Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to mention some of the outstanding fundraising efforts of the Greenway community in recent days, specifically the World's Greatest Shave, and also to mention this government's commitment to health care in west and north-west Sydney. On Friday night I joined a huge crowd at the Riverstone Bowling Club in my electorate to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation. The large turnout highlighted the generosity of the Riverstone community. I would particularly like to praise the efforts of Ryan Schneider, a year 6 student at St John's Primary, Riverstone, whom I was pleased to sponsor and support along with his family and friends, on Friday night. Ryan raised $850 for cancer research and received a brand-new buzz cut. Thanks to Ryan's fundraising efforts, the laboratory costs of a PhD student researching blood cancer can be covered for three weeks. This is an outstanding contribution and is extremely important when you consider 31 Australians will be given the devastating news that they have leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma or a related blood disorder every day. That's more than 11,500 people this year. I also want to acknowledge the scores of other locals who have or will be participating in some Great Shaves, including the Lalor Park community, who organised a similar event on Saturday.

Although survival rates are improving, blood cancers like these are the second biggest cause of cancer death in Australia. The World's Greatest Shave raises about half the money the Leukaemia Foundation needs to fund its important work providing practical and emotional support to people with blood cancer as well as investing millions in research. With the population of the north-west growth centre expected to grow from 300,000 to half a million in the next five to 10 years, the healthcare sector must respond accordingly, and this government is committed to doing this. The unprecedented investment in health care and health services from this government will allow people in my electorate greater access to primary care and take the strain off our public hospitals.

Since 2010 this government has invested heavily in my electorate, including more hospital beds and investments in elective surgery at Blacktown Hospital, $17.6 million for the Blacktown Clinical School, $15 million for the Blacktown GP superclinic, more GP registrations, massive investment in primary care infrastructure grants and the Healthy Communities Initiative. But these are, of course, in response to the huge regional challenges that we face and will continue to face in west and north-west Sydney. Through the inspirational efforts of people like Ryan and the rest of the Riverstone community who took part in the World's Greatest Shave last Friday night, thousands of dollars are going to the Leukaemia Foundation to continue to fund blood cancer research, and provide free services to support Australian families, and for that they should all be recognised.