Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in condolence at this very sad time. Today will mark the funeral of Phil Hughes, and many in this place will take the opportunity to reflect on his contribution. When he made his debut for his country in February 2009, there had only been 408 Australians—privileged, nay, talented Australians—who had had the privilege of donning the baggy green cap. As we heard from the previous speaker, almost every Australian boy—and, increasingly, Australian girl—grows up playing cricket, aspiring to one day wear the baggy green. I can tell you that I was such a young man. I spent much of my youth juggling my responsibilities scholastically with a love of cricket and the game. I shared that love with my brother, who was 11 years older than me, and I was privileged enough to play cricket at a reasonably senior level. Unlike Phillip Hughes, who had the talent to play for his country, I did not, but it is the fact that he was playing our national game when he was taken from us which I think has caused his plight to resonate so deeply with the Australian psyche.

A life well lived can be measured in years or it can be measured in quality, and I think it is important to note at this time that a life well lived is indeed a ripe old age. If one lives their life well and to the fullest, one can take solace in the fact that they have lived to a ripe old age, even if they are taken far too soon as Phillip Hughes was. We heard from the Prime Minister earlier this week. He said—and I will repeat his words—that Phillip Hughes's death 'has so affected people because it happened in the midst of life, at its most exuberant'.

This was a man who had played for his country, whose unconventional technique had made him both a local hero and someone that the ordinary Australian could relate so clearly to. He had gotten on top of his technical difficulties and was returning to the field and, quite frankly, was slated to play for Australia and to continue his test career. We could sit here and speak about his statistical record, his 26 tests and his 25 one-day internationals, but this story now speaks a lot larger than that. His passing reminds us that life is both precious and fragile. I, like the previous speaker, have held in my thoughts ever since last Thursday Sean Abbott, who did nothing more than play the game we love and play it as hard as Phil Hughes would have wanted.

It is important that he be marked as 63 not out. Symbols really do matter. I am pleased to see that across our nation we have seen the phenomenon of 'putting your bats out'. I am pleased to report that amateur cricket in my electorate of Barker continued on the weekend. Not only did players don black armbands, but they all paused to reflect on the tragic loss of Phil Hughes.

We have all had opportunity to understand more of the Phil Hughes story since his tragic passing. I noted with some interest that he was a country lad. He shares that with me. He had a great love of cattle, and stud cattle in particular. Like Phil Hughes, I hope one day to leave this place and retire to a farming property. Like me, Phillip has Italian heritage, in his case through his mother, Virginia.

I know something about loss. Whilst my sympathies are with Phillip's mother, Virginia, and his father, Greg, I cannot pretend to know their pain. What I do know acutely is the pain that Jason and Megan, his siblings, are sharing right now. I know it because I have lived it. I say to them: you will never forget—as this nation will never forget—the contribution your brother has made, but you personally will never forget him. You wake up most mornings thinking of him. From time to time during the day you will think, 'What would Phil do in this situation?' From time to time you will think, 'How would Phil have coped with this?' The reality is that you never recover from a loss of this nature. You learn to live with it but you will not recover from it.

Not only have cricket clubs throughout my electorate reflected and acknowledged this sad passing, my own cricket club, the South Gambier Cricket Club, which I maintain membership of, was very keen to acknowledge the passing of Phil Hughes. I spoke to a number of players before they took the field on Saturday and remarked to many of them, many of whom I have played cricket with for a decade, that was has shocked them is the fact that we play our national sport and play it hard, but none of us ever thinks that will be the last act in the drama of life. I think that is why this event has so shocked the Australian psyche.

Phil was a great cricketer. He was a great Australian. Much more importantly than that, he was the best of people taken at his most exuberant, as the Prime Minister described it. Vale Phil Hughes. My sympathies go to his family. My sympathies go to his team-mates. I am grateful that, as a nation, we have acknowledged his passing in the most appropriate of ways. We probably will not see his equal again. He was an unconventional batsman who had a raw talent who has been taken from us far too soon. As a nation, we have been robbed of his talents. To his family and his team-mates I send my deepest condolences. May he rest in peace. May he enjoy cricket for the rest of his days in that oval in the sky, and join other Australian and international greats playing the game they love for all eternity.

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