Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As we are only too aware, the diagnosis of ovarian cancer is one of the crucial elements ensuring a woman's survival. In 2016, it is estimated that 1,480 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer. This will represent 2.5 per cent of all new cancers in women diagnosed this year. It is also estimated that 1,040 women will die from ovarian cancer, which is just over five per cent of the total cancer deaths in women this year.

With ovarian cancer touching the lives of our families or someone we know, understanding the signs and symptoms is necessary, but it is difficult when sometimes the symptoms seem minor. And the women in our lives—the strong women; the fierce mothers, daughters, sisters and girlfriends—are sometimes so busy they do not find out until much later. This is why fundraising to help with public awareness campaigns and research into the causes and treatments of the disease are so important.

I have known women and family touched by ovarian cancer, and this is a cause that I am passionate about. On Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending the Sunbury Afternoon Teal for Ovarian Cancer at Pitruzzello Estate. It was a great afternoon of food and drink, great local wines and fantastic entertainment. The Afternoon Teal was hosted by the local community fundraising group the Teal Magnolias, who had set themselves a fundraising target of $5,000. Through its raffles, auctions, ticketing and entertainment, the group smashed its fundraising goal for ovarian cancer and had raised nearly $7,000 as of Saturday night—and they are still counting.

The event is the result of the determination and perseverance of Melissa McDowell. Melissa organised the event through her family, friends and local community connections, and she was able to ensure that the Afternoon Teal was a success. Congratulations to you, Melissa, on not only reaching but smashing the fundraising goal for such a worthy cause. This is a classic example of one person's determination to make a difference.

Melissa thanked a lot of people on the day for their contributions, and I would like to thank them for their help in raising much-needed funds for research into the causes of and treatments for ovarian cancer. I would like to thank Meritor, who were the major sponsors of the event. The businesses and people who donated raffle prizes also deserve to be recognised as part of the key to the day's success, so I thank you for your contribution. I would like to thank local businesses like Country Style of Sunbury and Melton Guardian Pharmacy, as well as the individual people who, along with my office, sold raffle tickets in the community. I would like to thank the people who gave up their time and products on the day for various activities. I thank the MC, the entertainers, Patrick from Pass-the-Parcel, Joseph Chapman, Mykayla Wilde and the Divine Divas of Sunbury and the Sunbury Divas. The floral arrangements were also kindly donated by Maria from giftofflowers.com.au. Thank you to all the businesses who made sure that everyone's tummy was full, and thank you to everyone else who turned up throughout the day. Last but definitely not least, I would like to thank all of the Teal Magnolias, including Melissa's broader family and her husband, Craig, for the work that they did in making sure that they benefited the community. They should be very proud of their success. (Time expired)

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