Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to speak in this important debate on the death of Phillip Hughes. From Marrickville to Mumbai, from Lords to the Sydney Cricket Ground, people all over the world have paid tribute to Phillip Hughes since his tragic passing. The pain of losing a son, a brother, a friend, and a talented cricket player has touched more than just cricket fans; it has reached across Australia and across the world. In winter, we are divided as a nation by four football codes. In summer, we are united by our love of one truly national game—and that is cricket. It is the backdrop to our childhood summers: the sound of backyard cricket, the test on the TV over Boxing Day, the scents of barbecues—it is quintessentially about who we are and how we have grown up. So Phillip Hughes is one of us but he is also about all of us.

Prime Minister may be the highest office in the land but no status is more revered than to be chosen to play test cricket for Australia. To be given that honour and then to fight repeatedly to win it back says something about the character of Hughes, and the way he went about that earned him the love and the respect of all who follow our game. His passing has prompted an unprecedented outpouring of grief and extraordinary tributes. Bats at a gentle lean in the shade of verandas around the nation, from humble backyards to the gates of Kirribilli House, and here in the corridors of Parliament House and even at Lord's is a simple but magnificent way for all of us to share in the grief caused by the loss of a young man who played the game his own way.

At cricket grounds around the nation, 63-second silences were held in honour of Hughes' final score, and players retired their bat at 63. In my own electorate there was a magnificent gesture from the captain of the Haddon Cricket Club, Shaun Macarthur. With a score of 408 at the end of the 63rd over against VRI Delacombe, Shaun declared their innings closed, ensuring the scoreboard became a memorial to Phillip Hughes, with his baggy green No. 408 united with that final innings of 63. Despite Haddon's all-time batting record being within reach, Shaun chose to walk from the pitch to remember Hughes. It was a fine gesture and one that many across the nation have replicated with '63 not out' becoming a catchcry for many young cricketers. I want to thank Shaun and the many clubs in my own community and across the nation for providing such fine tributes to such a fine young man.

As with other contributors, I too want to finish my remarks by saying that our hearts go out Sean Abbott—a young man who I hope very much feels and understands the love and support that is coming not just from this parliament but from the entire Australian community. We are proud of this young man. We think that he has suffered an unimaginable experience that will obviously be with him for his whole life. All of us send him our support and our care and wish him all the best over this summer of cricket.

See this speech in context