Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Hansard source

Later today it will be my sad duty, with the Prime Minister and thousands of Australians, to attend the funeral service of Phillip Hughes. I want to speak on behalf of the government and, I think, all Australian people in saying that his untimely passing at the young age of 25 is a reminder about the life that he led, which was an amazing life. It was full of love from his family, who were supportive in his early formative years—the years that made him into the fine cricketer that he was. It is also a reminder about how fragile life can be—to be lost at the age of 25. He was on the cusp of returning to the Australian cricket team. It said to all of us that it was such an unfair outcome. Our thoughts and prayers, of course, go out to his loving parents, to his two siblings and to the Australian cricket team and all of the support staff in the team, who feel this loss as much as anybody.

I also want to make special mention today of Sean Abbott, who is, again, a fine Australian cricketer, an amazing bowler and a young man with enormous talent, but he feels enormous grief and, no doubt, guilt. But he has the support of not only his team mates but, of course, the nation as well.

On Saturday I was at the under-nine Ferny Hills Cricket Team, where I help to part-time umpire and coach in my youngest son's cricket team. The innocence of watching those young boys wearing their black armbands, talking a lot about the loss of Phillip Hughes, was replicated at cricket clubs of all grades and all levels across the country. To me, it demonstrated the tight-knit community of cricket in this country. It is, of course, part of the Australian fabric. It has been reflected by cricketers of every generation, the names of whom Australians can instantly recall, and Phillip Hughes is amongst that company. Those young cricketers, as they went to the field, had a minute's silence and they remembered an amazing young man.

Phillip Hughes, of course, will be remembered for his great ability on the field, but Michael Clarke's outpouring of emotion, which to me is a demonstration of the great character of Michael Clarke, demonstrates that Phillip was a great man off the pitch as well. I think Michael Clarke has demonstrated the skills and the great capacity that a leader of the Australian cricket team must possess—people like Simpson, Border, Benaud and all of these people that had similar characteristics. Michael Clarke has demonstrated that over the course of the last few days. He has encapsulated the feeling of a nation. He has been able to lead his team through a very difficult time. At the same time, he has been having to deal with his own grief and loss for a person whom he describes as his brother in Phillip Hughes, somebody with whom he obviously had an enormous and heartfelt connection. He will suffer today, and all of us will be reminded during the funeral service about, as I say, the preciousness of life but also the ability of this young man to transform a nation not only on the pitch but off as well.

I want to in particular say thank you very much to Cricket Australia for the support that they have provided to the players within the team but also the broader cricket community, including the support staff as well. These are people that travel together. They are a very tight-knit group of people—the players, the support staff and the team at Cricket Australia. The fact is that they have been very conscious of the emotion which is still raw within the Australian cricket team. To delay the playing schedule is a significant undertaking, but they have done that with a great level of professionalism, and I congratulate James Sutherland and his team for the way in which they have been able to provide that support. They have demonstrated ably how they have been able to accommodate those players by delaying the Brisbane test and rejigging the playing calendar with India across this summer. Full credit to them.

I want to say something about the game of cricket, because the other day I went to a school within my electorate and I spoke to the year 7 groups about parliament, as all of us do from time to time. They ask about your parliamentary role, so they had questions about health, but predominantly they had questions about sport. In particular, they had questions about Phillip and they had questions about whether or not the game should change, whether or not helmets needed to be modified and whether or not there could be particular changes to cricket that need to be made.

In many ways, these things will be discussed at a later time, at a more appropriate time. But I think it is important to put on the record the fact that, by all accounts, this is a one-in-100-year event, a freak accident. Two young cricketers were doing their very best, representing their states and representing their nation. It was a freak accident. Frankly, from the medical advice, it seems that, had that ball landed a millimetre up or down or to the left or right, it would have resulted in a very different outcome. People can have discussions around whether or not you need to have a change in the design of the helmets—all of that. I do not think that is an appropriate discussion for today.

I do say that cricket is a safe sport. It is an amazing sport for young people to be involved in. We see thousands, literally, of Australian kids involved in the MILO program in the junior ranks who go on to have cricket as part of their life forever. I suspect that the Australian team and Phillip Hughes in particular would want the great game of cricket to continue on unimpeded—yes, with sensible changes if they need to be made, but, most importantly, to hold the values and virtues of this great game foremost. I think that is the message that we will see in coming weeks.

I want to say thank you very much to the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and others who have contributed to this condolence debate in the other place. I know that their thoughts and wishes and prayers for the family in particular, as I say, would be representative of the messages that thousands of Australians would want to be conveyed. In closing, I want to say thank you to the Australian public for the way in which they have provided an outpouring of grief and of support for the Australian cricket team and for the family in particular. It makes me very proud as the Minister for Sport in this country to see us represented by amazing athletes, not just in cricket but in many sports, on the track, in the pool and on ovals across the country. We are a better country for sport and for having sport as part of our DNA in this country.

We say to young Australians that the life of Phillip Hughes, whilst cut short in his absolute prime, is a demonstration that being involved in sport in our country is in many ways to be fully immersed in Australian life. I think this is an opportunity for us all to celebrate the life of a young man who made an incredible contribution not only to club cricket but to state cricket and obviously to national and international cricket as well. He was a great ambassador. We have seen the fact that different codes and different cricket teams from around the world, who would normally be adversaries on the oval, have come together as one to unite in their grief and to say to the Australian public and to those internationally who are admirers of the game that this is a great game. It is a very important part of our life. It is a part of the formative years of many Australians. We celebrate an amazing life, but we recognise the support of those around him and in particular the grief being felt by the family and by the Australian cricket team, ably led by a great Australian in Michael Clarke.

I want to thank the House very much for the opportunity to contribute to this debate. These issues are always dealt with on a bipartisan basis. As I say, this is an opportunity for us to contribute to what is a sad affair but a celebration of a wonderful life. Thank you very much.

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