Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is with real pleasure that I rise to speak on the member for Leichhardt's motion on tuberculosis today, noting—as others before me have—that last Friday was in fact World Tuberculosis Day. I thank the member for Leichhardt for bringing this motion forward, because it is vital that we keep this issue absolutely front and centre on our agenda. I am very proud member of the parliamentary TB caucus, which the member for Leichhardt and the Labor member for Kingsford Smith, Matt Thistlethwaite, do an excellent job of co-chairing. The TB caucus aims to play an active role in keeping TB on our agenda, supporting the eradication of this disease in our region and, in doing so, helping secure support and expertise and identifying opportunities for action and engagement. I would also like to recognise up-front the work of the Pacific Friends of the Global Fund and RESULTS International (Australia), who work alongside caucus members from all sides of parliament, and volunteers across the nation.

Domestically we have made some terrific strides in addressing this terrible disease. We heard some of the history of the disease in Australia previously. We now have fewer than one thousand cases per year, I understand, thanks to the improved conditions in both screening and the effective use of antibiotics. But today's news—that we have another 10 new contractions of drug-resistant TB in Australia—means that we must never be complacent, and indeed we have to be forever vigilant. Regretfully, the situation is a lot worse in a whole lot of other countries, and, in fact, despite many medical advances, we know tuberculosis is still claiming 1.8 million lives globally, with an estimated 30,000 new contractions each and every day.

Our neighbours in the Asia-Pacific region are especially vulnerable, with people living in very crowded conditions, with low levels of sanitation and high rates of malnutrition. It has been estimated that Asia-Pacific countries comprise more than 60 per cent of the global TB cases. The best outcomes are achieved when patients see their medical practitioner every day. Something like that is very impractical, if not impossible, in many of the regions, where doctors are few and far between. Treatments are long and difficult, with patients needing to take around 700 tablets over a six-month course. Failure to take the correct and full course is often leading to drug-resistant forms of the disease, and the treatment for these forms is even more onerous, requiring daily injections in addition to ever-increasing numbers of tablets.

In the Pacific, Papua New Guinea has one of the highest rates of infection, with around 33,000 cases in 2015, of which 2,000 were drug resistant. The Australian government is providing funding and support to reduce the health and economic impacts of TB in our region, in many respects achieving some great results, and is to be congratulated for that. In PNG's Daru General Hospital, the support around the purpose-built 22-bed TB ward, vital diagnostic equipment and expert staff that have been provided has meant that the proportion of people staying on for treatment has risen from 40 per cent in 2011 to 97 per cent last year. That is remarkable by anyone's measure. We are now at a critical juncture, with an enormous number of game-changing advances before us or just around the corner.

It is vital that the Australian government reaffirms its commitment to eradicating the disease in our region and continues supporting the World Health Organization's End TB Strategy, which is a blueprint to help countries reduce TB incidence by 80 per cent. Defeating TB means giving patients, practitioners and health systems better and simpler tools. It means investing in new technologies and innovation to deliver shorter, more effective treatments. It means moving from the TB wards, isolation rooms, injections and yearlong treatments to simple, fast, safe and effective means of treatment that can be done at home. It means supporting efforts to develop an effective vaccine. We also need to ensure that there is greater connectivity between those involved in TB research, product development and on-the-ground program delivery. There is no time to waste. I commend this motion to the House.

See this speech in context