Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on indulgence to acknowledge the passing of Sir Jack Brabham AO OBE. Sir Jack was an Australian legend. He was indeed one of a kind. He served in the Royal Australian Air Force before becoming a giant of motor racing. He won the Formula One World Championship in 1959. He was first Australian to win that particular title, and he won again in 1960. In 1966 he won his third world championship, driving a car that he had built himself. Nobody had ever won a championship in their own car before and nobody has done it since. He also took out the Constructors Championship in 1966 and in 1967.

Sir Jack was always willing to have a go and was named Australian of the Year in 1966, a National Treasure in 2012 and was the first driver in history to be knighted for his services to motorsport. He was respected and admired for his spirit and for his great skill as an engineer and, at all times, he was the quintessential gentleman, charming and patient to a fault with his fans.

He was a champion driver, an engineer and, more recently, a champion for macular degeneration awareness. To his wife, Margaret, and to his sons the government extends its deepest sympathies.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join with the Prime Minister in paying tribute to the life of Australian sporting hero Sir Jack Brabham. A flight mechanic in the RAAF, Jack retained a lifelong love of engine design, construction and repair, and once said that driving was the relaxing part of the world of Formula One.

Jack began his career in racing purely as a designer and builder of so-called midget cars, because he believed drivers were all lunatics. But in 1948, as a fill-in driver—in only his third race—he won his first speedcar event, the beginning of his journey to the pinnacle of Formula One greatness. Jack won back-to-back world Formula One championships in 1959 and again in 1960. However, his most remarkable victory came in 1966 when he won the championship in a car that he had built himself, a sporting feat that will never be repeated.

Jack Brabham's success became part of the collective Australian psyche. He was truly the Don Bradman of the racing circuit, with an iconic modesty and a wry sense of humour and none of the fist pumping and self-congratulation of modern sport. We will not see his like again. All of us in the Labor Party offer our heartfelt condolences to Lady Margaret, Jack's sons, Geoff, Gary and David, and his grandchildren. May he rest in peace.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask members to rise in their places as a mark of respect.

Honourable members having stood in their places—

I thank the House.