Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) commemorates the ninth anniversary of the 12 October 2002 Bali bombings in which 202 people including 88 Australians died and 240 sustained injuries;

(2) notes that as a result of the attacks, survivor Julian Burton OAM was inspired to found Australia's first burn injury organisation, the Julian Burton Burns Trust;

(3) commends the work of the Julian Burton Burns Trust in implementing burn injury prevention programs, care and support services for burns patients and their families, and advancing world class research into burns treatment;

(4) recognises that:

(a) 220,000 Australians will suffer a burn injury every year;

(b) Indigenous people living in remote areas are up to 25 times more l ikely to suffer a serious burns injury than those living in metropolitan areas;

(c) burn injuries cost the Australian Government $1.5 billion annually in health care costs; and

(d) the vast majority of burn injuries are preventable; and

(5) supports the establishment of a national burn injury prevention plan to reduce the incidence of burns in Australia and improve research, treatment and outcomes for burns patients.

Just over nine years ago, Australians awoke on a Sunday morning to scenes of carnage from across the Timor Sea. Images of burnt bodies, twisted metal and injured tourists and locals covered in blood saturated our front pages, TV screens and news websites. It was an unimaginable nightmare of terror—terror, fire and pain in Australia's favourite overseas holiday destination, Bali. The 2002 Bali bombings were the worst terrorist attacks around the globe since September 11: 202 people, 88 of them Australians, died that day. More than 240 people were injured, many of whom will carry with them for the rest of their lives their disabilities and scars.

Royal Darwin Hospital was the first port of call for more than 60 of the most serious casualties, many suffering horrific burns and blast injuries. In 36 hours, it dealt with more casualties than any single hospital dealt with after either 9-11 or the Oklahoma bombing in the United States. Within 36 hours of their arrival in Darwin, all but a few of the victims had been transported to southern hospitals for specialist care.

One of those Australians injured that night in the bombings was a South Australian football player, Julian Burton. Julian was on an end-of-season trip in Bali with the South Australian National Football Club that he played for, the team of Sturt, when the first bomber blew himself up wearing a backpack in the crowded Paddy's Pub. Twenty seconds later, as bloodied and dazed patrons stumbled outside onto the streets, the bombers detonated over 1,000 kilograms of explosives from inside a white van parked opposite the Sari Club. That bomb was so powerful that it left a one-metre crater in the road and was extra hot, thanks to the combination of powerful chemicals it contained. On 14 October, the United Nations Security Council passed resolution 1438, condemning the attack as a threat to international peace and security.

Just last week the Prime Minister visited the memorial and laid a wreath in memory of those who died. I know many other members of this parliament who have done the same thing, as I did last year when I was in Bali. Like the Prime Minister, we all feel deeply the sorrow and sadness of losing young lives in a foreign land. As I said, we all feel deeply for the Indonesian people, many of whom stood by us and mourned with us in the aftermath of this terrible attack.

Julian suffered life-threatening burns in the attacks and was transferred to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, where the care he received inspired him to do more to help other burns victims. Just months after he sustained his injuries, Julian made a conscious decision to turn adversity into opportunity, and in March 2003 he founded the Julian Burton Burns Trust. He did this with the help of Adelaide burns surgeon Associate Professor Dr John Greenwood and the head nurse of the burns unit at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the immediate past president of the Australian and New Zealand Burns Association, Ms Sheila Kavanagh.

Julian's vision was to create Australia's leading social enterprise, committed to the prevention, care and research of burn injuries. Its main focus is on implementing school, Aboriginal and community burns prevention programs, establishing and delivering care and support services for burns patients and their families, and advancing world-class research into burns treatment. Since its inception, the trust has achieved an incredible amount, delivering its pioneering Burn Safe schools program to over 30,000 schoolchildren and their families in metropolitan, regional and remote areas in South Australia. They have funded a vast number of projects and upgrades to burns units across the country, including laptop computers and cordless phones in the Royal Adelaide Hospital burns unit and new specialist beds for the Women's and Children's Hospital. They have purchased vehicles for families who have been the victims of burns injuries so that parents and children can travel together, especially to hospitals where family members undergo treatment. And they have transported thousands of burns patients and their families in South Australia and Victoria through the patient vehicle network.

The trust has also established a community grants program to assist the advancement of care and prevention activities and equipment associated with burns injury across Australia. To date this program has distributed over $250,000 worth of specialist burns equipment and other goods to burns units across Australia. The trust has also launched a campaign to reduce workplace burns injury, targeting the hospitality industry, and has filmed community service announcements for television.

In March this year, Beach Energy and the Julian Burton Burns Trust launched their Aboriginal Burns Program partnership. Through the partnership, the burns trust will expand its reach into remote Aboriginal communities and, through education, increase traditional owner awareness of fire and burn related hazards and first aid, fire risk management, prevention and preparedness. So far, eight Aboriginal communities in South Australia have benefited from the program. This is truly a proud achievement because we know that Indigenous people living in remote areas are up to 25 times more likely to suffer a serious burn injury than those living in metropolitan areas. These are just some of the achievements of the trust to date. There is no doubt that Julian Burton is a tireless advocate for burns injury and prevention in South Australia.

But we know that a concerted effort from the Australian government would also help drive burns injury rates down. That is why I was delighted to take the positive first step of chairing an inquiry into burns injury in Australia through the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing in early 2010. We tabled our report in mid-2010, and this motion goes to one of the key recommendations for the establishment of a national burns injury prevention plan.

The reason that prevention is so important is that burns injury is one of the most common injuries suffered by Australians every year. Sadly, it is also one of the top three causes of accidental death in children under five. In fact, more than 220,000 people suffer a burn injury every year, costing the Australian government and the health system $1.5 billion every year. While there are treatments for people with major burns, there can be lifelong and significant disfigurement and scarring.

The implications of a severe burn injury can also have a major impact beyond the individual to their friends and family. But we know that with the right education, the vast majority of these burns are preventable. One of the most interesting things we learned during the inquiry was how simple it can be to prevent common burns. For instance, there a far too many young people and older people who scald themselves with hot water taps. That is just because the state and territory building codes do not agree on a maximum temperature for hot water systems. So you can see how simple it would be to reduce burns with greater collaboration, coordination and cooperation across the country.

We must remember that as well as the social costs of burns injuries on families and victims, there is a substantial incentive for the government to make prevention a focus. A child suffering a life-threatening burn injury will costs up to $1 million in healthcare, whilst an adult suffering a life-threatening burn injury will cost $750,000. Severe burns can require many months in hospital, ongoing weekly treatment for dressings and further recovery time at home.

One possible model for a national burns injury prevention plan is based on a World Health Organisation model. Under this model, a wide range of activities are incorporated in one comprehensive plan, including advocacy, policy, data and measurement, research, prevention, treatment services and capacity building. Whilst the Department of Health and Ageing do have a comprehensive plan for responding to events which may result in mass trauma and multiple burns survivors, this does not encompass to the required degree the specific matter of burns prevention.

So I am delighted to have had the opportunity today for the government to continue its groundbreaking health reforms, and to include amongst them a national burns injury prevention plan. I thank the House for the opportunity to speak on this very important matter, and I thank my opposition colleagues for their support for this important cause. (Time expired)

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