Olympic gold in the men’s freeski Halfpipe—a terrific performance under enormous pressure. We acknowledge the other 13 athletes, who, while not medalling, all performed with great distinction under enormous pressure.

I want to acknowledge the huge amount of support provided by the families and friends of our athletes; also my old school mate, chef de mission Marty Toomey, and the rest of the team supporting the athletes; and also Victor Klap and the late Sir Eion Edgar, who were the driving force behind Wānaka’s Winter Games for the last 10 years or so, that I think provided the springboard for the level of performance that our winter athletes are now performing at.

A special mention also, I think, of the Wānaka community, where Zoi, Nico, and many of the other athletes have actually been based. Just about every single person at the Wānaka fan zone knew, or at least claimed to know, one or two of the athletes. I mean, I think that local support is a reflection of the Kiwi spirit, especially in that most beautiful part of our country. One of those Wānaka friends told 1News, on that Sunday that Zoi won her gold, something that I thought summed up the spirit of the team. She simply said, “I’m just happy she had fun.” And for me, I think, that sums up the spirit of this team, at a time when we can only imagine the effort, the sacrifice, and the enormous pressure performing at the highest level creates. But whatever those pressures were, they didn’t show. What showed was joy—joy at soaring above the snow, joy at competing, joy at doing their best, and joy in victory. They also brought great joy to all of us, and for that, we are tremendously grateful and proud of them.

Finally, I join the Minister in sending our three Paralympic team members, Adam Hall, Aaron Ewen, and Corey Peters our very best wishes as they compete in the Paralympic Winter Games, starting this weekend. I know they’ll also do us proud.

What a tremendous Olympics. I’d like to also late congratulate Alice Robinson and Finn Bilous, who were the country’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony. Yes, Ireland did have a team there, but there were no medals unfortunately. Nic Porteous was the New Zealand flag bearer at the end. It was just an absolute pleasure to see Zoi become New Zealand’s first winter gold Olympic medallist, and how infectious it was to see Zoi’s parents, Robin and Sean, on TV watching on from Wānaka. And the quote that stuck with me was that their daughter had “nerves of steel”. And as every parent would understand, if you have your child flying through the air like that, you never know what’s going to happen. So good luck and a tremendous response from them. And to Nic Porteous, who won gold, his quote was “It was insane, man!”. Congratulations to his mum, Chris, and dad, Andrew. I think for them many sacrifices were made along the way to support their success, and seeing the haka to celebrate at the end was just tremendous as well.

So it has been New Zealand’s most successful winter Olympics and the most successful since we started competing at the winter games in 1952. Well done to the New Zealand Olympic Committee, Snow Sports New Zealand, the chef de mission, and to the House itself for supporting and funding all those activities.

We know that for every young athlete there needs to be an inspiration, and we couldn’t let today go past without recognising Dame Valerie Adams, who, as all young Olympians must have heroes to emulate, surely she is the one. She is the greatest of all time and for 22 years the best shot putter in the world. So we wish her the best and we hope to see her in public life very shortly.

Tēnā koe, just testing the audio, hopefully it’s working. Kia ora and looking to take a call on behalf of the Green Party to congratulate our 50 competitors in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and the wraparound team and family they had supporting them. I echo the sentiments by the previous speakers and acknowledge the remarkable efforts all the athletes put into representing their local communities.

Hey, in principle the vision of the Olympics should be a positive one, and we saw that vision and values on display when Zoi won her gold medals and was swamped by hugs and congratulations from her competitors from all over the world. We also pay tribute to the longstanding efforts by athletes and activists who use their platform to highlight human rights injustices across the world, even when it puts them at odds with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). We pay tribute to the fight to create a more just process of decision making by the IOC and a space where athletes of all backgrounds are fairly remunerated.

I also would like to pay tributes to the athletes who will be participating in the Winter Paralympics, and this is also an opportunity to renew those calls that have been going on for quite some time about running the Paralympics and the Olympics at the same time so that they get the same coverage they both rightfully deserve. Kia ora.

Kei te mihi atu rā i ō tātou tini mate, arā i roto i ngā rā kua hipa ake ko, Va‘aiga Tuigamala, arā ko Joeli Vidiri rātou ko Olsen Filipaina. Rātou ko ngā toki o te ao hākinakina kua riro ki te pō. Nō reira koutou e ngā mate, haere, haere, whatungaro atu rā.

[First, I acknowledge the many deaths, specifically in the days just past, Va‘aiga Tuigamala, Joeli Vidiri and Olsen Filipaina. These were all stars in the world of sport and have passed beyond the veil. Therefore, to the dead, go, go, go out of sight.]

Te Paati Māori supports this motion to celebrate the achievements of the Aotearoa team at the Beijing Winter Olympic games. Ka tuku i ngā mihi ki ngā tohunga hākinakina o Aotearoa, ngā kaipīkau i ngā wawata o te motu.

[I acknowledge the top sportspeople of Aotearoa New Zealand, those that carry the aspirations of the nation.]

I want to start by acknowledging all of the sportspeople, all 15 that went along to the Winter Olympics from Aotearoa to compete in it, and particularly I mihi to those who won medals during this campaign: to Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, who became New Zealand’s first Winter Olympics gold medallist when she won the women’s snowboarding slopestyle, and she also won a silver medal in the women’s snowboarding Big Air. I extend those mihi to Nico Porteous, who won our second-ever gold medal, in the men’s freestyle skiing Halfpipe. With two gold medals and one silver medal, the 2022 Winter Olympics were Aotearoa’s most successful since first competing at the Winter Games in 1952, which I’m sure you will remember, Mr Speaker.

At a time of pandemics, war, and ecological crisis, it is important that we acknowledge the people who bring us together, and they are certainly our Olympians and our sportspeople right across the country. Kia ora tātou.

Motion agreed to.

Two points to make: the first is that I think there might be a mike open somewhere in the technical staff, which some of the people are picking up. If that could be looked at, that would be good. And the other point I’ll make to Mr Waititi is that I can unplug him very easily.