Karen Andrews (McPherson, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The importance of diagnosing dementia early cannot be overstated, especially when the prevalence of dementia is expected to rise sharply. In Queensland, it is expected that the prevalence of dementia for each decade between 2011 and 2050 will increase faster than the Queensland population growth rate. On the Gold Coast alone, there are currently over 2,700 people with dementia, and this number is set to almost double by 2020 to over 4,400. In 2050, it is expected that there will be over 15,700 people on the Gold Coast who will suffer from dementia.

Dementia Awareness Week begins this Friday, 21 September and runs through to 28 September. This year's theme is brain health. I encourage people to maintain a healthy diet and take part in regular physical and social activities to help reduce their risk of developing dementia. I would like to acknowledge the work that Alzheimer's Australia is doing to raise awareness of dementia and raise much-needed funds for research. Alzheimer's Australia do a wonderful job, and I hope they will continue to do great work into the future. I would like to congratulate Victoria Beedle and the team at Alzheimer's Australia Queensland and thank them for their hard work and dedication to this very worthy cause.

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