12-year-old completes 500-km trek to Canberra, seeks PM support for rural child health flights
Dusty Langby finished a 500-kilometre, 16-day walk from Warren, NSW to Canberra, raising over $400,000 for Little Wings and securing a meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Starting on August 30 from his hometown of Warren, twelve-year-old Dusty Langby, accompanied by his mother Sarah, nurse Christine Letton, Little Wings nurse Nichole Callan and CEO Clare Pearson, trekked 500 kilometres over 16 days to the Australian capital. The group faced weather swings, long daily distances and physical strain, yet raised $423,000 for Little Wings, which flies children needing specialist treatment in remote areas of NSW, the ACT and Queensland.
Dusty, who has previously flown with the charity for his own medical appointments, aims to have Prime Minister Anthony Albanese match every dollar raised. Upon arrival, he expressed emotion at seeing the parliamentary flags and looks forward to the scheduled discussion at Parliament House. The journey also highlighted community support from towns such as Yass, Murrumbateman, Parkes and Lake Cargelligo, which provided food and encouragement. After the meeting, the Langby family plans a brief camping break to recover from the demanding expedition.
Why it matters
The walk spotlights gaps in specialist health access for rural children and pressures the government to increase funding.
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