Julie Fitzgerald, AM

Julie Fitzgerald, AM

Ms LYNDA VOLTZ ( Auburn ) ( 18:16 :40 ): Minister Harrison said that sport does not go on forever, but for this woman it nearly did go on forever. I pay respect to the retiring coach of the Giants, Julie Fitzgerald, AM, who has had an extraordinary career. She is a veteran Australian netball coach. We all know her and love her dearly. Julie Fitzgerald has been a head coach for 40 years. That is a remarkable statistic for a coach anywhere. To coach at that level for 40 years is extraordinary. She is one of Australia's pre-eminent sporting coaches, and she has coached not only our most successful but the world's most successful team, the Australian women's netball team that has won more world championships than even the American men's basketball team. They have an extraordinary record.

Julie started young, as people often do. She started as an eight-year-old playing in Hornsby Heights, where she grew up. She still lives there and still has great affection for the Hornsby shire, where she raised her four children, Katie, Kirsty, Vicki and John. She was head coach of New South Wales between 1985 and 1999, and she served as the head coach for New South Wales at all levels, including the under-19s at the national championships and the under-21s and the open levels. At the State League, she served as head coach of a team that represented the Ku-ring-gai area, and I think she still lives in the Ku-ring-gai area, so the member for Wahroonga will be very keen to hear this contribution. The team featured a very young Liz Ellis and Catherine Cox, and in 1994 and 1996 they were Mobil Superleague semi-finalists.

Julie was coach of the Sydney Swifts, now known as the NSW Swifts, for a remarkable 10 years between 1997 and 2007. She coached Liz Ellis, Catherine Cox and Megan Anderson. She guided the Swifts to premierships in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007. In 2004, 2006 and 2007 she was named Netball Australia Coach of the Year. Between 2008 and 2011 she served as the head coach of the NSW Swifts in the ANZ Championship, and in 2008 she guided the Swifts to the premiership and was named the Australian ANZ Championship Coach of the Year. In 2009 she took charge of the combined entity when the Swifts played the Queensland Firebirds in round seven, and she guided the Swifts to the minor premiership.

Julie is an extraordinary coach. She was at the Australian Institute of Sport between 2011 and 2013, and served as its head netball coach. In 2012 she guided the team to fourth place in the Australian Netball League. She then headed to New Zealand to become head coach of Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in the ANZ Championship, but then returned home to become coach of Giants Netball in 2016. Since 2017 she has served as the head coach of the Giants in the Super Netball League. She is a person who has given two netball teams to a powerful netball State. Between the Swifts and Giants, she has kept us at the top. I believe she has guided the Giants to a number of premierships, and as runners-up in 2017 and 2021. I thank Julie for everything she has delivered for netball in Australia and New South Wales, from the Swifts to the Giants, and to the New South Wales parliamentary team she once coached—I told her to do it like we were a bunch of five-year-olds.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER ( Mr Clayton Barr ): I recognise Julie's distinguished career.

Ms JODIE HARRISON ( Charlestown—Minister for Women, Minister for Seniors, and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault) (18:21:48): I thank the member for Auburn for raising the important contribution that Julie Fitzgerald has made not just to women's netball but also to the lives of so many young girls and women. Julie is indeed a force to be reckoned with. I was lucky enough to be at a lunch where Liz Ellis spoke about her time playing international netball. She made it very clear that Julie was a wonderful head coach who made a massive difference to the way that she played. I congratulate Julie on her retirement. She should be very proud of the difference that she has made to netball and to the lives of so many thousands of young girls and women.