Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

I moved this motion to mark World Multiple Sclerosis Day on 26 May 2011. I am extremely familiar with and very supportive of the work of MS Australia, whose offices have been located in close proximity to my electorate and now fall within my electorate boundaries. In particular, I have developed a long association with the staff of MS Australia, particularly Robert Pask and Alan Blackwood, and I thanked them for their dedication to the sufferers of MS when I had the opportunity to present at their annual conference. My support for MS Australia has prompted me to become involved in their work, much of which addresses the employment issues facing people with multiple sclerosis and their families. Multiple sclerosis is rarely fatal and most sufferers live with this episodic illness for years. The global theme for World Multiple Sclerosis Day 2011 is employment. Staying at work is a key concern for people diagnosed with MS as the disease is most frequently diagnosed in people aged between 20 and 40, a time when they are building careers and families. This fits in line very much with the federal budget's theme: work brings dignity.

Australian research shows that people with the disease have less chance of being in paid employment than those with other chronic illnesses. More than 80 per cent of people living with disease lose their jobs within 10 years of diagnosis. This is despite the fact that most people with MS are diagnosed in their 20s and 30s. The experience of people with MS in employment is shared by many people with a chronic illness in Australia. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in 2009 reported that people with chronic disease are 60 per cent more likely to not be in the labour force than people without chronic disease. This report also found that of approximately 10.5 million Australians aged between 25 and 64, 33 per cent reported at least one of the following chronic diseases: arthritis, asthma, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression, diabetes and osteoporosis. It found the Australian economy loses nearly 540,000 full-time workers associated with the presence of chronic disease each year—10 per cent of the workforce in 2004-05.

Staying at work provides MS sufferers with numerous benefits, as well as, the economy overall. By staying in work MS sufferers have the opportunity, despite their condition, to contribute meaningfully to a workplace. This builds self-confidence as well as vocational skills and experience and it provides a significant avenue for human interaction. Most people are diagnosed in their 20s and 30s, so can you understand the social implications if they are not in the workforce at this time.

Like many chronic diseases, MS is a costly disease. The Victorian Chronic Illness Alliance found in 2006 that some people with MS can spend up to 20 per cent of their income on health costs. Therefore, a further significant benefit of employment is that through work MS sufferers can earn an income that enables them to meet the costs that come with managing a lifelong illness. In the 2005 report on the cost of MS in Australia, Access Economics found that people with MS tend to work more frequently part time, at three times the rate of part-time employment of Australian workers. Many people find this is a way of managing their illness and do best when there is good workforce flexibility. This is a group of Australians with work skills and experience who can remain employed with the right support.

With the ageing of the population, chronic disease will be a growing feature in the workplace and MS sufferers will need to be supported through employment. The recent measures in the federal budget to boost employment of people with disabilities will assist people with MS. New rules allow people on the disability support pension to work up to 30 hours per week for two years without affecting their eligibility for this pension. This is a significant incentive and an important support for people with MS who are determined to stay in the workforce.

A real-life example shows how people with MS have been supported by the federal government through this change. Simone Rutherford of Melbourne has lived with MS for five years and thanks to a supportive employer has been able to continue working part time as the manager of the accounting division of a national clothing company. Simone already works part time but has not been eligible to receive a healthcare card or the disability support pension. If she needs to further reduce her work hours due to her condition, she will meet the new criteria announced in the federal budget and still be able to afford to live with the cost of the disease, maintaining her employment which is what most people want to do. In addition, the provision of high wage subsidies to reward employers who hire people with a disability for at least 15 hours a week will make people with MS more attractive to potential employers. Changes to Jobs Service Australia ensured that MS Australia could operate a special neurological employment service in Victoria, and they currently support over 100 people with MS through this scheme.

We also need employers, unions and the health sector to play their part. Businesses must be willing to not only acknowledge that MS sufferers and their carers represent an important source of skills and experience and that they need to be retained but also incorporate a greater workplace flexibility to enable MS suffers and their carers to fulfil their productive capabilities. The work of local organisations provides more than helpful examples. BrainLink, which is also housed with MS Australia at the Nerve Centre in Blackburn, is an organisation working with MS Australia in Victoria and provides support for carers and families of people with neurological disease, and has been very active in promoting good employment practices. Whilst good support for MS sufferers is essential, research into the cause and eventually a cure is also vital to ensure that we not only support people with MS but also one day find a cure for this insidious disease. I am proud to report that in my electorate there is a great deal of research going on in this area and I commend the MS Australia.

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