Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes:

(a) the incidence of skin cancer in Australia is the highest in the world and is two to three times that seen in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom; and

(b) that skin cancers account for around 80 per cent of all newly diagnosed cancers in Australia;

(2) supports policies that focus on early detection which will in turn significantly reduce the number of Australian lives lost to skin cancer every year;

(3) notes the importance of training for general practitioners to ensure that family doctors are able to recognise, diagnose and treat the various forms of precursors or early stages of skin cancer; and

(4) acknowledges the work of anti-cancer community organisations, the medical fraternity and the pharmaceutical industry in increasing awareness of skin cancer and risk prevention strategies, promoting the importance of regular skin checks and facilitating affordable access to skin checks and early stage treatments.

And I acknowledge the heartfelt contribution of the member for Grey on the matter just before the House.

I rise to speak on this motion because of its profound significance to so many Australians. Skin cancer is a life-threatening condition that impacts heavily on the lives of many Australians, and I am pleased that the House has tonight devoted some time to this debate. Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world. Australians are four times as likely to develop a skin cancer as any other form of cancer. Two in three Australians are diagnosed with skin cancer before the age of 70. This is an incredibly sobering statistical picture.

There are three main types of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma—the non-melanoma skin cancers—and melanoma. This area of medicine has a huge impact on the Australian community. In 2010 alone, the total number of deaths from melanoma in Australia was 1,452. In 2010 there were 445 reported deaths from non-melanoma skin cancer. This is a tragic picture, with greater impact on loss of life than the road toll. In 2009 there were 11½ thousand new cases of melanoma. Overall, numbers of skin cancers are increasing as our population ages. There are approximately 450,000 new cases of non-melanoma skin cancer each year, costing over half a billion dollars to treat. This makes it the most expensive cancer in Australia to manage. Because non-melanoma skin cancer is not a reportable condition, these costs may well be significantly understated compared with the reality of cases diagnosed and treated annually.

It is predicted in research published in November 2012 in the Medical Journal of Australia that the yearly cost of treating Australia's most prevalent cancer will increase to more than $700 million annually within three years. In the research, Medicare data for non-melanoma skin cancer between 1997 and 2012, including basal and squamous cell carcinomas, were examined. The total number of treatments increased by more than 410,000 in 1997 to almost 768,000 in the year 2000, and it was estimated that the number of cases would increase to 939,000 by 2015.

Expenses relating to the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancers, including diagnosis, treatment and pathology, increased from $264 million in 2001 to over half a billion dollars—$511 million—in 2010. It was forecast that this cost would exceed $700 million annually in three years. Public hospitals are struggling to keep up with demand.

The Standing Committee on Health and Ageing recently released a report on suicide that showed that 2,000 Australian lives are, sadly, lost in this manner each year. Indeed, the road toll is of similar proportions. As a community, we are devastated by these statistics and compelled to act. But for skin cancer, where the figures are in the same league, with approximately 1,500 people dying from melanoma and approximately 500 from non-melanoma skin cancers each year, our actions and call to address this issue are less clear and less resonant in the broader community.

More than a million general practice consultations are directly related to skin cancer management, and skin cancer accounts for approximately 80 per cent of all those cancers diagnosed in Australia. We do have an opportunity to cease being the skin cancer capital of the world. Early detection and treatment will save lives. It will also reduce the rapidly increasing cost of the management of the condition and its burden on Australia's health budget and on the many families left to contend with this cancer. With the development of skin awareness and the conducting of regular skin checks comes the opportunity to achieve an early diagnosis. Where early stages of cancer are detected, access to the simple treatments can be afforded, with an excellent chance of a cure. As with most cancers, the best prognosis is achieved before progression to the more problematic stages of malignancies. These are both harder and more costly to treat.

There are some specific steps that can be taken to reduce the frightening toll and the cost of this disease. I urge people to consider these steps. First, if people became more aware of their skin and learned how to self-check their skin regularly so that when a change on the skin was seen they immediately took action to have it diagnosed by a qualified healthcare professional, this would be an important step forward. Secondly, when individuals present with skin changes or when they identify skin damage caused by exposure to the sun's UV radiation, there is a significantly higher chance that the person affected can be successfully diagnosed at a much earlier stage of the disease. Third, with earlier diagnosis comes the ability to provide effective treatments that will slow or halt the progression of the disease. As a direct result, the patient will be more likely to achieve a full cure. Fourth, the treatment at this early stage is significantly less costly and less traumatic to the patient compared with surgery and chemotherapy, which may be needed at the more malignant stages of the disease.

Fifth, Australia is at the forefront of research into skin cancer causes and treatment. Some of these innovations are now becoming commercially viable, and others still need to be further researched. Investment of this kind will be making a difference to the future generations before they are confronted with the morbidity or mortality of skin cancer that occurs with our older citizens today.

Sixth, we can make use of the tools that are available. They can make a significant difference to those that are emerging now and those that have been used in the past. Better awareness, early diagnosis, effective and affordable early treatment should be employed by all Australians. Effective interventions will save thousands of Australian lives that are currently needlessly lost every year. I encourage all Australians to get behind the Know Your Own Skin campaign which has been developed by leading experts to encourage people to check their own skin, the body's biggest organ, at the start of each season for sun damage and ask their local GPs for a skin check during their next visit. Further information can be found at www.knowyourownskin.com.au.

I also acknowledge the work of MoleMap, a local business in the Dunkley electorate that recognised some years ago the capacity for digital photographic technology and its high-resolution capability to be used as an ongoing tool to monitor and review skin condition. Has that worrying wart or that skin discolouration changed? How much has it changed? Is there some transformation in the area of the skin? All of these things can be more effectively tracked by the use of digital photographic technology, and I acknowledge MoleMap as one of the leading local exponents of that capability.

