Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Monday was World Diabetes Day and it was important that the Australian parliament recognised the significance of the day and pledged its support for research and provision of services to people with diabetes. I congratulate the member for Hindmarsh on the motion that he brought before the parliament. I know that it was a motion that had the support of all members of this House.

The number of people developing diabetes is growing by a staggering 275 new cases each day. There has been a 20 per cent increase in the number of people with diabetes in the Shortland electorate since 2007. Our health system is fast becoming unsustainable just because of the fact that more people are suffering from diabetes. I refer the House to a report from the Standing Committee on Health and Ageing in the last parliament about obesity. That is one of the contributing factors to diabetes.

Access Economics estimates that the cost of type 2 diabetes is $34.6 billion, consisting of $12 billion in financial costs and $22.2 billion in net costs of lost wellbeing. Over the next three decades diabetes expenditure is projected to increase by over 400 per cent. As a nation this is an issue that we really cannot allow to continue. We need to address it. It is estimated that the people living in the Shortland electorate with type 2 diabetes contribute $12 million in health costs per year.

If not well managed, diabetes can lead to complications such as heart attacks, stroke, kidney damage, blindness and amputation. The really scary thing is that a lot of people do not even know that they have type 2 diabetes. I would encourage people to be tested regularly for it.

On 30 October, I launched the Walk to Cure Diabetes in the Hunter. On that day young Dane Boyd, who came to Parliament House earlier this year, came onto the stage and helped me launch the walk. He then joined me on the walk. It is an interesting fact that there are 1,048 people in the Shortland electorate with type 1 diabetes, of which Dane is one. I thank Dane for joining with me on 30 October, launching the walk and walking alongside me with his mother and my family. Diabetes is a disease that we as a nation need to come to terms with and address as a matter of urgency.