Good health is something too often taken for granted, but, for thousands of Australian children and their families, every heartbeat is precious, and every step we take to support them matters. Every day, more than eight children are born with heart disease. That's more than 3,000 children every year, or roughly one child every three hours. Across Australia, it's estimated that 32,000 children are living with childhood heart disease. These are not just numbers. Behind every statistic is a family, a community and a young person with hopes and potential.
The HeartKids foundation is making a real difference in this space, and in my electorate of Corangamite their impact is being felt on the ground. Just last Saturday, I had the privilege of joining Hannah Pearl, her family and her incredible HeartKids team in Connewarre in my electorate for the Two Feet & A Heartbeat Walk. Despite torrential rain, families still turned out in numbers to support this amazing cause. Many of the families have experienced loss or have children who are currently undergoing treatment for a heart condition. Many tears were shed, including mine. I have a nephew who was born with a heart condition which required immediate intensive care. He's doing well now, but it was an extremely difficult period for our family. Across October and November, thousands of Australians are walking side by side as a reminder of why this cause matters.
Families like Xavier's know this too well. We heard this story before the walk on Saturday. At 36 weeks gestation, doctors discovered Xavier had several serious health conditions. Born at 37 weeks via emergency C-section, he was immediately rushed to the Royal Children's Hospital. At only four days old, he required temporary pacing wires. By 11 days, open heart surgery had inserted a shunt and pacemaker. With a blocked shunt, two rounds of ECMO and cardiac arrest, Xavier's brief life was marked by unimaginable challenges. His passing was sudden and devastating. Yet, through the heartbreak, his parents, Angie and Daniel, found support from HeartKids: food and fuel vouchers during hospital stays, ongoing counselling and a community to help navigate life after loss. Their courage in sharing Xavier's story ensures his memory lives on and helps other families walking the same journey.
The federal government recognises the critical importance of supporting families facing childhood heart disease. The Australian National Standards of Care for Childhood-onset Heart Disease, released this year, are the culmination of over a decade of advocacy from HeartKids, patients, families, carers and healthcare providers. The federal government's investment in making these standards a reality has been vital, but there's always much more to be done. This is the kind of work that makes a real difference in people's lives, and it aligns with our broader focus on health in the community.
Another local event on the weekend was the Health Festival of Geelong, an event celebrating health, wellness and preventive care, including initiatives like our government's Medicare urgent care clinics. I'm so proud that we have one of these clinics in Belmont and we're just around the corner from delivering another in Torquay. We're also rolling out Medicare mental ill health prevention hubs, with one set for Torquay, and of course our changes to bulk-billing will come in from 1 November. Together, these initiatives show what's possible when Australians have a government that puts health care front and centre. Events like the HeartKids walk and the Health Festival of Geelong show what's possible when communities, healthcare providers and governments work together. I'd like to take a brief moment to congratulate the organisers from the health festival, including Dr Jenny Huang from Banksia Medical Centre in Torquay. Well done on such a successful event.
Supporting organisations like HeartKids, investing in standards of care and ensuring families have access to the services they need is so important. So I urge all Australians to get involved—to walk, to support, to raise awareness—because no family should face childhood heart disease alone.
