Motions — New Zealand Paralympic Team—Congratulations
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I seek leave to move a motion without notice congratulating the New Zealand Paralympic Team on their achievements at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. I move that this House congratulate the New Zealand Paralympic Team, comprising of 24—
SPEAKER: Hang on a minute, I’ve got to put the leave first—which would be kind of useful. Is there any objection to that course of action? There appears to be none. Please start again.
Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I move, That this House congratulate the New Zealand Paralympic Team, comprising of 24 athletes across eight sports, as well as their support team, on their success at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, where they won one gold medal, four silver medals, and four bronze medals.
On behalf of the whole Government, I would like to congratulate the New Zealand Paralympic Team on their fantastic performances and achievements at the Paralympic Games. The 11 days of the Paralympic Games in Paris included our team delivering electrifying performances, personal best times, New Zealand records and Oceania records all being smashed, and, of course, many Kiwis on the podium. As their team slogans so aptly put it, we’ll give you something to talk about—and they definitely did.
Danielle Aitchison, our double silver medallist, winning silver in both the women’s 100 metre and 200 metre T36 is one example. Danielle had such an epic race in the 100 metre T36 final and has since spoken about her ambition to go out and achieve further excellence in LA in 2028, and we’re all looking forward to seeing her do exactly that.
Holly Robinson’s smile after winning the bronze medal in the women’s shot put F46 lit up the Stade de France, as did William Stedman’s after winning silver in the men’s 400 metre T36. It was heart-warming hearing him speak afterwards about how much this achievement meant to him, his support team, and all of his family, but also knowing how inspirational his performance was to New Zealanders.
In particular, Anna Grimaldi gave us many moments of inspiration, and watching her throughout the games was an emotional roller-coaster, from jubilation at her silver medal in the women’s 100 metre T47, then despair as she lost out on the women’s long jump T47, which she’d expected to be her best event, only to then go out and win gold and smash the Oceania record in her last event, the women’s 200 metre T47. Her resilience in picking herself up after the disappointing long jump result—usually her strongest—to win the gold medal in the 200 metres, the event that she was less confident about, the very next day is a great example to us all. Anna now joins Dame Sophie Pascoe and Eve Rimmer as the only female Paralympians to have won gold in three successive Paralympic Games—a brilliant achievement.
It wasn’t only happening just in track and field; Kiwi Paralympians shone in the velodrome, including Anna Taylor’s silver medal in the C4 3,000 metres, and Nicole Murray, who smashed the New Zealand record in qualification for the C4-5 500 metre trial time. The New Zealand flag also flew at the Nautical Stadium as Peter Cowan took home the bronze medal in the Paracanoe men’s VL3 200 metres on the final day of competition.
Our team’s results weren’t all medals and glory, but, even in moments of disappointment, the Kiwis made us proud through their integrity, their sportsmanship, and congratulating medallists and thanking their supporters with such grace.
I do want to take this opportunity to also acknowledge the hard work of chef de mission Raylene Bates, supported by deputy chef de mission Lynette Grace and their whole team of para-athlete support staff. The team behind the team did a great job of ensuring that all of our Paralympians were ready and able to perform, and supported them along the way in everything from prosthetic limb servicing to health, psychology, and performance support.
I’d also like to acknowledge Paralympics New Zealand, High Performance Sport New Zealand, and Sport New Zealand for all the work that they have done to get our Paralympians to Paris. I know that they’re already looking forward and building on this team’s performance as they think about Los Angeles in four years’ time.
To the athletes of the 2024 New Zealand Paralympic Team: your friends, your family, and the rest of New Zealand are so very proud of you. Again, can I offer my congratulations on behalf of the Government to all the members of New Zealand’s 2024 Paralympics Team.
The question is that the motion be agreed to.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I want to join with the Government and support the Prime Minister’s motion to congratulate New Zealand’s Paralympic Team for representing our country with such energy, pride, and tenacity.
Our nine medals—including four bronze, four silver, and one gold—are a just reward for years and years of dedication and hard work. Our Paralympians continued the proud Kiwi tradition of punching above our weight. With 24 athletes competing across eight different parasports, they all proved that they had, in the words of Anna Grimaldi, “a bit of dog” in them. Perhaps that’s the theme of these Paralympics. Against far larger countries with far bigger budgets and with a host of new Olympic athletes, our Paralympians showed that our little island can never be discounted.
