Louise Markus (Greenway, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to talk about the community of Greenway. It is a community that digs very deep, particularly in these times of cost-of-living pressures, to help a worthy cause. Over the last two weeks there have been a number of events in the community where people have gone the extra mile to raise money for cancer research. I would like to highlight two. One was the Hawkesbury Relay for Life, which was conducted last weekend, and the second was the Biggest Morning Tea, which was held in Stanhope Gardens. The Biggest Morning Tea was led by Warren Weir and his team from Community Connections in conjunction with shopkeepers from Stanhope Gardens Village. It was held on Thursday, 22 May and raised $1,300. I thank Gloria Jean’s, Michel’s Patisserie and Norwest Christian College for their contribution to the event. There were 36 raffle prizes from over 25 generous retailers who supported this worthy cause.

The Relay for Life, which was conducted at Hawkesbury Showground last weekend, was led by Jenny Hamilton. She has been the coordinator for a number of years now, working with a team of volunteers. I also acknowledge the four Hawkesbury Rotary clubs for their involvement. Teams set up their own tents, or base camps, around the perimeter of the showground. Rotary were cooking sausage sandwiches and bacon and egg rolls, and a coffee cart was open all night long, providing cappuccinos to late-night walkers. People walked around the clock for 48 hours. Last year $85,000 was raised. This year, a record of over $100,000 was raised, and that amount is still increasing on a daily basis. Over 1,000 people were registered. I would like to congratulate everybody who was involved, particularly the RAAF. A RAAF crew showed their fire truck designed for aeroplane fires. The RAAF were involved all weekend. This year a big fireworks display was a highlight of the event, celebrating half a decade since the start of Relay for Life and the generosity of the Hawkesbury community in raising funds for this cause. Participants included Windsor Riverview; Westpac; Curves; students from Bede Polding; RAAF Base Richmond, who raised over $8,000; Glossodia Rural Fire Service; the ‘Happy Feet’ team; and the ‘Schoolies from Schoies’ team, made up of parents and teachers from Schofields Public School. (Time expired)