Hello!

By

17 Comments

14-year-old NSW boy, Gidon Goodman started a petition last year against the exorbitant parking prices at the Sydney Children’s hospital.

Gidon’s family was paying a fortune in parking fees while he was being treated for a rare blood disorder and this prompted him to act and start the petition which ended up with more than 70 000 signatures supporting his cause.

Gidon’s petition has prompted the State Government to act on this matter and on Monday Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that the Government will help ease the cost for long term patients and their families. Patrons of NSW public hospital car parks that attend more than twice a week will be able to park at highly reduced costs which is expected to save some families $200 a week.

Gidon said he was “unbelievably proud” that his petition prompted the Government to make this change, “It’s going to help a massive amount of people, going into the hundreds of thousands,” he said.

What a brilliant outcome for families struggling with the costs during the hard time with sick family members. I do hope other states follow suit and realise how important this change is for so many families around Australia.

PLEASE share your comments with us below

Image and video credit: 7news FB

 

 

We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.
  • this should be free! what a disgrace!

    Reply

  • Parking around hospitals should always be free, it is disgusting that councils prey on the ill to fill their coffers

    Reply

  • Good on you Gidon, this is such wonderful news.

    Reply

  • In such circumstances the hosptial should issue the parents or patient’s partner with special permits that automatically gives them discount parking. I know a person who was being driven to hosptial a few days a week for long sessions of chemotherapy ( longer than the 2 hours free parking) and sometimes specialist appt. before the chemo. After leave entitlements were used they had to apply to Centrelink for benefits to survive on a strict budget.

    Reply

  • What a fantastic outcome for this family and good on the young lad who organised the petition. It is so costly when someone is in hospital so sick – no one needs more stress at these times.

    Reply

  • Totally amazing how this young man got them to act on this. Well done indeed Gidon.

    Reply

  • What an entrepreneurial young lad. He needs to be congratulated for doing this.

    Reply

  • What a wonderful boy! It’s definitely a step in the right direction, although perhaps immediate family should be able to park for free. Money should not be made off other people’s misfortune.

    Reply

  • Congratulations on being so proactive and for taking action and making a change happen. A great benefit to all families.

    Reply

  • Good on him!! I know all too well the draining cost of parking at hospitals. Having been in one for 3.5 months straight to have my twins and then all the followup appts required for early prems over the last two years is just crazy. I would hate to add up how much it would have cost over that time ???????? third day just this week we have been at the hospital

    Reply

  • Good on you young man! These families deserve free parking!

    Reply

  • Well done Gidon. It’s ridiculous how much you have to pay for parking at hospitals. I remember we paid a small fortune when our twins were in special care for a month.

    Reply

  • I would pay around $50 to $70 per day when my daughter was in special care unit. Then I started parking my car on the street and had to move the car every 1to 2 hour. There were notes everywhere saying that the police we’re fining on a regular basis. Luckily after 10 days I got help from social services to pay a portion of the car park fees. I just found it ridiculous how expensive it can be.
    Well done Gidon! Cudos to you!

    Reply

  • Good on Gidon! A big win for the little person. It seems ridiculous that at our most stressful time of having to be in, or visit a hospital, we have to pay ridiculous parking rates. It’s just a money maker for the Car Park business and needs to be looked at.

    Reply

  • the price of parking is ridiculous everywhere but to take advantage of people suffering is disgusting

    Reply

Post a comment
Add a photo
Your MoM account


Lost your password?

Enter your email and a password below to post your comment and join MoM:

You May Like

Loading…

Looks like this may be blocked by your browser or content filtering.

↥ Back to top

Thanks For Your Star Rating!

Would you like to add a written rating or just a star rating?

Write A Rating Just A Star Rating
Join