Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in this debate as a cricket tragic, as somebody who grew up in Macksville and attended the same schools in Macksville as Phillip Hughes—he attended the Macksville Public School and the Macksville High School—and as a person whose family still lives in the Nambucca Valley.

I remember the first test that Phillip Hughes starred in. At that particular time, I was visiting my mother. We talked about how wonderful it was to have somebody from Macksville, from the area that she lived in and the area that my sister and her sons live in, starring on the world stage in cricket. The pride that the people in the Nambucca Valley had in the achievements of Phillip Hughes was enormous. My nephews used to talk to me about how they would go up to Macksville and go to the pub up there; how they would all stand there and have drinks with Phillip, and he was still the same guy that he had been in the past; and how committed he was to that local community.

I know how that community are hurting. I know how they will feel. I know how devastated they are by the loss of one of their favourite sons, somebody who has achieved at the absolute highest level of cricket and somebody who was on the doorstep of coming back into the Australian cricket team. He will always have that very special place within the community of Macksville and the Nambucca Valley. He will be one of the heroes of that area. He will become a legend. He will be talked about for decades to come, centuries to come, as he will within the history of cricket.

I will not go through his achievements. I know there have been many, many people that have stood up and talked about his fantastic double century, his achievements in the Sheffield Shield, his achievements in county cricket, his achievements in one-day cricket—his achievements in all levels of cricket. But the one thing that I really want noted in this House is how important he has been in the psyche and the history of that little town that people are gathering in today, a little town of just over 2,000 people, which will really swell today; how people will gather in that school hall at Macksville High School; and the enormous sadness that will pervade that town. I think I read that the shops will be closing their doors this afternoon. That is a true Macksville tradition. That is a community getting behind somebody that is very special to them.

In addition to expressing my sympathy for the town, I would like to express my sympathy for Phillip's family. They would really be hurting today, as will his fellow cricketers. To see their son starring, to see their son achieving, to see their son so vital, to see their son so full of life, to be just a few days short of his birthday—one minute he is this vibrant young man who is achieving at the highest level, and the next minute his life is taken from him. What that does is show us just what a precious gift of life is—how each and every one of us can end up just like Phillip Hughes.

But the thing that is so special about Phillip is that he really epitomises what Australians look to when they look to their sporting heroes. He really has done so much not only for cricket but for young people, going along and coaching when he was not playing, and telling young people always to 'go for your best shot'. I suspect that that is what Philip was doing when that ball hit him—going for his best shot—and that bouncer came up and caught him unaware.

It is interesting that there have only been a hundred such deaths before, and two of those have been in cricket. I know that Cricket Australia and cricket worldwide are looking at the helmets. That is a good move.

Sometimes there are things that you just cannot account for. Sometimes things just happen. This is one of those events. This is an accident that nobody can be blamed for and one that will pull the cricketing community closer. Sixty-three not out—that is fantastic—and the retirement of his shirt are all great tributes to Phillip.

Of course there is Sean Abbott—a young man whose cricket was blossoming and for whom the tragedy is amplified over and over. One the one hand, he could have been hit for six but, on this occasion, the ball just bounced the wrong way. My thoughts are with Sean Abbott. I hope that he continues to strive in his cricketing career. I know that Phillip Hughes and the other members of the Australian team would want him to.

Phillip's colleagues in Australian cricket will be doing it tough today as will his parents and family. This is a time to remember his family, friends, the cricketing fraternity, and the community of Macksville and the Nambucca Valley.

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