Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about precision medicine, an approach to patient care which allows doctors to select treatments which are most likely to help patients, based on genetic understanding of their disease. It allows for a tailored medical treatment based on characteristics of each patient, taking into account the differences between individuals. It transforms the way we practice medicine and deliver health care in our country. While medicine and health care delivery has always had personal and predictive aspects, precision medicine opens a new door in the way we view health. It is in direct contrast to the one-size-fits-all approach in which treatment and prevention strategies are developed for the average person. Precision medicine provides an increasingly fine-grained resolution that enables faster diagnosis and personalised treatment options and leads to better targeting of care and information. With greater investment and research being directed towards precision medicine, Australians will access new possibilities of disease prevention, saving costs and maximising the benefits from our health system.

As in the case of medical research more broadly, Australia has the resources and scope for world-leading innovation in precision medicine. Our healthcare system is regard as one of best in the world, and we have already embraced some of the technologies that underline precision medicine. We have a strong tradition in research and exemplary research talent that is connected internationally. Since 2010 the National Health and Medical Research council funded $52 million in precision medicine research and $465.5 million in genomics. In May this year the government announced a further investment in genomics research and artificial intelligence totalling $48.2 million. The Australian Research Council also funds research in genomics, data analysis and artificial intelligence. For instance, since September 2013 the ARC has funded a total of 239 projects involving research in artificial intelligence and imaging processing, totalling over $139 million.

By investing in ground-breaking research the Morrison Government is driving a new era of better health care and jobs growth. The coronavirus pandemic has shown us how essential a robust healthcare system is. The government knows that if we can continue to invest in Australia's $185 billion healthcare industry, jobs growth and economic recovery will follow. Australia's health sector has already established an innovative business capability that can realise precision medicine as an economic growth opportunity. Over $1.3 billion for a health and medical industry growth plan will inject an estimated $18 billion into the Australian economy. This plan will cement Australia's place as a world leader in health, medical research and technology development. It will create around 28,000 new jobs, provide a minimum of 130 new clinical trials and generate 50 per cent increase in exports, new markets and global market leadership in biotechnology, medical devices and pharmaceuticals.

At the core of the industry growth plan's investment is the Genomics Health Futures Mission, which is a 10-year, $500 million investment in genomic medical research. This research will support the clinical use of genomics that is safe, cost-effective and equitable and sensitive to the associated ethical, legal and social issues. The impact of this research will be felt throughout the electorate of Reid and right around Australia. It will save or transform the lives of more than 200,000 Australians and it will deliver better testing, diagnosis and treatment. We have already seen the funding committed to research projects like Mackenzie's Mission, a $20 million pilot research study of reproductive carrier screening for rare, severe and often fatal genetic disorders including spinal muscular atrophy and cystic fibrosis. I personally know of residents in my area who have lost children to mitochondrial disorder. This trial offers hope to parents who have already experienced trauma as a result of genetic disorders. The Morrison Government is committed to working with private enterprise to continue to invest in the genomics data analysis and artificial intelligence research required to grow the precision medicine sector. It will mean that we can generate jobs— (Time expired)

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