Of course, none of that success would be possible without the support networks that surround our para-athletes. To the coaches, to their families, to their friends, and their support staff, we know the sacrifices that you have made and we thank you too. Their success is also your success.
Los Angeles in 2028 may feel like a long way away at the moment, but with so many new Paralympians making their first showing in Paris, we know that we’ve got a lot to look forward to in 2028. On behalf of the New Zealand Labour Party, on behalf of the Opposition, we want to congratulate and thank our Paralympic team for the inspiration that they have provided to all of us.
Mr Speaker, thank you. I rise to take this call on behalf of the Green Party in support of this motion and the words of those who have spoken before me. We extend our heartfelt congratulations and pride to our wonderful New Zealand Paralympic Team for their outstanding participation and performance at the Paris Paralympics.
The 24-strong New Zealand Paralympic Team included 10 debutants and five Paralympians aged 20 and under. It was an historic achievement for us, with Aotearoa athletes securing nine medals: four bronze, four silver, and one gold. We were all impressed with the records being set all over the show: one Paralympic record, four Oceania records, 11 national records, and 12 personal best performances as well as countless season best performances at Paris 2024.
As my mum always told us, it’s not just about winning; it’s about participating and doing the best with what you’ve got. We want to see disabled people participating in whatever sport they choose to, and that means breaking down barriers to participation.
Paris 2024 has staged one of the most influential additions in the 64-year history of the Paralympic movement, and here in Aotearoa New Zealand, it has captured the heart and minds of the public like never before, leading to record-breaking levels of engagement across both linear and digital platforms. Our athletes have not only inspired us but they’ve set a powerful example for future generations to participate in and support and enjoy sports.
Among the many impressive achievements, a personal highlight for me was witnessing Anna Grimaldi’s remarkable resilience and mental fortitude. After finishing fourth in her favoured women’s long jump T47, she bounced back the very next day to win gold and set an Oceania record in the women’s 200 metres T47.
While these incredible achievements were consistent throughout the games, I want to focus on the 2024 Paralympics New Zealand campaign, We’ll Give You Something To Talk About. The campaign challenges us to see para-athletes through a different lens, one that celebrates athletes’ extraordinary achievements rather than focusing on athletes being disabled people. Our athletes are inspiring because of their sporting achievements, not inspiring simply because they are disabled people.
The New Zealand Paralympic Team are high-performance athletes who reach the very highest level of elite sport. All athletes face challenges and they fight hard to overcome them, step on to the world stage, and do incredible things. Our Paralympians also happen to have truly inspiring and sometimes heartbreaking stories of resilience. We know parasports are woefully under-resourced compared to mainstream sports, making it more difficult for disabled people to access.
We need more backing and resourcing at the grassroots level for disabled people to be able to participate in sport, whether they aspire to compete or, equally important, they want to participate to have fun. Let’s all commit to breaking down barriers to participation.
One story that stood out to me was that of three-time Paralympic champion swimmer Cameron Leslie. To quote Cameron, “Disability can so often be talked about in whispers and behind people’s backs … Those of us with disabilities go through life proving people wrong and sport became my way to do this”.
Paris 2024 has been a true celebration of inclusion, diversity, and achievement, proving that anything is possible: having fun and winning gold. Congratulations to our athletes, you are incredible. Tino pai rawa atū! [Incredible!]
Thank you, Mr Speaker. We celebrate 64 years of Paralympics this year, and Paris has been absolutely stellar in hosting the world yet again for 11 competition days and an opening ceremony day—12 days of athletic excellence with record-breaking levels of engagement. Paralympians have captured this nation’s heart. Kiwis have had our attention turned to the vast range of parasports available across New Zealand, and the level of coverage that the Paralympics received this year really helped to showcase this.
The Paralympics New Zealand campaign slogan, as we’ve heard, is “We’ll Give You Something To Talk About”. And it did just that. Kiwis have had access to Paralympians like never before. The Paralympics education programme has exceeded all expectations, with over 250 schools registering to take part in the programme. My daughter and I had a chat about this, and she told me about a project she’s been doing at school on Nicole Murray, a paracyclist. Nicole had always been an active person, but her journey into parasports started in 2015, when she was attending a conference for young amputees. She was invited to try paracycling for the first time, and less than 10 years later, she’s a bronze medal winning Paralympian. Well done, Nicole.
