Louise Markus (Macquarie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about the Hawkesbury Relay For Life, which I attended last Saturday. The Relay For Life is an overnight community event where teams of 10 to 15 people participate in a relay style walk or run to raise funds for the Cancer Council. Many of us would know that these invaluable funds make a significant contribution to finding treatment and also quality of life for many people impacted by cancer and their families. In the Hawkesbury the event brings a whole community together for a day and evening of fun, entertainment, celebration and remembrance.

This event holds an extremely special place in our local community calendar given the far-reaching effects of friends and family who have survived and cared for those impacted by cancer. It is astounding to think that one in two Australians will be diagnosed with cancer over the course of their lifetime. This means that each one of us at some point will be touched by cancer. Now in its 11th year, the Hawkesbury Relay For Life is held at the Hawkesbury showground and draws in hundreds, in fact thousands, of members of the community to participate. Some people do it in memory of a loved one that has passed were from cancer, others do it to show how proud they are to show how proud they have to have survived. Others of there to show they are strong enough to beat cancer and some just want it comes alongside others and help to make a difference.

It was an honour to be at the opening of the event on Saturday and witness the groups, the funny outfits—in fact there was a team dressed as pirates—the families and friends that had gathered. They definitely have a spirit of 'let's give it a go'. Altogether 60 teams took part in the relay with close to 900 participants present. As of today, Hawkesbury Relay For Life 2014 has raised over $120,000, with more donations still making their way in. Over 10 years, Hawkesbury Relay For Life has actually exceeded their collective target of $1 million—an outstanding achievement for everyone in the community.

My congratulations go to the committee for organising this worthwhile event; fundraisers of this kind take a whole team effort and months of planning. In particular, I would like to acknowledge the chairperson, Jenny Hamilton, and community relations coordinator, Nathan Dart. They are phenomenal individuals who bring together a team behind them. This year in New South Wales around 40,000 people will take part in the Relay For Life event. Across the nation, events will raise around $18 million, a truly amazing achievement. It was an honour to be there to join with them in the fight against cancer.