Mr NATHAN HAGARTY (Leppington) (18:12): I mark a momentous occasion in the history of this great nation. On Sunday it will be the twentieth anniversary of an event that took place on 16 November 2025, when the Socceroos qualified for the 2006 World Cup. I remember it well—as I am sure many of us do. There were 82,000-plus crammed into Stadium Australia and millions watching at pubs, clubs and in their lounge rooms. Thankfully for all us tragics, a 32-year drought was broken. Australia got to go to the World Cup, which it had not done since 1974. To set the scene, we had lost the first leg to Uruguay in Montevideo 1-0, but in the Sydney return leg there was hope and belief as soon as the Socceroos walked out onto the pitch. That belief was rewarded in the thirty-fourth minute, when Mark Bresciano put home a goal.
Many of us watched with nervous anticipation for many long minutes. Mark Schwarzer made heroic saves to ensure that the aggregate score was locked up at 1‑1 at the end of extra time. We went to penalties. Players whose names are now etched in Australian history stepped up and made home goals: Mark Viduka, Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill, Mark Bresciano. Schwarzer saved two goals in a penalty shootout. Then it was up to John Aloisi. In the immortal words of commentator Simon Hill, "He scores! Australia have done it! We're going to the World Cup." The stadium erupted. The nation erupted. There were tears, hugs and no doubt, in the great tradition of football, flares were ripped right across the country. Amidst those immortal scenes, John Aloisi started running. I do not know where he was running, but he kept running and his teammates swamped him. He pulled his shirt off his head and swung it around, embodying the release and elation of an entire nation that had been waiting for three long decades.
This was one of those moments associated with an Australian sporting triumph when people remember where they were. Where was I? I was sitting on the couch at my then home in Cabramatta West, glued to the screen like I am sure many millions were. When I was talking about my speech earlier today, a couple of the members remembered exactly where they were at the time. It was a very special moment. When preparing this speech, I went back and watched it on YouTube. To be honest, I still got quite emotional. For those wishing to relive it, ahead of the friendly against Venezuela on Friday Channel 10 will screen a documentary celebrating the 20 years. Football Australia will host an event in Melbourne on Sunday. Fans who are down that way can pop in and relive the victory with some of the players.
We must not forget Guus Hiddink, the Dutch coach who led us to glory and has since passed. He brought Dutch discipline, calm and a fearless style, and he showed us that, if we take the elements that are endemic to Australian football and put the pieces together properly, we can compete on the world stage—and that we certainly did. The legacy of that game continues to this day. After that World Cup we joined the Asian Football Confederation and that saw us go from strength to strength, both at club and international levels. We have qualified for every World Cup since, including next year. It will be played in North America, and I wish the boys very well.
Two thousand and five was the same year that the A-League launched, and it has gone from strength to strength. It now draws in 1.5 million fans per year. In fact, football is now the most played team sport in Australia, with about 1.9 million participants. Of course, who can forget the Matildas? In 2023, 11 million Australian viewers watched them play. That game had an estimated $1.3 billion impact on our economy. It is fair to say that the world game is now a familiar part of Australia's sporting landscape, and that is due to the incredible scenes we saw 20 years ago on 16 November. As a nation, we dared to believe—and one penalty transformed a nation. Twenty years on, that amazing legacy lives on and that belief still endures. I hope the boys take that belief with them to North America next year.
Mr DAVID HARRIS (Wyong—Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty, Minister for Gaming and Racing, Minister for Veterans, Minister for Medical Research, and Minister for the Central Coast) (18:17): I thank the member for Leppington for reviving those memories for me. I was in the grandstand at the stadium just on the edge of the goal where the penalty was taken. It was the first major sporting event that I took my wife to. After that goal was scored, everything became a blur. Strangers were kissing strangers and beer was flying in all directions. The main thing I remember is that just before the game a huge banner with Johnny Warren's face on it was passed around the ground. As people celebrated, they all said, "This is for Johnny Warren."
