Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Tuesday this week was International Men's Day. Here in Parliament House, the Speaker hosted the Movember Institute of Men's Health. While my background in women's health is perhaps well known, what is less well known is that I was also the policy lead for men's health when I worked in SA Health.

In Australia, men's life expectancy is four years less than women's. Thirty-seven per cent of men die prematurely before they are 75 years of age. The leading causes of premature mortality in Australian men are, in descending order, cardiovascular disease—heart attacks and strokes; lung cancer; suicide, which is the leading cause of death amongst men aged 15 to 44; colorectal cancer; and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. Some of these conditions have lifestyle factors. Others are preventable or curable with early diagnosis and intervention. A lot of these conditions are avoidable or at least curable.

There is also a demographic aspect to this. Men in regional and remote areas have poorer health statistics. Men in lower socioeconomic areas have poorer health statistics. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and men from culturally diverse backgrounds have poorer health statistics. Men from same-sex attracted and gender diverse communities have poorer health statistics.

Additionally, there's a gender stereotype issue. Men report that they are expected to tough it out, not to seek help, and that the idea of having regular checkups and seeking help for symptoms, which is really important to maintaining health for anyone, is discouraged or socially unacceptable for them. Men also report gender stereotype issues when seeking help in the system. They say that clinicians don't respond to their needs, sometimes downplay their symptoms or advise them to tough it out.

I would like to congratulate Movember for their excellent work in raising awareness and funds for men's health. Their report, The real face of men's health, is a sobering read. As they note, a gendered lens on health is not a competition; it's not an either/or proposition. Our health system needs to respond to the health needs of the entire population, and a gendered lens is simply another way of ensuring that the services we provide work for the entire community.

I'd also like to talk about the Australian Exporter of the Year awards that were announced last night. Congratulations to South Australia's Rising Sun Pictures, which is the 2024 Australian Exporter of the Year and winner of the creative industries category in this year's Australian Export Awards. If you want to know what Rising Sun Pictures do, they were heavily involved in Lord of the Rings. They've been involved in the latest versions of Mad Max, Indiana Jones and a whole range of other well-known movies. It's very exciting for us. We're also very thrilled that Fivecast SA also won the advanced technologies category.

Yesterday I met with Rob Bowden from MAXM Skate, one of the finalists. It's really worth talking about the fantastic medical device that they have created. This looks like a rollerskate that you would put on your foot. It has a sensor that goes up your leg. It's actually a rehabilitation tool or instrument for people who have experienced a total knee reconstruction. What they have found is that, by using this device as part of your rehabilitation to practice stretching out and pulling back with your knee being totally supported, it makes your rehabilitation much faster.

They are now exporting around the world. They have been through the TGA process in Australia, but they are also exporting to Europe and Asia and are looking at the United Arab Emirates and America. It is a fantastic rehabilitation tool that enables people to get out of hospital quicker, which saves costs for the system and the person, but they also get a better rehabilitation outcome out of that. Congratulations to MAXM Skate. I think you are a worthy finalist. Unfortunately, you were knocked out by Rising Sun Pictures on this occasion, but it is such a fantastic thing that is coming out of South Australia and the Flinders University research institute at Tonsley.

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