Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Every year for four years now the Moreton and Rankin Muslim communities come together for a hotly contested game of cricket to determine who holds the Unity Cup. Part of the tradition has been to report back to the parliament each year after each of the four contests. Unfortunately, the losing team has to report first and that's why you're hearing from me before you hear from the member for Moreton! I want to warmly and genuinely congratulate my mate, the member for Moreton, on a well-deserved and very convincing win. Well done to his whole team, but especially to the one or two players that Ali Kadri recruited who actually live in Graham's electorate! I also want to make a seriously special mention of the Rohingya players, given the circumstances in Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Graham will jump up shortly to talk about the lopsided score, but I'm okay with that because I know that most of his best sledges are completely unparliamentary and we won't be hearing them here! I also know that as the cup goes north of Compton Road it is still only 2-2 after four contests, and we've never, ever lost twice in a row. We don't intend to begin next year.

I want to thank Ahsan, my co-captain, and Murray for umpiring with John and Muhammad. I also want to thank James, the scorer, and Andrew from St Laurie's, the groundsman, for giving us a pristine field, despite the wet conditions. Both officers put together a really fun day with a much deeper meaning and a much deeper message about getting around with each other in the interests of unity, respect and understanding. Shabash!

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