Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and Pacific Island Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to acknowledge an extraordinary woman from my electorate of La Trobe, Norliah Syer-Peterson, who I had the great honour of presenting the Citizen of the Year to at the Latrobe Australia Day awards for her remarkable courage, compassion and unwavering adversity after the tragic death of her son Levi Syer. Levi was just 16 years of age, a bright year 10 student, at St Francis Xavier College at Beaconsfield when he passed away from meningococcal B disease in September last year. Heartbreakingly, he passed away within six hours of realising that something was actually wrong with him.

Meningococcal B is a very fast-moving bacterial infection. It causes meningitis and blood-poisoning. And I would just say to Norliah, you are so amazing and you had so many friends and family with you—it was a very emotional day. What the family is fighting for is to make sure that the meningococcal B vaccine is funded in Victoria, especially for year 10 students. It's currently funded in South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. I call on the Australian government—I know Minister Mark Butler is working with the family—to make sure we have all kids in Australia receive the vaccination so that there are no more tragic deaths.