The Australian Government Will Give Paralympians Prize Money for Medals After Public Backlash

Power to the People.

In a sensational turn of events, after a mass outcry from Australians everywhere the Morrison government has announced Paralympians will now get prize money if they win a medal at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo.

Earlier this week it was reported that—unlike their Olympic counterparts—Paralympians wouldn’t get any prize money if they won a medal while in Japan.

Paralympics Australia head Lynne Anderson said the reason was simply due to a lack of funding and nothing more sinister.

“Paralympics Australia absolutely agrees that our Paralympians deserve equity of recognition,” said Anderson.

“PA has never had a funding program for the Paralympic Games medallists as we just don’t have this funding available from grants or sponsorships.”

Once this news hit major news outlets everywhere, the uproar was so deafening that a response from the government was almost a certainty.

Speaking in front of the federal government yesterday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced they wanted to recognise the efforts of Aussie Paralympians.

“I’m very pleased to announce that the government will provide additional support to Paralympics Australia to ensure our Paralympic medallists will receive equivalent payments to our Olympic medallists,” Mr Morrison said.

“I’m delighted we have been able to support our fantastic Paralympians in this way.”

This move from Scomo and co. means that Paralympians will now be rewarded with $20,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze, putting them on par with Olympians, which we think is more than fair.

“To all our Paralympians, thank you so much for inspiring us. Congratulations on your tremendous efforts. We are grateful that you’re one of us as Australians,” Morrison said to finish up.

Good shout there, Scomo.

The Tokyo Paralympic Games finishes up this Sunday, 5 September with Australia sitting eighth in the tally with 18 golds and 70 medals overall.

You can stream the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games on 7plus.

Header Image: Paralympics Australia