The soaring price of aviation fuel has meant medical charity Little Wings has cut transport of critically ill children by half.
It was a hot January afternoon when nurse Sarah Webb came home from a long shift at the local emergency department in Warren, 120 kilometres north west of Dubbo. Her 11-year-old son Dusty sensed mum needed to cool off. He proposed a swim in the dam.
While they were swimming, Dusty asked his mum a question that stopped her cold.
“Why do you keep helping people, Mum, when it makes you so sad?”
The talk that followed turned into a mission to walk 540 kilometres from where they live in Warren to Parliament House in Canberra. But to understand why an 11-year-old from the bush has taken it upon himself to walk hundreds of kilometres, you first need to understand what Little Wings means to families like his.
Little Wings is a not-for-profit charity that provides free flights and ground transport services for children in regional, rural and remote NSW, ACT and QLD. The service bridges the gap in access to healthcare for children in remote communities by either bringing them to medical services, or bringing services (such as paediatricians) to them. It runs almost entirely on volunteers, with over 100 pilots and ground crew donating their time to making sure sick kids get the medical attention they need.
“When we collect the child and their family from a regional town, there is often a lot of anxiety about the hours and days ahead,” says Little Wings CEO Clare Pearson. “Our volunteers are waiting at the hangar to transport by road from hangar to hospital.”
It’s a service built entirely on generosity, with no government baseline funding, and no fees for the families who use it. Just donations, grants, and the belief that your postcode should never determine the care you can access.
Right now, that belief is under enormous pressure.
The conflict in Iran has sent the price of aviation gas into territory Little Wings cannot absorb. What once cost $1,500 per mission now costs $2,200 if the aircraft can refuel in a city. If forced to refuel regionally, that figure climbs to $2,500. In April alone, AvGas increased by five per cent.
“The fuel crisis has hit Little Wings at full force,” Clare says. “With a limited budget allocated to fuel, prices of AvGas are rising faster than we can fundraise, which means that we are sadly forced to turn families away.”
The result is a 50 per cent reduction in the number of children Little Wings can transport. And with that comes the devastating work of triage – deciding which children get a seat and which ones don’t.
“It’s heartbreaking for us,” Clare says. “These are devastating decisions because we know these families. We know the struggles and the pressure they are under. Our service is designed to alleviate such hardship and unfortunately, we feel like we are letting them down.” For families who miss out, there are few good alternatives. Many will delay or skip appointments entirely because of cost, distance, exhausted annual leave, or the realities of being a single-parent family.
“If support is not sought soon and relief is not recovered,” Clare says, “Little Wings will be forced to further reduce our service and potentially ground our fleet.”
Little Wings has approached the NSW Government for support. Clare is hopeful but, at the time of writing, awaiting a formal response. In the meantime, the organisation is turning, as it always has, to the community that built it.
Dusty training for his 540km walk to Canberra
“The club industry have supported us from the very beginning,” Pearson says. “Clubs are part of the DNA of our organisation. Little Wings would not be able to support and deliver our mission without clubs. They keep us in the air every day.”
Bankstown Sports Club has been a partner since Little Wings’ earliest days, and in 2021 was named a Foundation Partner, a title that reflects more than two decades of commitment. The club has contributed over $500,000 in funding, provided free rent for Little Wings HQ, and supported everything from medical clinics to fundraising events. A single ClubGRANTS commitment from Bankstown Sports once funded 72 individual missions.
Back in that dam outside Warren, Dusty Webb heard his mum’s answer. Then he had another question.
“How about we walk to raise money for them? How about we walk to Canberra so I can tell the people who write the rules what we need?”
Dusty knows what Little Wings is because Little Wings helped his family. In 2024, the charity flew Sarah and her sons from Warren to Royal Far West in Manly, a medical charity which organises medical treatment for children from rural and regional areas. Royal Far West is where Dusty’s younger brother Angus was diagnosed with autism, ADHD and a learning disorder. Without that flight, those diagnoses may never have come. Today, Angus is thriving at school.
Dusty and Angus have not had an easy life. When Dusty was three and Angus just one, their father was in a devastating car accident. The boys had to grow up quickly and take on responsibilities like caring for their dad, cooking, cleaning, and helping with the sheep while mum Sarah was at work. “Dusty’s a positive soul, he just wants everyone around him to be happy,” Sarah says. “He’ll have a go at anything, and all we’ve ever wanted is for him to take every opportunity and find happiness in what he does.”
Little Wings CEO Clare Pearson is walking the 540 kilometres alongside him.
“I am personally so inspired by the determination and vision of Dusty,” she says. “He initiated this walk, he set the target, all because he understands the impact of our service on regional children and families. Dusty is a reminder about the power of young people when we listen and believe in their vision.”
Dusty’s goal is to raise $1 million dollars and meet Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to make the case for children in the bush.
“He’d give you the shirt off his back if you needed it,” says Sarah. “We’ve raised both our boys with the mindset of if there’s a problem, there’s no point complaining, find the solution.”
“We couldn’t be prouder of him for creating Dusty’s Mission to raise a million dollars for Little Wings. His determination will help countless other families achieve their healthcare goals.”
To donate or follow Dusty’s journey, visit littlewings.com.au or the Dollar for Dusty campaign at givenow.com. au/dollar-for-dusty
Mark and David from Merrylands RSL with Little Wings’ Andrew and Clare
Merrylands RSL has been supporting Little Wings through the Return and Earn Fuel Our Planes recycling fundraiser since July 2025. In that time, Merrylands has recycled 35,102 items, helping fund two air missions and 10 ground missions – all with the help of its generous club patrons. Merrylands is ranked among the top five collection sites nationwide.
Club operations manager David Kim and marketing manager Mark McDonough recently visited the Little Wings hangar at Bankstown Airport alongside Little Wings CEO Clare Pearson and marketing manager Andrew Bailey, gaining a closer look at work behind the scenes.
“It’s one thing to understand the service at a high level, but seeing the coordination and care involved firsthand brings a deeper appreciation for the role Little Wings plays in supporting families,” Merrylands RSL told
CL.
“This is more than a service, it’s a vital link to care for those who need it most.”
