Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

I certainly agree with this motion on skin cancer. I acknowledge the comments made by previous speakers, and I wish the member for Parkes all the very best. Let's hope, in the words of a Robbie Williams song, that he comes back a 'better man'. Let's hope that the biopsy is negative. We need the member for Parkes. We need his common sense in this place.

It's common sense to stay out of the sun as much as you can. It's common sense to put sunscreen on, to wear a hat and to do all of those things. But, as the member for Parkes and the member for Macarthur have already stated, back in the day, the harmful effects of the sun weren't all that well known. I was fortunate that I had a mother—my late mother, Eileen—who always made sure that I had a hat on when I went outside and, certainly, when I was playing cricket, not that I used to bat that long! But that was more of an issue of my ability, rather than, perhaps, the fact that I needed to wear a hat.

Wagga Wagga is a very sporting community. I well recall somebody who was a good cricketer, Peter St Claire. He and his wife, Annette, had a beautiful daughter Amie, and she is no longer with us. One day after her 23rd birthday, she lost her battle with melanoma. She had discovered a lump in her groin when she was only 20 years old, and she was very prompt in seeking medical advice. She did all the right things: she had an ultrasound and a biopsy. But she was diagnosed with melanoma, and there was no primary skin lesion ever found—ever.

Her parents will be here this Wednesday, to attend the launch of the Parliamentary Friends of Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness. I commend the member for Blaxland and the member for Gippsland for co-chairing that important group. I hope as many members as possible can join that particular group and turn up to the launch function. I know the member for Blaxland, the Minister for Education. He's a good man, a very good man. I think all members of parliament would agree that he is a very valuable member of this parliament and his contribution is mighty. In September 2019, he had a scare with melanoma, and I'm not talking out of turn; I'm not talking out of school. He did. He made it well known that he had a situation with his leg, which required an operation that was quite severe, and he said himself that it made him reflect on life and on how lucky he was, because it, too, proved benign. But it could have been the other way.

I note the comments made by previous speakers about the incidence of melanoma in men. Men aren't always as quick or as willing to seek medical treatment as, perhaps, women are, and that is a fault of ours. It's always: 'She'll be right, mate'. But it's not right. When it comes to these sorts of things, get checked out. Take the opportunity this week, as parliamentarians—others, too, should take the opportunity—to be checked out. I concur with the comments of the member for Parkes about the cost. I concur with the comments of the member for Macarthur about making it a Medicare provider number. That would be an important initiative, and I will do anything I can to support him in that.

In relation to Amie St Clair, her parents now have a wonderful trust to raise money and awareness for skin safety. Just this weekend, in fact, they had a Colour Run, raising very valuable awareness and, moreover, funds for that, at Apex Park. Whilst a lot of fun was had and a lot of people attended—and a lot of people got smothered with paint—it is a great education program that they provide, and, certainly, the legacy of Amie St Claire lives on. Whilst she is no longer with us—and more is the pity—indeed her legacy lives on through her parents and through the advocacy of all her friends and family, who support the cause, who support the trust, who continue to advocate. If is saves just one life, if it makes one person go and have a check, go to the medical appointment, then the whole cause will be worthwhile. So, I commend the motion. I thank both the member for Blaxland and the member for Gippsland for having the foresight to have that 'friends of' group. And I wish the member for Parkes, my great friend and colleague, all the very best for tomorrow in Tamworth.

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