Madam Speaker, death is the certain end to every life but it never loses its power to shock and dismay – as we’ve all found since the passing of Phillip Hughes last week.
He was a great cricketer.
He was grand company.
He was the best of sons and the best of brothers.
His death has so affected people, because it happened in the midst of life at its most exuberant.
He was 63 not out, on his way to a century, and a return to the test team.
People are not supposed to die playing our national game.
Sport is supposed to engender pride, not grief.
Phillip Hughes’ passing is a reminder that life is both precious and fragile.
So, Madam Speaker, we mourn with his family – Greg, Virginia, Jason and Megan.
We grieve with his teammates, particularly Michael Clarke, who has shown such leadership over the past few days.
We feel for Sean Abbott, whose life can never be quite the same again.
Above all, we honour a young man who has left us too soon, but who filled every moment of his 26 years with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run.
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