PRIME MINISTER:
It’s wonderful to be back at the Sydney Children’s Hospital. As it was said, Lucy and I have a very long association with this hospital and I just want to say, as I’ve said many times before, how much I admire the - there’s Les White, good to see you – how much I admire the work that you’ve done. The combination of extraordinary love and compassion and care and humanity and the most cutting edge science, always ambitious to push the envelope to find the next therapy, the next drug, the next treatment that makes a difference, that saves a life, that ensures that the consequences of therapy are not as distressing or as harmful as they might’ve been. You are constantly seeking to improve the work that you do and so I thank you for that and honour you for that.
Now, we are here to, Sussan and I, the Health Minister and I, are here to deliver on our election commitment to provide $20 million towards the Zero Childhood Cancer Project. And that is a wonderful initiative. It is a great national priority. It’s being led by the Children’s Cancer Institute and the Sydney Children’s Hospital and it is designed, as Tracey was saying earlier, to ensure that we deliver precisely the right drug in the right way, focused on the particular tumour and that suits the particular child. So, in other words, highly targeted therapy that does less damage to other organs. As I was discussing with Tahlia’s mother just a moment ago.
Of course, naturally, one of the issues she is concerned about is the impact that chemotherapy has on the rest of her daughter’s system, other organs apart from the one that is affected by the cancer. So that targeting, that laser-like targeting, is absolutely critical and it needs research and collaboration and that’s what you’re doing.
This is a network. It is a new level of collaboration across the country and indeed across the world. It means better collecting and sharing of the vital information about the types of tumours, childrens’ response to treatments and the outcomes of the treatment. And most importantly of all, of course, it means new hope to children, their families, to quicker diagnosis, speedier treatment and better outcomes.
I want to say to you that every year there are about 1,000 children diagnosed with childhood cancer in Australia.
We want to see every single one of them being able to benefit from this technology so that we are able to achieve the goal of zero childhood cancer. That’s the goal. Just so that it is all cured, it is all cured.
I want to thank too, the children. I’ve met some, I can’t describe anyone as seven, Lulu, as old but you are an old friend because we have met before. I am glad that our friendship has progressed that you’ve given me a loom band, so we are BFFs. Thank you.
And we’ve, this morning we’ve seen just the courage, the stoicism, the courage, the confidence these young people have.
Whether it is Dave who wants to get back into the water surfing, although we were discussing his local surfing beach, some sharks were there chasing some salmon and we agreed when he did go back he should not get between the sharks and the salmon – that’s wise.
Tahlia, it was wonderful to meet her and help her with her jigsaw puzzle.
Little Shalev, what a great little guy. Bright as a button.
And Hayden, the musician. We had the drums going, the guitar going.
And then of course little Nate, in the isolation ward. Only 11 months old and he pressed his little hand up against the glass so we could touch him between the glass and there were tubes coming out of his nose and as he glanced at his mother, he smiled, a smile. He’s only 11 months, he doesn’t really understand what’s going on but I think he knew, I think even at that young age he knew, as all these kids do, that despite the rottenness and unfairness of being sick, they couldn’t be in better hands than here at the Sydney Children’s Hospital.
So we are delighted to be committing this $20 million to your fine work.
Thank you.
ENDS