Monday, 4 August 2025
Government House
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC

Bujari gamarruwa

Diyn Babana Gamarada Gadigal Ngura

I greet you in the language of the Gadigal people, the Traditional Owners of this land as I pay my respects to Elders, past, present and emerging. 

It is a great honour, as Patron, to welcome you this evening to once again celebrate with Tour de Cure, a celebration which is only possible because of the indefatigable energy with which Tour de Cure drives its mission: “Curing Cancer, Changing Lives”. 

Since that first bike ride in 2007 until today, the generosity of its many supporters has enabled Tour de Cure to raise a remarkable $150 million invested into 1200 projects. 

And, tonight, we gather on the cusp of another transformative change in cancer research, the 200th funded breakthrough to which Tour de Cure has contributed led by Dr Charles Bailey of the Centenary Institute and the University of Sydney. We are honoured to have with us Dr Bailey this evening. 

Dr Bailey, known to many here as “Chuck”, is a globally recognised cancer researcher. His discovery of a new receptor, AAVR2, opens the door to safer, more effective gene therapy. The implications of this work stretch far beyond laboratories and directly into the lives of people with conditions such as haemophilia, muscular dystrophy, as well as childhood cancers.[1]

Dr Bailey is also a volunteer with Tour de Cure who donates his time to help raise crucial funds. That combination of professional excellence and personal commitment is emblematic of what has truly become a Tour de Cure community. 

Two hundred research breakthroughs is an incredible achievement for an independently funded charity. It reminds us of what is possible when brilliant minds, bold ideas and a determined community come together.  

From liquid biopsies (to assist in early, non-invasive detection), through to gene therapies and immunotherapies, medical research is reshaping how we detect, treat and survive cancer. 

Among the past 199 breakthroughs thus far, there has been the:  

·       Early detection of metastatic lethal prostate cancer with a novel epigenetic blood test (2024)

·       Immune profiling and immunotherapy for high-risk paediatric sarcomas (2023)

·       Reprogramming the tumour microenvironment of pancreatic cancer to improve response to therapy (2022) …

·       The list goes on …[2]

Tour de Cure has supported groundbreaking researchers including Professor Michelle Haber from Children’s Cancer Institute, and the work of the Melanoma Institute which has achieved nine research breakthroughs as a direct result of Tour de Cure funding.  

There is another fundamentally important aspect of the Tour de Cure story - in directing funding into early stage research, Tour de Cure goes where governments and other institutional funders often fear to tread. There are reasons for this, of course, including the competition for research dollars.  

But, invariably, it is the early research stage which is critical to a project moving forward and ultimately, in so many cases, to a successful research outcome.  Tour de Cure’s support in that vital space has proven to have had huge impact in the mission of Curing Cancer, Changing Lives. 

Whilst celebrating the excitement that comes with enabling great science, as Tour de Cure does, it is always salutary to go back to basics and ask:  Why is this important?  In today’s world, that is probably a rhetorical question.  But let us remind ourselves of the reality:

-         Each year in Australia, between 140,000 and 170,000 cases of cancer are diagnosed.[3]

-         One in two men and one in three women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.

• •      -  Every month, 86 children receive a cancer diagnosis. And with 60 percent of cancers not preventable, the need for effective treatments and, ultimately, cures, is as pressing as ever.

As to the future … Tour de Cure might have started out as a bike riding fundraiser but, as the scientific definition goes, momentum is mass in motion and 18 years on, the momentum continues to gather force as the rides, the events, the vision and the energy propels Tour de Cure to do things I suspect it never imagined when those bikers hopped on their machines in Brisbane to ride to Sydney, back in 2007.

And the story continues to evolve.  The next exciting stage includes Tour de Cure’s investment in Minderoo Children’s Comprehensive Cancer Centre,[4] opening in early 2026 within the Randwick Health & Innovation Precinct.  Bringing science and medical research into the public domain, this initiative will see Australia’s first dedicated comprehensive cancer centre for children, bringing together 900 world-class clinicians, researchers, and allied health professionals. 

A key feature of this $5 million investment will be the Tour de Cure Public Research Laboratory, a unique space where the public will be able to view groundbreaking cancer research. 

From Tour de Cure’s upcoming partnership with the Tour Down Under in January to the more than 50 events Tour de Cure hosts each year, including rides, swims, runs, walks and gala events, Tour de Cure has mobilised thousands of ordinary Australians to raise vital funds for cancer research. The message is simple and powerful: every dollar raised accelerates discovery. Every breakthrough changes a life.  It is a testament to community.

And tonight, we also celebrate Tour de Cure’s newest fundraising initiative – ‘Step Out for Cancer’, a walk or run community event on Sunday, 9 November for families, businesses, corporate partners, schools and workplaces, converging in Randwick for a unique community festival carrying forward the message that no cancer and no-one should be left behind. 

We are getting closer to that vision. 

Thank you to the Tour de Cure community – and to all who have been a part of the Tour de Cure journey - together: “curing cancer”, together: “changing lives.”