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Mr ALAN ASHTON (East Hills) [4.50 p.m.]: This evening I want to talk about the heroic efforts of Matt McFadyen, who lives in my electorate, and his trekking mate Rob Porcaro from South Australia. A couple of weeks ago they set off and trekked to the North Pole. Matt McFadyen, who is 23 years of age, has as a result become the youngest Australian to conquer the frozen North Pole. He is now looking at going to the South Pole. So the expression that people go to the ends of the earth to fulfil their dreams or to achieve goals is certainly appropriate in his case.
Matt McFadyen was Bankstown Young Citizen of the Year 2005. As I have said, he has just returned from a 70-kilometre trek, dragging a sled, to the North Pole. This was, in part at least, practice for a trip that he intends to make at the end of the year to the South Pole. It is quite an achievement to be the youngest Australian to have done that. The report I have says that they spent 17 hours at the pole before they were picked up and flown out by a massive Russian ex-military helicopter. That in itself is quite risky, given the state of some of the Russian equipment post the Cold War. The trip to the South Pole will occur in November this year. That trip will be 1,000 kilometres from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole. The current youngest person to make the walk was a 26-year-old Swede. By the end of the year Matt McFadyen will be 24. Interestingly, Matt has had these dreams and ambitions for quite some time.
Some time ago Matt went on a trip to the Antarctica and on the way back, just to the north of Hobart, his boat tipped over. He was lucky to survive. He has big dreams and big adventures for a 23-year-old. When many of us were 23 it was a big excursion to drive to the Gold Coast. To set your sights on going to the South Pole virtually single-handedly is not something that many people do. Matt reported that the temperatures were 40 degrees below zero during the 10-day trek, which resulted in him suffering from frostbite. A photograph in the newspaper shows him with snow all over him. I understand that the two young fellows had a bottle of rum that they were going to share, but it froze. They were not able to drink any rum to celebrate their arrival at the North Pole.
The expedition that Matt plans to the South Pole will undertake nightly cognitive performance tests to help scientists and space agencies gain a better understanding of how humans' cognitive performance is affected when subjected to lengthy periods of complete isolation, stress and fatigue. It is hoped that what is learned from this research, which is being undertaken by the Mars Society Australia, Australian National University and Cogstate, which is supported by NASA, will assist in the selection process of astronauts and planning exploration missions on Mars. We are all familiar with the stories of Shackleton, Mawson, Amundsen and others who have trekked to the North Pole and the South Pole and the prospect of absolute darkness for 24 hours.
As a former history teacher, I am embarrassed that I cannot remember the name of the chappie who said, "I'm leaving the tent. I may not be back for a while." He never returned. It is wonderful that 100 years on young people continue to have these adventures. When Matt got to the North Pole he and his mate put up the Australian flag and sang the national anthem. It is appropriate that we recognise his feat in this Chamber. The Bankstown Sports Club, which is just outside my electorate and always comes to the aid of good causes for good people, donated $5,000, and Bankstown City Council donated $1,500 to help Matt and his trekking partner. Also, Tony Bleasdale and Linddales Pty Ltd personnel contributed $5000. I wish him all the best for his trip to the South Pole.