Kurt remarks are inspiring

Kurt Fearnley inspired the crowd. 131076_05 Picture: DONNA OATES

By ANEEKA SIMONIS

INSPIRING and thoughtful words from an Australian sporting hero left a roomful of confident businessmen and women speechless last week.
Triple Paralympic gold medallist Kurt Fearnley was the guest speaker at Casey Cardinia’s fourth annual business breakfast at the Cardinia Cultural Centre in Pakenham on Wednesday.
The 33-year-old, who was born without the lower portion of his spine, told his powerful story of mental and physical strength as well as sharing his thoughts on disability in the community.
“The idea that disability is a weakness says we as a community haven’t adjusted to disability,” he said.
“When you grow up with a disability, you don’t see anything as being broken until you see it reflected in the eyes of others. But I know who I am. I am extremely strong. I am extremely resilient.”
He said Australia had a long way to go to improve disability access, citing a 2011 report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which found Australia had the highest level of poverty among its disabled population.
The country ranked 27th out of the 27 OECD countries, with 45 per cent of Australians with a disability living below the poverty line.
“We don’t all relate to disability until it’s in our lives … but there will be a point when we all lose what we have through ageing. There needs to be a universal design to ensure accessibility for everyone,” Kurt said.
“Increasing access is not just my fight, it should be everyone’s fight.”
Kurt motivated guests as he spoke about the many challenges he had faced on and off the field, such as crawling along the 96-kilometre Kokoda Track.
“It was the hardest thing I have ever done,” he said.
“If you want to be the absolute best, that should be the only thing you’re chasing.”
Kurt is preparing for his last Paralympic wheelchair race which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016.