Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Preventative health care, through genetic screening and testing to determine risk factors present within patients, has the potential to save lives. That aspect of these practices alone has meant research in this area could have enormous value for our country. This is something which the member for Braddon understands and for which I commend him. It's something the Albanese Labor government values too.

We want Australians to be in a position where they can identify their genetic risk of developing serious illnesses, such as types of cancer and heart disease, before these conditions develop. We want this because lives and livelihoods are profoundly affected by diagnoses of cancer and other debilitating, rare conditions on a daily basis in this country. Cancer alone is estimated to have accounted for three in every 10 deaths in Australia in 2024.

It doesn't need to be said that such illnesses can be absolutely shattering for individuals and their families. I draw on personal experience in making that statement. Cancer has reached into my family's lounge room on a number of occasions and into my workplace, where I recently lost one of my best mates. My former boss, Ian Smith, lost his fight with bowel cancer back in July this year. I also think about my cousin, who failed to reach his 40th birthday. He was struck down with leukaemia, cruelly, leaving behind his wife and four children. Breast cancer has hit my family on a number of occasions, most recently with my sister-in-law, Marta, taking her in her mid-30s. I also had the misfortune of losing my father seven years ago, at the back end of what was a complicated heart condition. He subsequently was found to have an abdominal aortic aneurysm. It's something that can be genetically linked and something I have to go and get an ultrasound for every two years, to make sure I don't have one. It's something that I and my two sisters have to do to make sure that we keep ourselves in good health. What happens when you don't have access to these types of tests is that you can be walking around quite blind to the fact you have something wrong, and the inability to have it treated in a prompt way may cut your life short.

Experiences like mine are felt by families nationwide. There are not many across this country that haven't been touched in some way by one of these diseases. That is the reason we provided $3 million to the DNA Screen pilot study, led by Monash University, under the government's Medical Research Future Fund. If there's an opportunity for just one Australian to detect such an illness early and prevent a form of cancer or rare disease from becoming life limiting, that is worth researching, and I'm proud to be part of a government that's providing the funding to do so. As the member for Braddon rightly points out, the pilot attracted much interest, with 20,000 young Australians registering in the first three days alone. Of those who've been tested under the pilot so far, two per cent have returned a result indicating a high genetic risk of serious illness. So already the future wellbeing of the tested individuals who've been found to be at high risk is much more secure because of this research alone. It's exciting, to say the least, and it's why our government continue to engage warmly with the team at DNA Screen as it progresses.

Related to the preventative measures in improving Australian health is an unfortunate by-product that has been termed 'genetic discrimination' within the insurance industry. This refers to an increase of life insurance fees or outright rejection of a life insurance claim where an individual has an identified genetic risk to their health, and it's a damaging practice. It effectively charges individuals for taking preventative steps to look after themselves, and it has the subsequent effect of people being discouraged from taking genetic tests, because they want to avoid a price hike. Under these practices, a test which could save a life suddenly becomes a cost-benefit analysis for Australians. It isn't something a person should need to consider when taking that step. Genetic discrimination has been done away with, the Albanese Labor government having implemented a ban on the practice, because no Australian, no family in this country, should be discouraged from taking care of themselves. This policy goes hand in hand with our longstanding commitment to genetic and genomic research investment in this country. We have invested $66 million into genomic research alongside $5.5 million into newborn screening for genetic disorders. As we close, I want to take the time to thank Dr Jane Tiller for her ongoing research.

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