Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Less than two per cent of health expenditure is spent on preventive health. That is the legacy of the Howard coalition government after 11½ years. We are about to change that, because preventive health works. The federal government has brought forward a number of reports. There is the final report of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission, which was released on 27 July 2009, and also two other significant reports, including Building a 21st century primary health care system: a draft of Australia’s first national primary health care strategy.

The report that is particularly germane to the Australian National Preventive Health Agency Bill 2009 was prepared by the national Preventative Health Taskforce, chaired by Professor Rob Moodie, and is entitled Australia: the healthiest country by 2020: National Preventative Health Strategy—the roadmap for action. Professor Robert Bush from the Ipswich Campus of the University of Queensland was also a participant in that strategy. I was pleased that he, amongst other people, was present at the Ipswich and West Moreton health forum hosted at the Ipswich Campus of the University of Queensland on 8 October this year. I want to pay tribute to the many people who turned up to that forum: the Division of General Practice, many doctors, Ipswich General Hospital, the Queensland Department of Communities and, of course, the University of Queensland, which has engaged in a significant health study, including the Ipswich study. I want to thank Professor Alan Rix, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queensland. But the driving force, along with me, was Professor Helen Chenery, who was actively involved in the promotion of the health forum.

As the member for Bonner said, the message is loud and clear. People are interested in this issue and in what we are doing both nationally and locally when it comes to preventative health. I was very interested to read the press release from the University of Melbourne; of course, that is where Professor Moodie comes from. It is from September 2009 and relates to the 307-page report, which had a broad range of recommendations to be implemented in three stages until 2020. They are all focused on reducing the burden of obesity and alcohol and tobacco consumption on Australia’s health and wellbeing for young people and our more senior citizens. We know from the study that these three risk factors cost us in the order of $6 billion per year, and we know that productivity loss is estimated at $13 billion annually by reason of the scourge of obesity, excessive alcohol consumption and the simple use of tobacco. The first National Preventative Health Strategy gives us what has been described by Professor Moodie as a road map of guidelines to address these significant health issues.

We in this country pride ourselves on our champions. We are terrific when it comes to sport for a country of 22 million people. Our Olympic record is fantastic. We are very good when it comes to sports such as netball, hockey, basketball, rugby league and rugby union. Our recent performances in men’s and women’s soccer are to be applauded as well. But it comes to the question of what we do in our classrooms, schools, kindergartens, preschools and homes. That is the big and problematic issue. What we do in our family life really affects the long-term health, prosperity and wellbeing of our people.

The Rudd Labor government is strongly committed to recognising that prevention is better than cure, and we are working closely with the states. The Institute of Health and Welfare recently came out with its press release of 30 September 2009, relating to a study that showed that the Rudd Labor government is correcting the past failures of the Howard government with respect to health issues. The Australian government’s share of public hospital funding was 42.5 per cent in 1997-98. It plummeted to 38.6 per cent in 2006-07 and under the Rudd Labor government it has risen again to 39.2 per cent.

But what we spend on our hospitals is really going to curing the disease or illness. The national health and hospitals strategy put forward a very serious problem in terms not just of the health and welfare of our people but of the economic development and future prosperity of our country. In 2003 in this country we spent—this is what the Institute of Health and Welfare says—$84 billion on health and aged care. It is projected that by 2033 we will spend $246 billion, or 12.4 per cent of our GDP. That is simply unsustainable. We really need to look at what we do with respect to preventative health. We need to keep our people fit, healthy and out of hospital.

We know that, as Benjamin Franklin said, there are only two certainties in life—death and taxes—and we know that all of us will pass away at some stage, but what we need to do is enjoy an abundant, full, happy and healthy life as best we possibly can. The government’s commitment to preventative health is demonstrated not only by the legislation before the House but also by the record amount spent on preventative health, $872 million. We are doing that through the COAG process in partnership with the states and territories.

So we are trying to keep people fit. We are providing health checks for four-year-olds to promote early detection of chronic disease factors. We are spending $12.8 million to fund 190 schools around the country to construct either a kitchen or a garden under the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden National Program. There are a whole raft of reforms we are undertaking. But it is the recommendations with respect to obesity, tobacco and alcohol that, if implemented, I believe will make the greatest change to the health and welfare of this country, because these things affect every family and every community and, when tackling primary health care, we need to focus on preventive health measures.

The member for Bonner mentioned in detail the funding provision under this legislation. We are providing $133.2 million over four years for the Australian National Preventive Health Agency. That is a lot of money, and that is a demonstration of the seriousness of the government’s commitment in this area. As the member for Bonner outlined, of this money, only $17.6 million is for the establishment and maintenance of the agency. We are putting $102 million into the national level social marketing campaigns targeting obesity and smoking.

