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

I want to congratulate and think the organisers, sponsors and participants in the Plebs, Pros and Personalities 24-hour Treadmill Run for Suicide Prevention, which occurred last weekend in Maroubra. The run served a highlight the importance of mental health and not being afraid to discuss suicide. Suicide remains the leading cause of death for Australians aged 15 to 44, affecting many in our community of Kingston Smith but also across the country.

For the second year running the event attracted a big crowd of locals, celebrities and professional athletes all keen to do their bit, and I was honoured to jump on a treadmill with the likes of John Sutton, Matt King, Sonny Bill Williams, Johanna Griggs and John Steffensen to raise money for the cause. The run was a huge success, raising more than $100,000 while also inspiring two other similar events on the Gold Coast and in Leeton. In addition to raising considerable funds, the event provided a very important opportunity for people to talk about their experience with depression and suicide.

One such story was that of a local 84-year-old local man who attended the run and pledged $1,000 of his own money. He spoke of the agony of losing his son to depression more than 40 years ago and expressed his happiness that something was finally being done.

I congratulate the sponsors—the Bulldogs Rugby League Club, the NRL, Core Mortgage Brokers, Boost Mobile, the Maritime Union of Australia, FTW Revolution Clothing and Vision Personal Training—and personally congratulate Aaron 'Spook' More and Ben 'Higsy' Higgs who organised the event.