Page 3373 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 21 August 2018

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my retirement from the army and during my time here in the Assembly. I note the generous support that members and staff of all political persuasions have given to this great cause, certainly in previous years when I stood out front of the Assembly and rattled the tin.

Legacy in Canberra supports services to 1,067 widows. I would like to thank all of those involved, but in particular the president, Judy Mack; the vice-presidents, Bill Crews and Brian Edwards; the immediate past-president, Gerry Carwardine; the honorary secretary, Steve Jones; the honorary treasurer, Greg Heywood; the chairs of committees, Paul Stevens, Graham Bentley, Vic Gibbons, Chris Appleton and Bob Connor; the elected board members, John Heggart and Ian Wills; the recording secretaries, Frank Lehman and Tony Wilkinson; the welfare committee chair, Neil Horn; and other office bearers, including Ian Wills, Bob Connor, Brian Keil, Steve Hart, Mac Cottrell, Mark Crocker, Peter Launder, Brian Worth, Bob Richardson, John Heggart, Rosalie Bush, Jan Wilson, Ray England and Neil Turner.

I also thank the Laurel Club presidents. The president of Boorowa is Joan Birnie and the president of Canberra south is Mrs Mary Parker. I would also like to mention my own Legacy widows, four wonderful ladies: Pam Cockerell, Thelma Maurice, Barbara Nosworthy and Margaret Prior.

I add my thanks too to all of those other legatees that I have not named but who work very hard on behalf of their widows. Certainly, some legatees care for many widows. I wish Legacy all the best with Legacy Week that is coming up. I thank all of the legatees and staff for their tireless work for widows and families in our Canberra community.

Blood donation

MRS KIKKERT (Ginninderra) (6.58): One of my favourite things to do is give people gifts. On some occasions the gift is one that I carefully think about and pick out in order to bring a smile to a loved one’s face. On other occasions the opportunity to give a gift comes out of the blue, like the day I walked out of the shops with a chocolate bar and felt impressed to offer it to a father in the car park who was clearly having a very difficult day with his kids.

Last month I chose to give the gift of life by making a donation of whole blood to the Australian Red Cross. I do not know exactly where my donated blood ended up or how it was used, but I do know that blood donation is an essential part of keeping many Australians alive and healthy. In fact, statistics reveal that one in three of us will need blood or blood products in her or his lifetime. Nationally, we require more than 25,000 donations every week, though each donation can save up to three lives.

After my donation the Red Cross shared with me the story of Jess. After experiencing a burst artery in her stomach, she experienced serious internal bleeding. In fact, by the time she realised it was not just the flu, she had lost fully half of her own blood. Thankfully, doctors were able to save her life but it required 21 units of whole blood, eight units of plasma and five units of platelets. Since her amazing recovery Jess has


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