Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Hansard source

I'm proud to share the news that Kangaroo Island is now recognised by the international HEARTSafe Communities program as Australia's first HEARTSafe community. This title identifies Kangaroo Island as a place where more than 10 per cent of the population is trained in CPR and the use of a defibrillator and where you can find publicly available defibrillators in every town, even at the American River boatshed. It took 18 months for locals to achieve the criteria that ensure that 4½ thousand residents on the island and more than 200,000 people who visit every year have the best chance of survival after a sudden, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Special thanks must go to the HeartSafeKI team—Dr Tim Leeuwenburg, volunteer ambulance officer Trish Leeuwenburg and paramedic Mick Berden—who volunteered for this initiative.

Recognition is growing that surviving a heart attack depends more on having access to trained first aiders and the right equipment than it does on hospitals and helicopters, particularly when you live in a rural area. Sadly, the average survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is about eight per cent. By becoming Australia's first HEARTSafe community, Kangaroo Island is hoping to echo the experiences of other HEARTSafe communities overseas and bring that survival rate to 70 per cent. Congratulations to Kangaroo Island. As always, you make our nation so proud.

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