Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very pleased to speak in support of the motion moved by the member of Grey, my co-chair of the 'parliamentary enemies of diabetes' group. Whilst people outside often see the argy-bargy of politics, on matters like this it is good to see that we work closely together. The member for Grey is a hard man to have a problem with. I don't want to do him a disservice in his electorate, but he has been very strong on diabetes, and, because he has an electorate that has those challenges, he brings great analysis to the subject. As stated by the member for Grey, there are now almost 1.2 million Australians who have been diagnosed and are living with type II diabetes, but there are others in our community—likely to be around 500,000—with undiagnosed type II diabetes and still another two million Australians with pre-diabetes who are at high risk of developing type II diabetes. Type II diabetes is a very serious and progressive metabolic condition, with many serious complications including eye damage and blindness, foot problems and amputations, kidney damage and dialysis, heart attacks, heart failure and strokes. People with diabetes are three to four times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke, so it is a good disease to fight and a good disease to be an enemy of. Diabetes has a wider impact than just on those experiencing the disease. Their family members, friends, teachers and employers all need to be aware of the support needed by suffers. The economic cost, which has been a big motivation for me, is estimated to be nearly $15 billion annually.

As well as being co-chair of the parliamentary diabetes group, I came to this because my mother had type II diabetes. It's funny: my mum has been dead for quite a while, for a few years now, but I always associate with her with Canberra. I would often phone her when I was here, away from my family. Mum liked a bit of a chat. In fact, I've only ever stayed in Canberra on a weekend twice in my life: once with my mum and then the weekend just gone. So, I've been thinking of mum, so it's great to have this motion, and I thank the member for Grey for that.

While we do not know exactly what causes type II diabetes, the good news is that there is strong evidence that it's preventable. Obviously, it's a progressive condition. It develops over a long period of time, where the body becomes resistant to the normal effects of insulin. It causes the pancreas to produce greater and greater amounts of insulin, and eventually the pancreas loses the ability to produce enough to manage the blood glucose levels in the body. Then the cells in the pancreas are gradually destroyed. Type II diabetes represents 85 to 90 per cent of all cases of diabetes in Australia. There are some markers that determine that someone is more likely to develop type II diabetes: if they're over 45, if they have a family history of diabetes, if they are from some particular ethnic backgrounds, if they suffer from high blood pressure, or if they are overweight or obese.

Many people who have developed type II diabetes had no symptoms at all. For some, the first sign might be a complication such as a heart attack, vision problems, or a foot ulcer. There is no cure for type II diabetes, and that is why prevention is crucial. There is strong evidence that we could prevent it in up to 60 per cent of cases, which is something we are not achieving in Australia as yet. We do need a national type II diabetes prevention program to help prevent people developing type II diabetes. This would include risk assessment; evidence based lifestyle and behaviour change programs for those who are at higher risk; a whole-of-community change to promoting healthy eating, healthy physical activities and healthy weight, perhaps springboarding off our response to the pandemic; and public education campaigns and public policy initiatives, including reducing the marketing and promotion of unhealthy food to children, reducing sugary drink consumption, reducing added fat, salt and sugar in the food supply, and reducing the cost of healthy food options for the poor and disadvantaged. A prevention workforce of health professionals trained and certified in diabetes risk assessment and prevention should be developed in each state and territory. A range of suitable health officials from fields including nursing, dietetics, physiotherapy, exercise physiology, pharmacy, psychology, and Aboriginal health workers should be included.

The goal of any program would be to slow the growth of the obesity epidemic, the main driver of type 2 diabetes, and prevent low-risk individuals from moving into the higher-risk category. If you develop type 2 diabetes, eating well and exercise are very important management tools. It's important to keep the blood glucose levels in the target range to prevent short-term and long-term complications. Diabetes is an epidemic not only in this country but across the world. We need to tackle diabetes head on, for all our sakes. I look forward to working with the member for Grey to do so.

See this speech in context