Thursday, 4 June 2026

 Will FOWLES (Ringwood) (10:06): Today I rise to acknowledge an extraordinary Australian in Neale Daniher. Most Victorians know Neale as a footballer, a coach and the driving force behind FightMND. But what has always struck me most about him is not what he achieved before his diagnosis but what he chose to do afterwards. After receiving the devastating confirmation that he had MND, Neale was flying home to Perth. By his own account, he spent part of that flight feeling sorry for himself, wondering why this had happened to him. Then he had a moment of clarity. He later recalled saying to himself, ‘Okay, Neale, you’ve dropped your head for the last few hours. You’ve been carrying on and dropped your bottom lip. How’s that working out for you, then?’ And with that, he made a decision. Rather than asking, ‘Why me?’ he asked, ‘What can I do?’ He allowed himself just a couple of hours of introspection in those circumstances – just extraordinary.

Neale often used the football expression, ‘Play on’. For him it became more than a sporting phrase. It became a philosophy for life: keep chasing the ball, keep doing what we have to do. Most of us will never face the challenges that Neale has confronted, yet his response to adversity contains a lesson for all of us. When life becomes difficult, when circumstances are unfair, when things do not go to plan, we can choose whether to be defined by what happens to us or defined by how we respond. Neale Daniher chose to respond with courage, optimism, and purpose. In doing so, he has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for research, has inspired countless Australians and has given hope to families affected by MND. For that, all Australians owe him a debt of gratitude.