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

About 60,000 Australians will suffer new or recurrent strokes this year. It is a tragedy. I commend the member for Shortland for bringing this motion before the House. One stroke is suffered every 10 minutes in Australia. It is a very serious problem for us. National Stroke Week ran from 13 September to 19 September. It was designed to raise awareness across communities throughout Australia about the challenges of fitness, health and vitality. I saw the FAST T-shirts being worn around my electorate. I was pleased to be present at the local Ipswich Stroke Support Group at their stall in Brassall shopping centre on 14 September. I am a very good friend of Peggy Frankish, who joined the Ipswich Stroke Support Group in 1997. She became the coordinator of the group in 1999 and has remained in that role in Ipswich ever since. Why did she do it? She did this because Peter, her husband of many, many years—a very fit and strong man; a strong Labor man; a unionist—had a stroke on 5 April 1996. This changed their lives forever. They have lived in their house on Whitehill Road in Eastern Heights in Ipswich for a long time. They have both been actively involved in the community for many years, but their lives changed forever after Peter’s stroke. They had to change their house, their community involvement, their family life and their recreational pursuits as a result of the debilitating aspects and the after-effects of Peter’s stroke.

Peggy is currently in the process of organising the Ipswich Stroke Support Group’s annual Christmas lunch and she expects dozens and dozens of people to be there. I commend her work in Ipswich. I have a lot of affection and love for Peggy. She is the sort of person that every community needs—the fact that she happens to be a member of my branch of the ALP in Ipswich is a good indication. I am the president of the Raceview Flinders branch of the ALP and have been for a long time. Peggy’s work has been recognised in Ipswich and she is an ambassador for Ipswich. Each year the stroke group have an outing at Christmas to celebrate. They have Christmas in July and they attend seniors’ outings throughout the year. They have a great rapport with the National Stroke Foundation. I commend the foundation for the wonderful work it does in raising awareness of this illness and injury and after-effects that people suffer from.

There is a common misconception that only older people are affected by stroke. However, about 20 per cent of stroke occurs in people under the age of 55 years. According to the figures, in the next 10 years more than 500,000 people will suffer a stroke. As Australia’s population changes and as we get older, we can expect an increase in the statistics. I have urged all residents locally, on radio, in the media and in print, to understand the FAST test. It is easy to remember. Face: check their face. Has their mouth dropped? Arms: can they lift both arms? Speech: is their speech slurred? Do they understand you when you talk to them? Time: time is critical; remember to call 000. I urge everyone in my community: if you are recovering from stroke, call Peggy. Her phone number is well known in the community. It is (07)32815423. She is well known and she is there for you. Her group does great work in our community and I thank her for her many years of service to the Ipswich community and family.

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