Pain for gain across the Nullarbor Plain

20 March 2008 | Senator Ursula Stephens, Ramsey Hall, St Ignatius College

May I begin by honouring the Indigenous ancestors of this land, the Guringai people, and I thank you for the opportunity to join you this evening to support the efforts of these remarkable young people – Nat, Shep, Muz and D-Z.

Pain for Gain across the Nullarbor Plain

I can't think of a better way to capture what these young men have achieved, for such a great cause. Nathanael Groves of Portland, Matthew Sheppard from Coonamble and Murray Campbell and D-Z from the United Kingdom have done something few of us could even imagine.

But I'll try:

• 4100 km – the equivalent of riding around Sydney's massive orbital road network about 37 times.
• 22 days of solid cycling – 200 kilometres a day – often in temperatures topping 40-degrees.
• Some of the harshest, most unforgiving terrain found almost anywhere on earth.

And the reason Nathanael, Matthew and Murray decided to do this? For ParaQuad NSW, an organisation committed to supporting two of their mates, James "Teddy" Horsburgh and Robert Dempsey, both of whom are here tonight.

I think another amazing element to this story is the fact an idea this big, this ambitious, originally hatched late one night in a pub in Edinburgh, Scotland, actually came to fruition. We all know that many of these types of ideas come-about in the pub, only to have those involved wake-up in the morning and say "maybe not".

But not these three: they spent ten weeks training, preparing themselves mentally and physically for what would arguably be the most arduous journey any of them will ever face.

And they didn't do it out of the limelight – we were all able to keep an eye on their progress, thanks to their internet web log, where we shared their ups and downs, triumphs and challenges.

I regularly checked-up on them, during their journey and here are some of the more memorable moments:

Day 1 – Great Optimism
"3am, keen as mustard the day has finally arrived…[but] our first little mishap, nearing the end of the day, Shep's gets a wheel caught in a railway crossing and comes off. Nat goes clean over the top of him, and both end-up with some gravel rash. Gotta watch those railway crossings!"

Day 8 – Weary and warm
"Made it to Border Village about 12.30pm…We spent the afternoon with the Brits lying around the pool [but] like good little Catholic boys Nat and Shep spent their time in the Chapel. I don't know whether it was for divine guidance, or that it was [just] the only place with an air-conditioner working."

Day 16 – Resourceful and hopeful
"Muz [is] struggling with both his shoe clips broken so he ditched them and taped his thongs on his bike to make peddles. He's getting-by but needs a bike shop real bad."

And they made it!

They've raised over $10,000 through generous donations for ParaQuad NSW. For more than 45 years, this not-for-profit member-based association has been providing care, support and clinical services to people with spinal cord injuries, their families and their carers. The people involved in this wonderful organisation are known for going well beyond the call of duty, to support their clients.

For example, let me share with you the story of Newcastle-based Peter Brandimarti, a ParaQuad NSW carer. In June of last year, Peter battled extreme storm conditions, and cajoled his way past SES roadblocks, to get to his client, provide him with medication, and ensure he got to bed safely. Peter in fact received a bravery award from ParaQuad for his services, and I congratulate him and all the other individuals who give ParaQuad NSW its reputation for providing high-quality personalised services to hundreds of people with spinal cord injury.

There are many Australians living with serious spinal cord injury depending on organisations like ParaQuad NSW.

I read, with interest, the report of the Institute of Health and Welfare called "Spinal Cord Injury, Australia, 2005/06" – and I admit to being shocked to learn that in Australia today, more than 10,000 people are living with a spinal cord injury.

These injuries are as a result of traumas such as car and motorbike accidents, falls, driving and swimming mishaps, as well as sports injuries and work accidents.

Around half of the 300 to 400 new cases reported each year are people aged between 15 and 34 years old. And the majority of people who have a spinal cord injury are young men – your age group, by and large!

And at what cost to our community?

Let's not just consider the economic costs of cure or treatment – but the social cost to their families and communities is enormous, and of course the opportunity lost to these individuals' lives is unquantifiable.

For James and Rob – their challenges are both physical and psychological as their bodies and minds come to terms with their traumatic injuries.

For their families and carers, the challenges are also physical and psychological – the physical demands on them to look after their sons, and the emotional roller-coaster involved in confronting the fact that their boys' dreams have been dashed; and they now need to have new dreams.

When we think about this we realise how critical organisations like ParaQuad NSW are to our society - they are champions for those who are often lost to government systems – families, carers and siblings.

I salute them, all those generous volunteers who keep our communities and our society well-oiled, and help people like James and Rob to stay connected to their communities. They are the good neighbours and active citizens that keep our communities humming.

And let's acknowledge the generous Australians everywhere who donated to the ride, and who regularly give to non-profit organisations. Whether it's a small donation here and there – or getting on a push-bike and cycling across a continent – every effort helps.

And the Rudd Government is asking – what do we do to ensure that Robert and James have not just a quality of life, but opportunities for work, relationships, friendship and connections.

We believe it's about making Australia a more caring and compassionate country – an important personal priority of the Prime Minister, who sends his personal message of support to Rob and James and their families this evening. We believe that disability should never stand in the way of people achieving their goals, of being active members of their communities, workplaces, families and society. And, I know that's what James and Rob are striving to do.

But what of our heroes – Nathanael, Matthew and Murray and D-Z. They did the pain, and I'm sure gained much more from their adventure across the Nullarbor than the $10,000 they raised along the way.

They are typical of a new group of volunteers in our midst – dedicated, focused, volunteers who give themselves a challenge, a target, and a timeframe.

What they'll take from their adventure, I'm sure, include:

• A sense of great personal achievement and pride in that achievement;
• A better understanding of the struggles and challenges for their mates Rob and James;
• A greater sense of everyone's ability to make a difference, and;
• Many new friends and experiences to draw upon and share in the future.

We should congratulate Nathanael, Matthew and Murray and D-Z for their enormous effort. They said from the start they were motivated by the way in which two of their mates are now facing life's challenging hurdles in their everyday lives.

And with them is Paraquad NSW. You're here tonight for a very important purpose – to demonstrate your care and support for James and Rob, and just as importantly to support and acknowledge the work of Paraquad NSW who is supporting hundreds of James and Robs every day.

You can make a difference – by keeping up contact with Rob and James, email, call, call in if you're travelling through; and extend that same care and concern to other people in chairs in your community wherever you live – they want to be known and respected and loved for what they can do, not for what they can't.

And tonight - dig deep and help Paraquad to continue to make the difference that is their mission. They provide specialist spinal and injury nursing – highly skilled nurses who focus on giving people the best chance for rehabilitation, occupational therapists and counselling; They provide free splinting clinics and continence and wound care advice – critically important for these guys' quality of life;

And they provide lots of information through their magazine, website and information line that helps families and friends support people who have suffered spinal cord injuries.

To Nat, Shep, Muz and of course D-Z- we salute you – you've done yourselves proud, you make us proud, and I'm sure you've made your parents very very proud.  Well done and congratulations on your efforts!