Mark Coulton (Parkes, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to recognise the contribution, to celebrate the life and to mourn the death of Michael Fussell. My colleagues here can speak of his military career far more eloquently than I, but I am today speaking on behalf of his friends. Michael Fussell was my nephew’s best friend at school and an acquaintance of my daughter, and his parents, Ken and Madeline, are good friends of my brother and sister-in-law. I have asked my nephew James to send me a few words so that I can speak on their behalf.

James wrote that Michael was known to his mates as ‘Fuss’. He was a strong-willed and determined character who made the most of his opportunities. This was demonstrated by the career that he chose. He had a passion for sport, in particular rugby, squash and polocrosse, all of which he excelled at. He was the epitome of the ‘country bloke’ stereotype and never shied away from hard work. Fuss was a frequent visitor to my brother’s property and used to enjoy helping out on the farm. He also used to go out to Warialda and Gravesend to compete in polocrosse carnivals. He excelled academically, particularly in chemistry, history and English, and he loved to read. He was known to recommend many a good book to his friends. He was truly a loyal friend and he never let his rigorous Army schedule get in the way of keeping in touch with his mates and family. Fuss spent memorable weekends with mates in Newcastle, deep-sea fishing and attending a music festival. I think it was on 2 November, only a month ago, that he attended a festival in Newcastle with my daughter, Claire, and my nephew James just before he left for Afghanistan. Fuss died in the same way that he lived: serving his country and giving selflessly. He will be sorely missed by all who had the privilege of meeting him.

James has added a few interesting anecdotes as to the sort of chap Fuss was. He and James paddled in the Hawkesbury River Classic and canoed 111 kilometres in 16 hours. When he was visiting my nephew on his property at Gravesend, his determination and athleticism led him to catch a wild pig completely unaided. Anyone who has had anything to do with that activity will know that it is no mean feat. There was also an occasion at home when he tried to re-create a science experiment that he had done during chemistry at school and filled the family kitchen with purple smoke.

When we mourn the loss of our soldiers it is important to remember that they are someone’s friend, someone’s son, someone’s brother, someone’s mate.

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