Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

As politicians, we have the rare privilege of meeting many people from all walks of life. We particularly get to meet those who inspire with their courage and determination to beat the odds. Today I proudly speak of one such person, an 11-year-old constituent of mine who lives in Cranbourne: Tess MaCartney, and her mother, Mairi-Anne.

Tess and her mother came to see me last Friday to discuss her role as Youth Ambassador for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and to discuss her experience of juvenile diabetes. Prior to meeting Tess, I did not really have an idea of what type I diabetes was or how it could affect someone so young. What impressed me was how Tess described her own experience. I learnt a lot by hearing what happened, and what it meant for Tess in the future. Tess told me she was diagnosed as having type 1 diabetes in November 2008. Her mum, Mairi-Anne, told me that Tess was ill last year with stomach aches, as well as being very thirsty and needing to go to the toilet a lot. Imagine Mairi-Anne’s shock one day going to a doctor to discover what had caused these health problems, and the next day having her daughter immediately admitted to hospital and being treated for a week.

For many people in this situation it would be easy, given that this is a life-altering illness—an illness that, left untreated, can cause blindness, amputations and increased incidences of stroke and kidney disease—to feel despondent and without hope. But Tess has decided to become an ambassador to raise awareness about the symptoms of diabetes, as well as raising funds that can be directed towards finding a cure. She has organised fundraising activities at her primary school during diabetes month in May, and is doing her best to raise awareness about this disease by discussing the issue with members of the public in my electorate. Tess is now part of the ‘Remember me’ campaign, and has left me with a picture of her, which I now have on my desk in my electorate office, to remember her and children like her who are affected by type 1 diabetes.

As a consequence of Tess’s visit to my office, I now know the insidious nature of juvenile diabetes. It affects close to 100,000 of our children. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, where the body’s immune system suddenly mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Without insulin, your body cannot turn the glucose from the food you eat into energy for your muscles and other cells of your body. I know that a lot of research is being done to determine what causes type 1 diabetes, and there is still a fair way to go. I know that talking to other people about your diagnosis might be hard, but it is very important to build a support network—through friends and family and at school, uni and work. Diabetes does not have to stop you or anyone from living a full and active life. You can be a professional athlete, like NRL star Brett Stewart; a singer, like Marcia Hines; or a politician, like Guy Barnett. I know this and many other facts about juvenile diabetes for one reason—that is, a very brave little girl who walked into my office last Friday.

See this speech in context