Sports Minister Anika Wells at US Embassy's Independence Day party in Canberra
The theme of the night was about sport bringing people together - but the Aussie sports minister couldn't help but get competitive
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00:00U.S. Embassy for inviting me to be here with you all tonight and thank you to my
00:06colleagues and the audience who suggested that I kick off proceedings
00:10with my best Australian breakdancing effort with parliamentary friends like
00:15these, you know the rest. But on a night like this, a celebratory event, America's
00:22birthday, look I do think it could be improved and I do have a grievance and
00:28because it's a sitting week I will be raising it. Tonight's theme is about how
00:32sport brings together people from across the globe. Sport and people and as we
00:38think about this at this moment in time, is there one person who defines this
00:44more than one of your very own people? So Embassy staff, Deputy Chief, where is
00:51Snoop Dogg? Where is Snoop Dogg? He's one of yours. Where is the Dogg father?
00:58Where is Snoopzilla? Where is Snoop Doggy Dogg? Mike Sykes, I expected better of you and I
01:04do think it's a missing piece of the puzzle here tonight and I think we
01:07should be honest about that because friends are honest with each other.
01:10NBC paid $500,000 a day for Snoop Dogg to be at the Olympic Games and I think he was
01:17worth every cent, worth every cent and I want you to take that as feedback for your next event for us here in Australia.
01:26I don't know how I could be more thankful.
01:30Now as Erica said, I was just in Paris for the Olympics, I did not meet Snoop and don't be too jealous though because I did spend six hours sitting in the rain at the opening ceremony waiting for them to set a balloon on fire.
01:46But during that downpour there was a tremendous bonding moment between the big sporting kahunas of our two great countries.
01:55I was seated near your LA Games Chief Casey Wasserman, two drowned rats in ponchos for six hours contemplating just how wonderful it is to be part of the Olympic movement.
02:11But the highlight of my Paris trip was the first night of the swimming already referenced by Erica.
02:18Erica just framed it as when Katie Ledecky and Ariane Tidmouth battled it out.
02:24Arnie won, Arnie won.
02:27They did battle and then Arnie won.
02:30And I think we should be honest about that because friends are honest with each other.
02:35But at that night the USA was represented by the First Lady Jill Biden.
02:40And they were also represented by Senator Mitt Romney who was there with the Salt Lake City organizing committee pitching and they were successful and congratulations for that.
02:49But as we watched America's Queen of the Pool, Katie Ledecky, it was the race of the meet, it was the 400 meters.
02:58About halfway through I turned and I smiled.
03:01First Lady, Senator.
03:04Because I noticed that Katie's arms were wilting, her stroke was shortening, her feet were sinking.
03:10I thought she was in a bit of trouble here but meanwhile a 23-year-old from Launceston, Ariane Tidmouth, glided past her for gold.
03:20And Australia won two golds that night.
03:23America won one, very good.
03:25But of course the United States doesn't believe in gold medals.
03:30The only country in the entire world who counts total medals first.
03:38Which I'm sure, I'm hypothesizing, doesn't have anything to do with the fact that the US usually sends along the biggest team to the Olympics.
03:46I always like to say that sport makes Australians want to hug strangers.
03:52Sport seems to make the US count funny.
03:55And I'll leave that with you to reflect upon.
03:58But the common ground that we do share about these games is that for our two great nations it was the female Olympians who dominated.
04:09Simone Biles, Gabby Thomas, Sydney McLaughlin-LeBron, Ledecky Husky, the Sevens rugby, my new spirit, Queen Ilona Mar.
04:18And the US women won 26 gold medals in Paris.
04:23The most by a women's team at any single Olympics ever.
04:28And Australia, with about 10% of your total population, which I think is relevant, won 18 total gold medals with our brilliant women winning 30.
04:44And I think that is certainly something where sport brings our two brilliant people together.
04:54And soon again, the LA 2028 people and the Brisbane 2032 people.
05:00I'm lucky enough to be vice president of the Brisbane 2032 organizing committee.
05:05So of course I rose at 4am to watch the Parisian closing ceremony anxiously with my clipboard observing.
05:13I was in Canberra, I can't remember why, so it was about negative 28 degrees.
05:17And as that piano suspended down and they played it upside down.
05:22And then that golden winged humanoid alien named the Golden Voyager that was representing the spirit of Bastille descended.
05:32And then there was a segment about a future dystopian world in which the Olympics had disappeared.
05:37I've got my clipboard, I'm making notes.
05:40But then Tom Cruise abseiled from the roof.
05:44He jumped on a motorbike.
05:45He got in a fighter jet.
05:47He parachuted out of the fighter jet.
05:50He landed on the Hollywood sign.
05:52And he unfurled the Olympics flag.
05:54And I thought, God bless America.
05:56This is bringing us together.
05:59So God bless America.
06:01Happy birthday.
06:02And good luck for the Paralympics next year.