Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to congratulate the staff and volunteers of the Sydney Children's Hospital, who recently launched their Spring Art Exhibition. On 21 August I was fortunate to help launch the Sydney Children's Hospital's Spring Art Exhibition, and the artworks are now brightening the lives of many of the visitors to the hospital. I am very proud to have one of Australia's leading medical, social, research and now artistic institutions in Randwick in my electorate.

The halls of that hospital are visited by 110,000 people each year. As all of us are aware, whether you are a visitor or a patient, a trip to hospital is not always the most pleasant of appointments. So, in order to improve the lives of the hospital's brave young patients, and inspire and enthral their families, carers and loved ones, each year the Sydney Children's Hospital Foundation runs an art program which transforms the halls of the hospital with exhibition spaces of colour, energy and light and certainly brightens the visit of the young kids to the hospital.

This year works were from established artists Pennie Pomroy, Sandra Garritano and Richard Hirst, and they have been joined by 94 brilliant creations from students in the local area and some of the children who are patients. Winners included Emily Liang, Jodie Sim, Angelica Georgopolous and Tempe and Georgia from Wenona. I would like to thank all the staff of the hospital—in particular, Tim Talty and Roxanne Fea—for the wonderful work that they do, and Louis Vuitton for sponsoring the exhibition.