Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Manufacturing) Share this | Hansard source

I begin by also acknowledging and commending the member for Chisholm for not only bringing this motion to the parliament but also her tireless advocacy on this matter. I regret I was unable to go to the morning tea a couple of weeks ago but I would have liked to.

I speak not only because I support this motion but because I understand it as my wife has food allergies. She is allergic to shellfish, and I know the constant battle of everywhere we go having to make sure that the food she is about to consume does not contain shellfish.

More specifically and perhaps more frighteningly, not long ago our baby granddaughter was diagnosed as being allergic to eggs, having suffered anaphylaxis. Even though I wasn't home, I am told that for my wife and daughter-in-law it was a terrifying experience not knowing how to deal with her at the time, not realising what was happening and then finally getting her to settle so they could to the doctor. As a result of that, it opened our eyes to the importance of this issue across the spectrum

I note that the member for McMillan talked about what it must be like for a schoolteacher. Again, I speak with a bit of authority, because I speak to my daughter regularly. She is a schoolteacher. She teaches grade 1 students, little kids that quite often do not understand the risks that they might be taking when they exchange or share food with one another. It has become part and parcel of her training to do what she can to ensure that the children are aware of the dangers of being allergic to certain foods. In fact only last week she was telling me that right now, as opposed to peanuts, the real danger is walnuts, which have become the food source that they always look out for.

The motion, quite rightly, talks about statistics, and I note the member for Chisholm has talked about Australia having one of the highest rates of food allergies in the world and, in particular, the concern that about one in 10 babies has a food allergy. I note that she talked about the $30 billion health cost but I point out that, specifically, over $1 billion of that, I understand, is directly associated with health costs in this country as opposed to the other costs associated with lost productivity and social costs that are incurred as a result of people suffering from food allergies.

I too sometimes wonder about how and why we have come to this point where food allergies are more prevalent. Perhaps it is because of the different medicines that are now available; whether it is the way we produce our foods both here and in other countries; or whether it is the use of chemicals generally for industrial applications and the like that we are exposed to on a regular basis. We don't know the answers, but something is happening and something is changing the way our immune systems are able to cope with the different allergies that have now become known to us.

The critical issue is that many people are not aware that they are allergic to a particular food or a chemical until they suffer an anaphylactic reaction. Probably then they are not certain what has caused the reaction or what is happening to them. So unlike an illness or another health problem where they can take certain precautions, food allergies quite often come from left field without any awareness whatsoever.

I believe the motion goes to the heart of this issue. It talks about information, awareness, diagnosis, management and expertise in caring. In other words, we may not know what the courses are but we certainly can take a much stronger stance in managing the fallout from the allergic reaction. Talking about education, education right across the spectrum from the medical profession, patients understanding how to manage their own symptoms, parents, school staff, restaurant staff, to cafeteria staff and sports club people is important. Where food is likely to be consumed it is important that people are aware how to react and to respond when somebody comes down with a food allergy and is unprepared for it. Education obviously is important. I believe schools are taking a greater role in ensuring that teachers, parents and children are much more alert and aware of the possible risks of reaction to food. This is an important motion. It is an important issue for the nation. I commend the member for Chisholm for bringing it to the attention of the House.

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