Page 2753 - Week 09 - Thursday, 25 August 1994
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MS FOLLETT: Only one. He has had three Kangaroo tours. He had played 159 games for the Raiders up to round 21, and had, at that point, scored 840 points for the Raiders. Of course, he scored a couple of points last Sunday as well. The Canberra Raiders won the premiership in 1989 and 1990.
I think everyone in the Assembly would want to join with me in wishing Mal all the very best in adding a couple more achievements to his wonderful list of records - the 1994 premiership and a fourth Kangaroo tour.
Mr Stevenson: A successful tour.
MS FOLLETT: A successful tour; indeed, Mr Stevenson. Mal Meninga is more than a great footballer. He has been a wonderful role model for the children and the young people in our community. He is a person whom the whole community respects for his courage and his determination in coming back after his arm had been broken, I think, four times, for his true sportsmanship, for his strong community spirit and for his devotion to his family.
Mal Meninga has also taken the human side of Canberra into the lounge rooms of Australia, and he has proven yet again that Canberra is no longer just the home of Federal politicians but is indeed a city with a very strong and very proud sporting tradition. Mal Meninga and the Raiders have played a major role in changing that perception about Canberra and in developing our own community spirit at the same time. I am sure that all members would join with me in thanking Mal Meninga for his contribution to the Canberra community so far.
Mrs Carnell: He still has to win on Sunday.
MS FOLLETT: I have no doubt that he will win on Sunday. We wish him and his wife, Debbie, and their children, Tamika and Joshua, all the very best in whatever future they choose.
Kieren Perkins
MR MOORE (5.20): Madam Speaker, on the same sporting note, I think it is also appropriate for us to recognise what has been achieved in Victoria, Canada, through the last week but particularly today. Anybody who had time at lunchtime to watch the 1,500-metre race would have seen Kieren Perkins break the 1,500-metre world record and the 800-metre world record in the same race. It was a most extraordinary thing. The pride of Australians in such sporting feats was referred to by the Chief Minister when she spoke of Mal Meninga. In supporting what she said, I would also like to recognise what our young Australians have done for the spirit of this great nation of ours.
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