Page 4736 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 20 October 2010
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MR SMYTH: Minister, what community consultation will the ACT government be undertaking on the development of these issues that you will be taking forward so vigorously?
MR CORBELL: Consultation on the guide to the draft plan is a matter for the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, and there are consultation processes that they have announced that will be able to engage the commonwealth community. This is not a territory proposal. This is a proposal from the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and it is up to them to engage in the consultation process. We will represent the interests of the Canberra community in the forums available to us, through the ministerial council and through discussions with the commonwealth and other basin states.
Sport—Commonwealth Games
MS PORTER: My question is to the Minister for Education and Training in his role as minister for sport and recreation. Minister, can you update the Assembly on the performance of local athlete Louise Ellery at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi?
MR BARR: I thank Ms Porter for her question and for her interest in the performance of ACT Academy of Sport athletes at the Commonwealth Games. I can advise the Assembly that a squad of 16 young men and women from the Academy of Sport went to Delhi and proudly represented the community at the Commonwealth Games. These athletes brought a great deal of pride to the territory and the surrounding region with their performances. Each athlete represented our community proudly. There were a number of special performances.
I am particularly pleased to update the Assembly on the outstanding performance of Louise Ellery. Louise has returned to Canberra as the F32 women’s shot-put champion of the commonwealth. Many Canberrans may not have heard of Louise until her fame at the Commonwealth Games. As the Canberra Times put it recently, Louise’s Commonwealth Games success has been 12 years in the making. In Delhi, Louise added four centimetres to her personal best, to achieve a new personal best of 6.17 metres.
Louise’s story, though, is a remarkable and inspirational one. She suffered an acquired brain injury in 1998 as the result of a car accident. Initially her doctors feared it would leave her in a vegetative state. Through sheer willpower and with the support of her family and the staff at the ACT Academy of Sport, she has gone on to represent Australia and her city of Canberra in athletics at both the 2004 and 2008 Paralympic Games and, of course, at the most recent Commonwealth Games.
In Louise’s case, her remarkable success has been a family affair. Louise’s mum, June, is also her coach. I am sure they have shared a great deal of pride in her achievements in Delhi.
Today is also a proud day for both June and Louise. They both graduate today with their certificate III in business from the Canberra Institute of Technology. Today’s graduation is a remarkable milestone in the journey that these two women have
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