Mr McMULLAN (2:35 PM) —I rise to support the motion moved and the remarks made by the five preceding speakers. I will seek, in doing so, to support their remarks but not to repeat them. Everybody knows that there are measures of how outstanding a cricketer Sir Donald was—they have been well outlined by others, and I will not repeat any of that. We all know that, when we meet to talk about great cricketers, we discuss who was the second-best; there is no point in discussing who was the best because we all know the answer. But there is an interesting modern indication of that: Sir Donald's batting average is better than the average of the Waugh brothers combined—the No. 4 and No. 5, who have been the mainstay of the most successful team in the memory of anybody in this room, I suspect. He was better than the two of them put together, statistically. It is a fairly outstanding contribution, and the remarkable thing is that the Waugh brothers would not be offended by the comparison. They would not be either surprised or offended. I will not speak any more about that because others have said more than enough, and there will be other chances for colleagues to speak later in the day.

But his significance arises in some other ways. There are very few players in any sport for whom the way the game is played and the way the rules are written are changed as a consequence of their dominance. Sir Donald Bradman was one, and we saw it in `bodyline' and in its response. Walter Lindrum was another. There are very few others when you think across the range of sporting achievement where the game is played differently as a result of that person being so outstanding.

His significance to our nation is really based on the comments that people on both sides have made about the fact that he was outstanding at a time when the nation needed that inspiration, during the period of the Depression and the years immediately after it and the years immediately after the war. And his significance is reflected in the fact that there are songs written about Sir Donald—I would have to say perhaps not some of the greatest songs in the nation's musical history but nevertheless significant in their way.

Mr Lee —Paul Kelly's song is pretty good.

Mr McMULLAN —Yes. And there was a television series not just about him but which revolved around his dominance and the response to it. And there is that phrase that everybody in Australia knows the meaning of. When you talk about `the Don' it may mean something else in other countries but it means something very specific and particular in Australia, and everybody knows whom you are talking about. He was clearly a dominant sporting figure, a significant figure at an important time in our history when we needed that inspiration. He has inspired people beyond the cricketing arena for years, during his active sporting career and for years since.

I think as a nation we Australians ask too much of our sporting heroes. We ask them to be as great in every aspect of their lives as they are as sporting people, and that is a very big and unreasonable call very often. We see outstanding sportsmen and sportswomen, particularly in these days of great public scrutiny, criticised because they fail to meet in their private lives the standard they set in their sporting career. But why should they have to? We should not expect of them things which are unreasonable. Certainly I think people expected of Sir Donald more than any human being could have provided.

But he provided a lot to our country, and the inspiration that he provided through his sporting prowess, through his skill, through the contribution that he made to Australia in the recovery from the Depression and after the war was important. He set a standard to which all others might hope to aspire, even if they all know they will not actually get there. Like the Treasurer and the Leader of the Opposition, I tried to hit a golf ball with a stump. I might have been disadvantaged by the fact that the tank was a corrugated iron tank—it made it a little bit harder—but it certainly proved how impossible it was for us mere mortals to achieve that standard, and it has been reflected in my cricketing performance for 45 years since. But it was just an indication that he could do things that others could not even imagine and when they imagined could not do. We are enriched by his unsurpassed prowess and performance.

I conclude with a quote that was attributed to Bill Lawry on the AAP wire today. He said, `We're just lucky he was born an Australian.' I think that is true in a number of ways when you reflect upon it. I am pleased to have the opportunity to join with the Acting Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and others in supporting this motion.

Mr SPEAKER —I understand it is the wish of all honourable members of the House to signify at this stage their respect and sympathy by rising in their places.

Honourable members having stood in their places—

Mr SPEAKER —I thank the House.