Margaret May (McPherson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

I, too, was pleased to join Alzheimer’s Australia and the Parliamentary Friends of Dementia at the launch of Dementia Awareness Week. Both the Minister for Ageing and I were there at this important occasion this morning. Alzheimer’s and other dementias are expected to increase dramatically in the coming years as our population ages. We certainly heard a little bit about that this morning. It is estimated that approximately 26 million people around the world currently live with Alzheimer’s. I think that is a staggering statistic. It is certainly very frightening to think of the impact that is having on the world and, indeed, Australia. We understand that the prevalence of Alzheimer’s is expected to increase to more than 100 million cases by 2050 around the world. That will mean that one in every 85 people will be living with Alzheimer’s. The cost to our healthcare system will be enormous. The personal cost to families will be even greater. Many of us know of someone with dementia, but in a few short years it will be one or both of our parents. It might be a sibling. Madam Deputy Speaker, even you or I could be living with dementia.

But the future does not have to be all grim. This year’s theme, as the minister has indicated today, for Dementia Awareness Week, ‘Mind your mind’, places emphasis and focus on awareness. I cannot stress enough how important this is. My own electorate of McPherson has a large number of senior citizens, and I place great stock in encouraging awareness of dementia in my electorate. It is incredibly important, and it will become even more important in the future, that we start to help ourselves. It is time for Australians to stop and take stock of their lives. I often speak about taking responsibility for one’s choices in one’s life in this place, and we can do something about Alzheimer’s and dementia by taking stock of our lives.

One thing that did hit home this morning from the launch of Dementia Awareness Week is that few people are actually taking steps to prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s and other dementias; yet, as the Minister for Ageing said, research consistently shows that there are a number of modifiable risk factors associated with dementia. These include mental and social activity, eating healthy foods and regular exercise. I think we all know what we should be doing. Alzheimer’s Australia’s paper Dementia risk reduction: what do Australians know? has the following to say:

There is general consensus in the literature that public health interventions to modify risk factors have the potential to reduce dementia incidence by reducing risk or delaying onset. To design and implement effective interventions, an understanding of the current awareness of, and attitudes to, dementia risk reduction in the community is required.

I support this unreservedly. The Minister for Ageing rightly asserts that governments have a role to play in supporting organisations like Alzheimer’s Australia. I commend the minister for providing funding to Alzheimer’s Australia, under the National Dementia Support Program, to run Dementia Awareness Week. It is, I am sure we all agree, money well spent. The minister highlighted the funding her government has given to dementia research and initiatives but she seems to have overlooked that the previous government had an outstanding record in aged care. It was the Howard government that made dementia a national health priority and provided funding of $320.6 million in the 2005-06 budget to make it happen. The last budget of the Howard government provided funding of $1.6 billion over five years for the Securing the Future of Aged Care for Australians package.

But government support and government funding should not be a replacement for or an alternative to individuals taking responsibility for their own lives. Surveys by Alzheimer’s Australia reveal that 20 per cent of Australians believe nothing can be done to reduce the risk of dementia and 28 per cent are unsure what, if anything, can be done. The surveys also reveal—and this was highlighted during the launch this morning—that few people are actually taking steps to reduce the risk of dementia and, alarmingly, too many people lack the motivation to do something about it. This must change.

Earlier today, in the adjournment debate in the Main Committee, I gave a speech about the prevalence of depression in older Australians living in nursing homes. I spoke of the need for better training of nursing and medical staff to improve their ability to detect depression among low-level-care residents. As would be expected, there is a high rate of dementia amongst nursing home residents. Dementia and depression can often occur together. As I highlighted in my adjournment speech, it is often difficult to diagnose depression in nursing home residents, but when the two occur together it is even more difficult to distinguish between them because the signs and symptoms are similar. These symptoms include confusion, memory disturbance and impaired ability to concentrate. Misdiagnosis of dementia could mean a person with depression does not get the support and treatment they need. Likewise, incorrectly diagnosing dementia as depression could lead to inappropriate treatment and, more so, unrealistic expectations of improvement.

It is a lamentable fact that dementia is incurable. I hope—and I am sure every member of this House hopes—that one day a cure will be found for those people suffering from dementia.      Until that day it is up to all of us to take responsibility for our lives and futures and address the risk factors that could reduce the prevalence of dementia. The social and economic costs require us to act now. We must take the necessary action now to raise awareness of ways to reduce the risk of dementia.

I congratulate Alzheimer’s Australia and the Parliamentary Friends of Dementia for a successful launch of Dementia Awareness Week. As the minister noted, there are many activities taking place right across Australia during Dementia Awareness Week from 19 to 26 September, and I encourage all Australians to get involved and learn more about dementia.

Finally, I would like to thank the minister for advising my office of her intention to make a ministerial statement on this important week and for affording me the opportunity to say a few words in support of Dementia Awareness Week.

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