While my daughter was doing her project on Nicole, she actually told me that she really liked Anna Steven more. So, naturally, when your kid looks up to someone, it’s worth finding out a bit more about them. And, wow! Anna is an amazing, impressive person. Like Nicole, Anna found her way in by attending a parasports open day, where it was suggested she try out athletics. Anna has been a competitive athlete since 2016, and just six months after, she was competing in the 2017 World Para Athletics Junior Championships.
Anna is a cancer survivor, diagnosed at age 12, which led to her undergoing chemotherapy and the amputation of her lower right leg. She has worked hard to be a world-class athlete, and she has provided space for other disabled athletes to excel as well. She continues to tell how running gives her a sense of empowerment and freedom. Her career as a Paralympian is an inspiration, and I am bought in. I cannot wait to see where she smashes her next goal, whatever she chooses it to be. It’s clear why my daughter was inspired by her. I hear Anna has recently picked up surfing. I hope you get to catch some great waves when you get home, Anna. And, with parasurfing potentially being included at the LA games, I hope we’ll see some athletes catching swells who have been inspired by this New Zealand team.
The Paralympic campaign this year really did help to connect New Zealanders with the Paralympians in Paris. We got to see Anna Grimaldi win gold in the women’s 200 metre T47—an absolutely electric performance that sees her bringing home gold to our proud little nation. I want to thank all the people who made this possible, not only for our athletes but for all of New Zealand, the parents, the partners, the coaches, the medical teams—all the kaimahi who came together. You continue to inspire and push our next generation to greater heights. Mahi tika. [Do what is right.]
We are a land of opportunity and freedom. We are proud to support our Paralympians, and we look forward to the 18th Paralympics in Los Angeles. Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Tēnā koe e te Pīka. It is indeed an honour to be here to support the Government’s motion and do a huge mihi to our Paralympic team, to let them know personally how extremely proud we are of everything they did, particularly the way they ignited excitement across Aotearoa. These are huge congrats to the 24 athletes, 10 who were first-time Paralympians, and a large team of rangatahi. They came home with one gold, four silver, and four bronze, and also a huge degree of mana for us as Aotearoa.
Our athletes, as has been said before, competed in eight Paris sports, and yet there were another 14 on the global stage. We continue to show indeed how we push and punch above our weight. We had Anna Grimaldi, who got bronze and gold; Anna Taylor with silver; Danielle Aitchison with silver; Nicole Murray with bronze; Will Stedman with silver; Holly Robinson with bronze; and Peter Cowan with bronze—not to mention the amazing amount of records that were reached and broken and extended upon. You generously shared your journey with us all. I mihi to Peter Cowan, who also shared his journey as he was preparing for Iron Māori, and instead here we have this amazing feat that he showed us—truly, truly inspirational.
There simply wouldn’t be this amazing kaupapa without the support of the friends, the whānau, and the support staff of all the New Zealand Paralympic Team, and indeed I recognise, and we recognise, the commitment of the communities who proudly stood side by side, on the edge of their sofas, no doubt, over the last couple of weeks. You have won medals, indeed, but also you’ve won medals of our deep gratitude and pride, and I hope that you can feel that from this House. I also want to give a special mention to the technical experts, who literally brought the TV screen into your house. It was so graphic that I’d be really surprised if neighbours weren’t hearing each other screaming. It was truly an inspirational time for us.
I do want to conclude on the reflections that came from Andrew, president of the International Paralympic Committee, who reminded us indeed of our obligation to use the momentum of the Paris 2024 Paralympics to be more inclusive, to remind us of our commitments to diversity and our differences, and to use them as a reason to unite—and that seems to be a big theme for this week—and to use that to drive change in creating a better world for everyone. I hope that each of us today continues to use this sphere of influence and, indeed, what it is that our athletes have shared and taught us. I then would like to conclude by thanking them all for their excellence and for showing us every day what is possible. Kia ora rā.
Motion agreed to.