Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The JDRF One Walk is an annual event held in cities and regional centres right across Australia to help raise awareness and funds for research into type 1 diabetes. I was pleased to be able to join around 150 locals at the Davistown waterfront recently for the annual JDRF One Walk to help 'turn type 1 into type none'.

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Australia has invested more than $152 million in research, which will help to improve the day-to-day lives of those who live with type 1 diabetes as well as, we hope, to eventually prevent and cure the condition. The annual JDRF One Walk raises critical funds for clinical research, specifically for trials, employing local researchers in Australia, and accelerating the lab-to-trial stage to allow faster access and greater outcomes.

Over the past five years, I've had the privilege of attending and taking part in the JDRF One Walk on the Central Coast, and every year I've really been struck by the community's determination to raise awareness locally and to help find a cure. And so today I'd really like to acknowledge the incredible efforts of a number of members of the Central Coast community who are able to not only raise awareness of type 1 diabetes, but also to help raise much needed funds for critical research in the future.

This year, the JDRF One Walk on the Central Coast managed to raise more than $40,000, and this would not have been possible without the efforts of those who took part in the walk. I acknowledge Maddison Sewell, who was the top individual fundraiser for the walk this year. She managed to raise, individually, more than $2,200 for the walk, and she was among the top 10 fundraisers in New South Wales. Jaynie Moloney is another fantastic local, who raised an amazing $1,700. She got involved after her son Nate was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes over a year ago. She was also part of team Type One-derful, which raised almost $4,000 for the walk. The team from St Joseph's Catholic College raised more than $5,400, and I want to pay tribute to the great efforts of Gemma, Liv and Tilly from the Joey's T1 Team. This is an incredible achievement, and something that these students, their parents and their teachers should be very proud of.

This fantastic event would not have been possible without the hard work of the wonderful Margaret Sheridan and Helen Quirk who hosted this year's walk. I'd like to congratulate you both on another successful year and thank you for your passion, your advocacy and your leadership in making our local community aware of the prevalence of type 1 diabetes. This was highlighted by Margaret's own fundraising efforts of more than $1,500, which is an illustration of her ability to consistently lead by example. I thank all of the local families, schools and businesses across the coast who contributed this year. With your contributions, the Central Coast was the second-largest fundraiser in New South Wales. Thank you to JDRF Australia for their continued efforts in researching type 1 diabetes, in trying to turn 'type 1 into type none' and dramatically improving the lives of thousands right across Australia.

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