Deborah O'Neill (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Calare for bringing this private members’ business forward today. The work of our veterinarians in our country is really quite pervasive, from the care of our pampered pooches to the vital work on the front lines of maintaining Australia’s biosecurity at our export meatworks. As the member for Calare has noted, the world’s first veterinary school was founded in the French city of Lyon in 1761. This means that 2011 is the 250th world anniversary of veterinary education and in itself the official creation of the veterinary profession. I note that international observations have already begun at Versailles and will continue throughout the year. Already, according to the Vet2011.org website, there are almost 280 events planned across the globe and, dare I say, I expect there will be many more veterinary celebrations held throughout the year on this side of the world. This includes three particularly important events in Australia, one of which is the Australian Veterinary Association’s annual conference, which is to be held in Adelaide from 15 May.

Friends who know me well would not think of me as a person who is particularly engaged with animals. In fact, I have to confess to having just bought our first puppy quite recently. However, the veterinary profession is one that I know absolutely fascinated many of the students I have taught over the years. And I can attest to the great skill development that those students have had in the care of local veterinary surgeons in the seat of Robertson. I want to speak in the first instance about the small animal care that is so much a part of the seaboard area of Robertson.

The James Herriot book is, I suppose, the closest I have been to the real workings of the inside of a veterinary surgeon’s practice. The Herriot book, which was actually the work of Alf Wight, an English veterinarian, was the story of a life of constant variation, a life where a man was totally integrated in his local community and was so vital to the social and economic wellbeing of that community. Trying to choose texts to engage young men in reading is not always the easiest thing to do, but when you put a veterinary surgeon’s experiences recorded in print into the hands of boys aged 13 or 14, which was my experience, you can see part of them come to life. They want to understand how somebody can have a job where they actually get to do something that seems so much fun every single day of the week. I do not know how much fun I would find it, personally, but I have to say I have found the work they do is a great comfort. We have had our young dog, Einstein—at the request of my son Noah, 14—for only a matter of months now, but we have had the need to visit our local veterinary surgeon on two or three occasions. Thankfully, Einstein is in good shape, but the comfort that is offered when you go to the vet by somebody who obviously cares very much about these animals is something that should not be underestimated. Also, in the times we have taken our little pup to the vet recently we have met people who are there with their dogs who express such a joy in having them as part of their lives. I do not think we can overlook the companionship dimension of domestic animals, particularly dogs and cats, that people seem to be very bonded with and the difference they can make in people’s lives.

The local veterinarians in our area have the capacity to engage young people who might otherwise be disconnected from their schooling. They can go to a place of work where they really desire to be a part of something and they are attracted to the work they do there through their contact with animals. Veterinary surgeons all across the country, and indeed around the world, would be responsible for great joy and great learning for many young people. They might not necessarily have followed the path to become a veterinary surgeon themselves but they have engaged in developing work habits, a joy in showing up at that work and also an understanding of the cleaning and other dimensions of working in a veterinary surgery. Those are important skills for young kids to develop. So that contribution to the benefit of the whole community through the provision of work opportunities and work experience needs to be put on the record as well.

The image of the vet who works with small animals is a very common one that is played out on our television screens frequently. But the work that veterinarians do in biosecurity is also particularly important. We have veterinarians who work in meat and milk processing plants, making sure that food is safe to eat. There are also vets who are doing great work in our laboratories not only to discover new treatments, procedures and medicines for animals but who also work at critical times when our biosecurity is under threat. I am very mindful of newcastle disease and the implications that had for the chicken farmers up in Mangrove Mountain in my seat of Robertson. I am also very mindful of the equine flu virus and the amazingly challenging impact that had on the whole of the horse industry at all levels. The work of vets in those areas cannot be underestimated. We can see very clearly from those incidents how important their work is, not just for the companionship side that we were talking about earlier but in terms of the national economy and our capacity to produce quality farm animals for consumption.

Then there are the ‘exotic’ veterinarians, the ones who get to work in the zoos and in some circuses. And perhaps the ones I most feel for are the ones who become teachers in the tertiary setting. To have the opportunity to hand on your knowledge to another generation is important work. So for those vets who have perhaps given up the joy of their own practice and their encounters with animals to move into the tertiary sector and to transfer their knowledge, we applaud your work too. My seat of Robertson has a large rural area where the work that vets do is with large animals. In the coastal section there are lots of families who have precious pets and who rely on the comfort and care offered by vets to keep their animals well and, when they are not so well, to get them back to full health. That is greatly appreciated in the community.

Finally, I would like to recognise the professionalism of veterinarians. One of the saddest things, which I have read about in the books I have used in working with my students and which I know has happened to friends who have had animals that are no longer well, is to have to go to a vet with a particularly unwell animal to have that animal put down. I know the professionalism and the comfort that is offered by vets in that role is a really significant social asset to our community. Vets look after people and their pets, and in that way they come right into our lives and into our homes. On this occasion, when we are celebrating the work they do, I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to applaud the veterinarians of Australia. I hope they enjoy their celebrations this year.

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