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

In 2007, Kingsford Smith mum Sophie Smith experienced her worst nightmare when she lost her baby triplets following their premature birth at Randwick's Royal Hospital for Women. Devastated but also grateful for the care that she received, Sophie set up the Running for Premature Babies group to help support the hospital's work and research into prematurity.

On 17 May, I joined 300 runners in the Running for Premature Babies team to take part in the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon, with a goal of raising $200,000 for this extremely worthy cause. I am pleased to report that we well and truly eclipsed that result, raising $273,000, which I am told is over a third of the moneys raised during the event. The outstanding effort took the group's nine-year fundraising total to an incredible $1.5 million. Much of that money is already making a difference in important research and work to take care of sick and premature babies. The goal is to improve outcomes and give tiny babies a much better chance at survival.

This is not just about raising money; the team has become a supportive community of runners, and many share the common bond of premature babies. Over the nine years, friendships have been forged and PBs have been smashed. Through it all, the spirit of Sophie's little ones continues to shine. I congratulate and thank all of the runners who took part in the Running for Premature Babies, in particular Mandi O-Sullivan Jones, the team coach, and of course the wonderful Sophie and Ashley Smith for all their hard work.