It is sad to see that in a lot of other countries around the world smoking is an addiction and an obsession. Many countries have smoking rates at 40 and 50 per cent of the adult population. In this country, we have had a targeted strategy for smoking and we have seen a clear reduction in the per capita consumption of tobacco. The Minister for Health and Ageing, in her second reading speech on 10 September, pointed out some very interesting facts in this regard, and they are worth repeating:

Between 1950 and 2008, more than 900,000 Australians died because they smoked …

That is notwithstanding the fact that it was known from the middle of last century that smoking tobacco had clear risks to people’s health. The strategies that we have undertaken have seen a reduction in smoking. We have seen a reduction in the number of young people taking up the habit. The Australian public is more aware than ever of the perils of smoking. The average person on the street knows that smoking is a danger and that, if they smoke, not only their lifestyle but their life expectancy are affected and they risk a premature death. As the minister said:

The Preventative Health Taskforce set a target of reducing smoking rates to less than 10 per cent.

What a great target. If we can achieve that:

This would mean approximately one million fewer smokers in Australia, and according to the taskforce—

And this should really resonate with everyone—

would prevent the premature deaths of almost 300,000 Australians.

The government are also undertaking a big information campaign about the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption, particularly among young people. Certainly, the schools in my electorate have seen assistance with ‘mystery tour’ funding, which ensures that when young people have their school formal they do not engage in binge drinking but rather in alternative, enjoyable, healthy physical activity where they are not in danger of assault or misbehaviour or vulnerable to any other form of risk. I commend people like Tanya McKenna, a teacher at Ipswich State High School, for the program that is now being duplicated at schools like Bremer State High School and Redbank Plains State High School, and I commend the government for the funding they have provided to Ipswich State High School in this regard.

As a bit of a sports tragic and also as a bit of a Brisbane Bronco supporter, I look forward to the day when my beloved Brisbane Broncos do not have alcohol advertising around Lang Park. I look forward to that day because, just as the abolition of smoking advertising on TV had an impact on young people and our community generally, I think that if we were to undertake that strategy, if we were to change the culture and phase out alcohol promotions and advertising to our young people, as is recommended in the strategy, it would change the drinking culture in our community. I think we can do better with respect to advertising. I think we can ensure our young people are not put at risk. As the parent of an 18-year-old daughter and a 20-year-old daughter, I am very concerned about what I see amongst young people in my community with respect to excessive consumption of alcohol.

But the member for Bonner was absolutely correct when she talked about the role of local government. That is what came through in the health and hospitals forum we had for the Ipswich and West Moreton area at the University of Queensland. One thing that came through very clearly was the role that community infrastructure could play, and that is why the federal government’s commitment with respect to community infrastructure is so important. The Ipswich City Council, the Lockyer Valley Regional Council, the Scenic Rim Regional Council and the Somerset Regional Council—all in my area west of Ipswich and the Ipswich City Council—have undertaken to use that Community Infrastructure Fund in a way which helps the health and welfare of the community. For instance, to the credit of the Scenic Rim Regional Council, they have used $480,000 of that federal money for the Scenic Rim health and hydrotherapy complex.

The Ipswich City Council has used that money across the whole area—from the rural parts all the way down to Springfield—for funding for parks, toilet facilities in those parks, beautification of those parks, bike trails and the like, and they have used $10 million of federal government money for the Springfield parklands, which will make a huge difference. It will be like Central Park in Ipswich. That is how much it will be used by the people of Ipswich in those rural areas.

Local government has a big role to play because what it can do is enormously important. For example, there are parts of my community in Ipswich where there are great bikeways all over the place. You see people out there walking, riding their bikes, jogging, with the dog, getting active and getting healthy. They are not being Norm; they are being healthy. That is the difference local government can make. So our strategy—in terms of not just our agency strategy under this legislation but also our strategy undertaken with respect to the Community Infrastructure Program rollout—is playing an important role in helping the health and welfare of this country as well. It is partnering with local government, making an impact on people’s lives locally.

I think that we can do a lot more in this country. I think we can achieve what we hope to achieve by 2020. I think we can reduce the obesity rates. I think we can reduce the excessive consumption of alcohol. I think we can stamp out the practice of so many young people consuming and taking up the vicious and wicked habit of tobacco consumption. I think we can make a big difference. I am one of those people with a belief that governments can make a difference in people’s lives. I have seen it in my personal life and I have seen it in the lives of the people who live in my community. I think this legislation is one of the most important pieces of legislation we have ever passed in this House. I think that it is going to make a huge difference in every community across the country. I am so happy that we have taken this initiative. I think it is long overdue, and it is really to the discredit of the opposition that when they occupied the treasury bench they did not have the wit or wisdom to do what we are doing now. If they had done that, how many more people would live happy and healthy lives, lives of activity, lives of sport, and lives of abundance. I commend the legislation to the House.

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