Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am really pleased to support the remarks of the member for Shortland, who moved this motion, and the member for Bennelong, who has also contributed to it. Their contributions are consistent with their support for health promotion initiatives and for raising awareness of public health issues, which they have been doing for quite some years now. Both the parliament and the broader Australian community are very much the beneficiaries of their work, and I congratulate them for that.

As they pointed out, November is Lung Health Awareness Month, with 17 November being International Lung Cancer Awareness Day and 18 November being World Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Day. Lung disease does not discriminate. It affects men, women, children, smokers, non-smokers and people who have never smoked. Lung disease is common and often underestimated.

The previous speakers gave the House some statistics, and I will continue that precedent. Lung disease affects more than 2.6 million people in Australia. More than 19,000 people die from a lung disease in Australia each year. One in seven Australians 40 years or older has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, known as COPD, which is the second highest cause of avoidable hospitalisation. Around 10,000 Australians are diagnosed with lung cancer each year, and the latest projections are that this figure will increase by 40 per cent by the year 2020. Over 20 Australians die from lung cancer each day, which is more than breast, ovarian and prostate cancers combined. Lung disease such as asthma, lung cancer and influenza contribute to more than 10 per cent of the overall health burden in Australia. Three out of five Australian adults studied by Lung Foundation Australia reported symptoms that put them at risk of contracting lung disease.

I want to strongly commend the work of Lung Foundation Australia. They believe that research is one of the most effective ways to improve the prevention, detection, treatment and management of lung disease. They are dedicated to finding cures for different lung diseases through funding world-class lung research in Australia. They are investing in the future, having provided more than $4 million in the past few years to support research. They offer both consumer and professional education in the areas of lung health and respiratory or lung disease. These education programs include annual patient education days in capital cities and regional locations, online training resources, professional committees and forums and a wide range of literature, including a comprehensive website.

People who have chronic lung conditions are often less active and can lose their fitness and muscle strength. By exercising regularly, as the member for Bennelong pointed out, a person's fitness and muscle strength can be maintained or improved. Exercising for more than two hours per week, performing activities such as walking or cycling, can improve the health of people with chronic lung conditions and, as a result, people feel better and stay well. People who exercise regularly reduce their need for hospital admission. Walking is one of the most important aspects of an exercise program for respiratory health and should be combined with some weight or resistance based upper and lower limb exercises.

Lung Foundation Australia are calling on the federal government to increase life-saving research funding as part of November's international Lung Cancer Awareness Month. They point out that every day we breathe about 22,000 times. I have not counted, so I am indebted to them for their assistance in that regard! Most of us do not stop to think about our breathing, but it is something that we ought to be doing. It is time that Australians started taking the health of their lungs as seriously as they take the health of their heart, breasts or prostate, and Lung Health Awareness Month provides that opportunity. Lung Foundation Australia are at the forefront of this endeavour, and I congratulate them on this.

Lung Foundation Australia are calling for more money to go into lung cancer research to fight this disease, find better treatments and aim for a cure. They express concern that the survival rate in relation to lung cancer patients remains low. The five-year survival rate is presently about 14 per cent. Whereas survival rates for breast and prostate cancer have improved dramatically over the course of the past 25 years, the five-year survival rate for lung cancer patients remains low. Lung Foundation Australia believe that lung cancer survival rates will improve if more funding is allocated to lung cancer research.

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