Ann Corcoran (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration) Share this | Hansard source

In September 2004 two constituents in my electorate of Isaacs lost their son in circumstances that could have been avoided. As we have heard, Martha and Nigel Baptist lost their four-year-old son, Alex, to anaphylaxis, or severe allergic reaction. Alex was allergic to peanuts. I am told that he came into contact with some peanuts at kindergarten, he reacted and, despite efforts by staff to counter the reaction, he died. Alex’s death was preventable, and we must do all we can to ensure that other children do not die from similar preventable causes.

Any allergic reaction, including the most extreme form, anaphylactic shock, occurs because the body’s immune system reacts inappropriately in response to the presence of a substance that it wrongly perceives as a threat. Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction at the extreme end of the allergic spectrum. The whole body can be affected, usually within minutes of exposure to the allergen. It can, as we know, result in death. There are three things that we now need to do to minimise the risk of anaphylaxis or allergy attacks. We need to know more about allergies and why the number of children with allergies is growing and growing so quickly. We need to ensure that people who work with children have the skills and the confidence to react quickly and appropriately when a child in their care has an allergic reaction. We also need to make the community at large more aware of anaphylaxis. We need to be able to recognise an allergic reaction if someone near us has one, and we need to know what we can do until expert help arrives. Often what we do immediately can mean the difference between life and death.

Studies conducted in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada show that cases of peanut allergy alone have doubled since 2000. In Australia, the research has been minimal. Experts at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital have referred to the dramatic rise in cases as an ‘allergy epidemic’. We know that Australia has one of the highest rates of children with allergies. About one in 100 children are allergic to peanuts, as Alex was. We need to start investing in serious research to find out why so many more people are developing this condition. Labor, in government, has already committed itself to funding research into the causes of serious food allergies. I urge the present government to do likewise.

We need to ensure that those working with children are aware of the potential of an allergic reaction and what to do if one occurs. When a child with anaphylaxis has a reaction, time is crucial. In some cases it can be a matter of minutes between life and death. This means that the person caring for that child needs to be fully aware of what can trigger an attack and they need to be properly trained in how to respond. We need to ensure that those who work in child care and schools are trained in how to treat children who go into anaphylactic shock. This motion calls on the federal government, through COAG, to introduce legislation to ensure that this occurs.

Last week the Victorian government announced that it will do just that. Victoria will be the first state to mandate training for childcare workers, kindergarten teachers and school teachers. This is very good news and the Victorian government is to be congratulated on this step. Now we need the rest of Australia to follow suit.

Anaphylaxis also needs to be understood properly in the broader community. We need a community campaign to make us all aware of the dangers of anaphylaxis and the things we can do if someone near us has an allergic reaction. We need to understand that allergies are real and are not to be dismissed as imaginary. I suggest that, as a first step, everyone listening to this debate pays a visit to the website of Anaphylaxis Australia Inc., AAI. AAI was established in 1993 to support and assist those affected by anaphylaxis and it has lots of useful information on its website.

I would like to congratulate my colleague the member for Chisholm for bringing forward this motion today. I would also like to express my admiration for the work the Baptist family is doing. These people could have turned inwards after Alex’s death, but they have not. They are out there doing all they can to ensure that other children do not die in this way. I urge the government to act now, to do the research and ensure those working with children know what to do in the event of an attack, and to start a campaign to properly inform all of us about anaphylaxis. We must do all we can to stop another child dying unnecessarily.

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