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

We are heading for a very important and very special weekend in Western Australia—and no, I'm not talking about the Taylor Swift concert! What I'm talking about is Telethon.

Generations of Western Australians have grown up with Telethon. This Saturday and Sunday are this year's annual opportunity for everyone to give what they can to this life-changing charity. The support and generosity of so many Western Australians has had a major impact on some of the threatening diseases our children face, including brain cancer and leukaemia. Telethon also provides state-of-the-art equipment to children in hospital and critical services for children with disabilities.

WA's Telethon is the highest-fundraising telethon per capita in the world, and since its inaugural broadcast in 1968 Telethon has raised record-breaking amounts year after year after year. Telethon exists on a day-to-day basis through the generosity of Seven West Media. Their expert technical teams bring Telethon to our TV screens without a glitch from dozens of locations across WA and from the live performance stages at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.

I know everyone looks forward to watching Channel 7 in Perth and GWN7 statewide to see the 26-hour continuous coverage—the big names, the stars, the headline acts and all the entertainment throughout the broadcast. More than $36 million was raised last year and I just know that WA is set for another historic record this year. (Time expired)