Ben Morton (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The incredible generosity and kindness of all Western Australians—indeed, many people across Australia—is truly remarkable. This year's Perth Telethon raised a record-breaking $38 million over the 26-hour marathon TV broadcast and from events held throughout the year. I was very pleased to participate in a number of those events. Thank you to the Prime Minister and the federal government for our contribution of $3.3 million to Telethon. While it's important to see our government and taxpayers contribute, ultimately it's the personal donations of mums and dads, and even kids, which break the donation records to Telethon year after year. With this year's $38 million, the total raised by Telethon in its 50-year history is more than $300 million. This is vital fundraising for state-of-the-art equipment for children in hospital and critical services for children with disabilities. The support and generosity of so many Western Australians has a major impact on dealing with the life-threatening diseases our children face, including brain cancer and leukaemia.

Thank you to all the volunteers and staff at Seven Perth for making Telethon weekend such a success. And thank you, again, to the people of Western Australia, who have once again dug very deep. Your donations mean so much to the lives that you are helping to change.