John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To the previous member, I share your love for Tasmania, and I holiday there at every opportunity. It is a great place to live and visit. This last week has been a very charitable one in my electorate of Bennelong and across the country. I would like to take this opportunity to speak about two of the great local fundraisers which have just taken place.

Firstly, thank God for the Salvos. Despite having driven back to Sydney late on Thursday evening, I was up bright and early on Friday morning, rattling the can with other volunteers for the Salvation Army's Red Shield Appeal at Epping station. It was a pleasure to support the many volunteers who gave up their time to assist and collect for the Salvos. On Friday, I was joined by Charlie Chen and Narelle Walker from the local firm Outsourced Client Services Group. They did a great job. It was a pleasure to meet them and work with them. It was also a pleasure, once again, to witness firsthand the generosity of the members of my community. In no time, we had collected hundreds and thousands of dollars at just one location. Thank you to the people of Bennelong and the residents of Epping for your generous hearts.

A typical example of this community spirit that I witnessed was Trent, who was filling the vending machine at the station. He saw that it was quite cold and we were doing a good thing, so he approached us, said he was doing a coffee run and got us all coffees. What a great young man. We then donated money on his behalf, rather than paying him for the coffee, and he was very happy with that. The coffee was great and it allowed us to carry on with our good work.

This year, the Red Shield Appeal raised over $5 million through their collections and doorknocks. This funds thousands of meals for the hungry, beds for the homeless, refuge for victims of abuse, assistance for addiction and other counselling. Essentially, it provides hope and survival for thousands of families across the country. Thanks to Trenton Brown and Nora Etmekjian for organising the event again this year and our local Salvos, Cheryl Kistan and her team. And thanks, above all, to those who gave so generously.

Another worthy cause that was observed last week was, of course, Australia's Biggest Morning Tea. I was lucky enough to get two bites of the scone—to coin a phrase—by getting to enjoy the one held here in parliament and the one held in my community as well. Locally, I returned again this year to my usual haunt, because the cakes are great, in the hall of the excellent local school Holy Cross College in Ryde. Hundreds turned up for the event, as they do every year, from across the community. This year, we were even joined by Elvis—thank you very much! Raffles, music and laugher filled the room, but it was all underlined by a very serious message.

Everybody has lost someone special to cancer. Every cent raised at the thousands of biggest morning teas across Australia goes straight to the Cancer Council. The Cancer Council, in turn, spends the millions they raise on directly helping care for those with cancer and their families. They support cancer nurses, transport or accommodation, treatment advice and, perhaps most importantly, the emotional support and understanding to bring comfort to people going through what will probably be the toughest time of their lives. The Cancer Council also uses the money to fund groundbreaking research into new and better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, with the potential to save thousands of lives. Could there be a better cause?

The main day for the morning tea was last Thursday. Since then, over 25,000 morning teas have been hosted, and an amazing $1.5 million has been raised. Morning teas will continue through June, so there is still time to register for your own and raise more money for cancer. Contact the Cancer Council's Australia's Biggest Morning Tea or find them online at www.biggestmorningtea.com.au for more information.

I would like to not only thank everybody involved in these two fundraising efforts for such great causes but also recognise all the other dedicated people across our community who are raising money, providing support and helping out for very good causes. Many of our local groups are dependent on volunteers and fundraisers like these. Quite simply, without these kind-hearted people, many more people would be far worse off.

Question agreed to.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 13 : 31