Vince Connelly (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

One of the great privileges of this job is getting to meet local heroes out there in our communities who are giving so much. Also, sometimes we get to raise their profile, and today I would like to do that on behalf of Bec Johnson, whom I nominated last week for an Australian of the Year award. Bec set up and runs, as the CEO, the Type 1 Diabetes Family Centre in my electorate of Stirling. Bec has raised over $85,000 for the centre via her campaign Life Without Limits by completing ultramarathon swims. I joined Bec on one of her ultramarathon swims. Bec is a type 1 diabetes sufferer herself, but has been absolutely smashing it. When I say 'I joined', I actually joined for the first two kilometres and that was it for me, and Bec was already 200 metres ahead of me! Bec is out there changing the lives of kids and families who are living with type 1 diabetes. She's set up a very innovative model, so I'm working with Bec to champion a greater subsidy for continuous glucose monitoring—something this government has recently invested more in—and also to support parents who are caring for their children with type 1, sometimes on a full-time basis. Bec, I hope that you get the recognition you deserve, but you are already a hero to me and all of the kids and families in the type 1 diabetes community.

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