I contribute to debate on the Automated External Defibrillators (Public Access) Bill 2024 (No 2). Sudden cardiac arrest can affect not only athletes but also any member of the community. Defibrillators play a vital role in saving lives when tragic cardiac arrest events occur. This issue is important to many people in my electorate of Leppington because of two particular events, one from a decade ago and one that occurred recently. Austral Soccer Club in my electorate is a beacon of advocacy and action for cardiac arrest awareness and defibrillators. The club has been at the forefront of enhancing the safety of players, officials and spectators, and ensuring that defibrillators are readily available at sporting facilities.

Just over 10 years ago, on Saturday 9 July 2014, a tragic and heartbreaking event took place at Austral Soccer Club that continues to affect the community. A 15-year-old young man named Marc Arcuri, who was healthy and happy and loved football, was playing for his local club—like many young kids do every Saturday, including my son. During the game, Marc collapsed on the field after suffering a cardiac arrest. Tragically, he passed away, devastating his family and friends and the entire football community of the southern districts and across Sydney. The event highlighted the harsh reality that anyone can be struck down by sudden cardiac arrest at any time. In response to the tragedy, Marc's family and friends organised a six-a-side football tournament, which quickly turned into a massive fundraiser to buy defibrillators for the club and ensure that Marc is remembered and a tragic event like that never occurs again.

That tournament came to be known as the Marc Arcuri Cup. It was organised by a couple of Marc's friends, including Alex Cauchi and Robby Mansour, who is Marc's older cousin. In 2014 the tournament was held in Bella Vista at the home of the Norwest Football Club. Twelve men's teams competed in the competition and more than $6,500 was raised, enabling the purchase of three defibrillators from the Royal Life Saving Society. In the following years the Marc Arcuri Cup was held on and off and continued to grow. In 2014, 32 men's teams played at Greystanes. More than 50 men, women and junior teams competed in the tournament when it was held at Marconi Stadium. Just before COVID, in 2019, the tournament included 100 teams. The event is completely funded by player registrations, donations from businesses and the barbeque fundraiser. The money goes towards purchasing much-needed automated defibrillators. All members understand that defibrillators save lives and make an immense difference to our communities.

A couple of months ago, in August, another event took place at the Eschol Park Football Club. A 13‑year‑old, who was playing up in the under 14s or 15s team with his brother, collapsed. Initially, the coach thought he was having an asthma attack. Thankfully, the boy's brother plays on the team and he told the coach the 13-year-old does not have asthma. They then realised it was a very serious medical episode. Because it was training night, the committee was meeting at the amenities block. Luckily, two of the committee members were trained in how to operate the defibrillator that is located at the Eschol Park sporting complex. They jumped into action, performed CPR and started to use the defibrillator. The GoodSAM app, which other members have mentioned in their contributions to the debate, kicked into gear and a nearby individual rushed to attend to the boy. They gave him three jolts from the defibrillator. I am happy to report that the boy is now doing much better. He has undergone multiple procedures and been in and out of hospital, but the doctors report that he will not suffer any permanent damage.

I contrast those two examples. But simply having a defibrillator on site will not prevent these tragic incidents. Defibrillators require people who are trained in how to use them, which we had at Eschol Park. Someone nearby who can attend the scene must also be pinged by the GoodSAM app. I do not want to sound flippant but if we located a lifesaving buoy along every kilometre of coastline, for example, it would not stop drownings. We would still need personnel there who know how to use buoys and how to perform CPR. It is a similar situation with defibrillators. That is why I oppose the bill. Simply rolling out a tool across the State is one thing, but we need people who know how to operate that tool. When it is a life-or-death situation, if we roll them out but the people who use them are not trained, we could end up making things worse.

Defibrillators are sophisticated pieces of technology that can cause injury or worse. They can even injure the operator or people nearby if they are not used properly. I do not know whether the member for Kiama has considered that. I believe the member introduced the bill in good faith. Members who both oppose and support the bill agree that defibrillators save lives. No-one is opposed to them. We want to roll out as many as possible. But the Government wants that to occur in a methodical manner that ensures the right people are trained in their use. I talked about two events that took place in my electorate, and I thank Austral Soccer Club, Eschol Park Football Club, the Marc Arcuri Foundation and Heartbeat of Football, which have all worked tirelessly for more than a decade to ensure we have defibrillators in and around our sporting facilities. They are almost like fire hydrants now. I remember a time when fire hydrants were not compulsory but we started to see little red things pop up. Then they became compulsory.

But in workplaces we have work health and safety officers who are trained in how to use them and know when to use them. It is the same story with defibrillators. We cannot roll them out and think they will magically save lives. We need to train people in their use. I support additional funding and any other initiative that seeks to train everyone, if possible, in defibrillator use. Like other members, I encourage everyone to download the GoodSAM app.

While members might not end up agreeing on this particular bill, I think we all agree that more should be done in this area. I note that the Minister for Sport recently announced a grant program for defibrillators. I have encouraged some of the sporting clubs in my area to apply for that because we cannot have enough defibs. But, as I said, we need to make sure we have people who are trained using them. It is the mission of all members of this House to reduce the incidence of sudden cardiac arrest in sporting environments through education, awareness and the provision of defibrillators. As we look to the future, it is essential that we continue to support and expand those initiatives. [Extension of time]

I mentioned Heartbeat of Football, which does work not only around defibrillators but also around prevention. Andy and the guys will turn up to do heart checks wherever you ask them, pretty much at the drop of a dime. They have told me numerous stories of being at a game and conducting a check-up on a dad or mum who was there watching their kid play, only for that check-up to indicate the person was probably weeks away from a severe heart attack. We must work on prevention and ensure that people that people are healthy and do not need to use these defibrillators. I encourage members to visit the Victor Chang Foundation in the Macquarie Room today for a check-up. I had my check-up today; I note the doc, the member for Bega, is indicating he had one too. Despite the tremendous amount of stress that members on both sides of the House put on me as Government Whip, I am happy to report that that I do have reasonably good blood pressure. I need to work on my cholesterol, as apparently it is at a slightly elevated rate.

Ms Jenny Aitchison: You have a big heart, Nathan.

Mr NATHAN HAGARTY: It was confirmed that not only do I have a heart, but it is a big heart. In closing, and on a serious note, I say that we need to do a whole bunch of wraparound things in this area. Prevention is better than cure. I urge people to stay healthy, stay happy, eat healthily and get check-ups. If, heaven forbid, someone does have a serious cardiac arrest, we have someone nearby using the GoodSAM app and the defibs to assist. But we cannot roll out defibrillators willy-nilly, as this bill suggests, and expect they will save lives. This is a well-intentioned bill, but I will be opposing it for the reasons I have outlined. I thank the House.