Anne Webster (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

There are many thousands of people across Australia that carry the burden of type 1 diabetes. It is estimated that more than 463 million people live with diabetes around the world, including more than 1.1 million children. The Commonwealth government appreciates the difficulties that type 1 diabetes imposes on a person's daily life. That is why the coalition continues to fund a range of initiatives to provide support and assistance to people with type 1 diabetes. In 2015-16, around $2.7 billion, or 2.3 per cent of total disease expenditure in the Australian health system, was attributed to diabetes, and this support has continued to grow. In February 2019, the Australian government announced $56 million for research into type 1 diabetes through the Medical Research Future Fund. Half of this will be dedicated to diabetes research under the $125 million Medical Research Future Fund Targeted Translation Research Accelerator program to help progress—

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The other half will support JDRF Australia, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, to advance its Type 1 Diabetes Clinical Research Network with an additional $6 million over four years, to be provided to further assist with the strategic vision and national leadership of the Australian Type 1 Diabetes Clinical Research Network.

I recently caught up with a young man from Birchip in my electorate, Blair Gould. Blair has been living with type 1 diabetes since the age of 10. Now 18, Blair has started an organisation called Mallee Kids T1D and is a strong advocate for people living with diabetes. At Blair's request, I met with Mel from JDRF Australia to discuss the foundation's ongoing work to cure, treat and prevent type 1 diabetes. Mel told me that there are 980 people living with type 1 diabetes in Mallee, with 120 of these people being under the age of 18. To these people, I say that I am with you, I appreciate the challenges you face and I offer my support in every way possible. Mel also told me about the foundation's environmental determining factors study, which currently has 1,500 participants. The study is an example of the foundation's world-leading research and is looking at people with a family history of type 1 diabetes, aiming to discover if there are environmental factors that cause the disease.

One of the challenges facing the foundation is how best to translate their laboratory research into clinical trials. I understand there is a gap between the research conducted in the lab and that which is conducted on people with the disease. One of the foundation's main aims is to identify talented young researchers to help bridge this gap and lead the research into the future. The $31 million funding being provided to JDRF Australia over four years will help to improve the lives of people living with type 1 diabetes. Mel told me that she is confident we will see significant advancements in JDRF's research over the next four years, which I am really excited about.

The Commonwealth government also continues to support eligible people with fully subsidised continuous glucose monitoring products, which equates to a $300 million investment over four years. Eligible people include people under the age of 21 years; other children and young people with conditions similar to type 1 diabetes who require insulin; women with type 1 diabetes who are pregnant, planning for pregnancy or immediately post pregnancy; as well as people over the age of 21 who have concessional status. Currently, approximately half of all people living with type 1 diabetes have free access to continuous glucose-monitoring products. I know that access to these products has been a life changer for Blair. He said, 'With CGM products, type 1 diabetes is much easier to manage, making it easier overnight and helping out when it comes to physical activity and sport. I hope the other 120 young people living with type 1 diabetes in Mallee are being supported as well.' Whether it's through funding for world-leading research, or support for people with type 1 diabetes, the Commonwealth government is committed to reducing the burden on people living with this disease. I support this motion and commend it to the House.

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