I make a heartfelt plea to my constituents and to the broader Australian community to please check your own skin. Also, go and get your skin regularly checked by those with expertise and knowledge to see if any early concerns are arising. People should also ask their family doctor to include a skin check as part of regular routine medical check-up, as they can diagnose any areas of damage and recommend appropriate treatment, or in some cases recommend further consultation with a specialist medical practitioner.

This motion has been moved to help support the good work of the anti-cancer community organisations, the medical fraternity and the pharmaceutical industry in helping to reduce the number of lives lost to skin cancer, but my message tonight is: please, follow the guidance of the experts, know your own skin, get it checked regularly and encourage those that are near and dear to you to do likewise.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Russell Matheson (Macarthur, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion.

Alan Griffin (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Dunkley for the motion that he has brought before the House today. This is a very important issue. It affects the entire Australian community and, no doubt as a constituent of his in the seat of Dunkley and the beach down at Frankston, and the sand and the not-quite surf, certainly it is a situation where he knows, and I know, that that community spends a lot of time outdoors and down the beach on the Mornington Peninsula, and many people in those circumstances are susceptible to skin damage and sun exposure. Probably the member for Dunkley and I are examples more than most. I tend to go from white to pink, to very pink, then back to white. It takes some time, but I know to be careful because I am someone who is a prime example of what can go wrong in a situation where we suffer too much from sun exposure. From the circumstances of having lived for many years with my ex-wife, who was a very fine clinical nurse coordinator for many years at Peter MacCallum, I used to hear the terrible stories on a regular basis of the tragedy of those who suffered, particularly from skin cancers, and the nature of what that can do to a family and to an individual. It certainly brings home to you the fact that this is a very serious subject matter, although we might make light of it on occasion

As the motion says, the incident of skin cancer in Australia is the highest in the world and is two to three times that seen in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, and skin cancers account for around 80 per cent of all newly diagnosed cancers in Australia. There is no doubt that the rates of melanoma and non-melanoma cancers are on the rise, and although we are seeing a general improvement in attitudes towards tanning, we are still seeing people getting too much sun, and sun protection among young adults and adults is still far from ideal. There was recent information from the Cancer Council with respect to this in a study that was released in February this year, just a few days ago. I quote from that survey:

The research, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, compares the results of the National Sun Protection Survey conducted in summer 2010-11 with the surveys from 2003-4 and 2006-7.

The proportion of adults desiring a tan fell from 39% in 2003-4 and 32% 2006-7, to 27% in 2010-11. Fewer reported getting sunburnt at the weekend—18% in 2003-4 compared with 13% in 2010-11.

Similar changes were reported for adolescents. The proportion of adolescents desiring a tan fell from 60% in 2003-4 and 51% in 2006-7, to 45% in 2010-11 and 25% were sunburnt in 2003-4 and 24% in 2006-7, falling to 21% in 2010-11.

  …   …   …

But one in five adolescents and one in eight adults still report getting sunburnt so while attitudes towards tanning are improving, we are still seeing people getting too much sun. This means that approximately 363,000 adolescents and two million adults are still getting sunburnt on any given summer weekend.

  …   …   …

Sun protection among adolescents and adults is still far from ideal, with only 23% of adolescents and 45% of adults wearing hats when outdoors. The decrease in adults and adolescents spending time outdoors and hence less sunburn in 2010-11, may also reflect a very wet summer that year.

  …   …   …

While improvements in behaviour are being made, worryingly the number of skin cancers reported is still increasing. The Medical Journal of Australia reported that the total number of non-melanoma skin cancers increased from 412,493 in 1997 to 767,347 in 2010. It is estimated that this will increase to 938,991 by 2015. The cost of treating these cancers exceeds $500 million per year.

When we look at non-melanoma skin cancers, fortunately, the mortality rate is relatively low, but there were still some 445 deaths reported in 2010. Melanoma itself is the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer, with 11,545 new cases in 2009. It is also the seventh most common cause of cancer death, with 1,452 deaths in 2010. Compared with most cancers, melanoma has a high five-year relative survival with over 90 per cent of people alive five years after their initial diagnosis.

But the incidence rate of melanoma has been rising since national records began in 1982. It is projected that there will be 17,517 new cases of melanoma diagnosed in 2020, an increase of 6,052 cases or 52 per cent compared to the 2009 figure. This is a big problem. It is a problem that is with the community now and getting worse—all the more reason for people to be aware and to take action so that they do not become a statistic.

The motion also talks about supporting policies that focus on early detection, which would in turn significantly reduce the number of Australian lives lost to skin cancer every year. Fighting cancer through prevention, early detection and evidence based treatment and care remain key government priorities. Since 2007, the Australian government has invested more than $2.5 billion in infrastructure, medicines, screening and research to build a world-class cancer care system.

One of the key issues that many of us get involved with when we are looking at the question of what is the best way to deal with skin care is how strong the sunscreen is. We now have on sale sun protection factor ratings of up to 50-plus. That will help in ensuring that people get the sort of preventative care that they need to manage in the Australian skin.

A national skin cancer awareness campaign that ran from 2007-07 to 2009-10 saw some $20 million spent over those four consecutive summers to ensure that there was better awareness of the issue within the community. There have been a range of research grants provided in recent years to try and improve understanding of the nature of the problem, into the early detection of melanoma and into the diagnosis and treatment cancers. That research is important.

The motion also notes the importance of training for general practitioners to ensure that family doctors are able to recognise, diagnose and treat the various forms of precursors or early stages of skin cancer. That is incredibly important. Dermatologists play a crucial role, but the family GP is often going to be the first contact point. The points made by the member for Dunkley about the need for people to more aware of their skin were good ones. People need to ensure that they look for moles that may be changing in shape, size or colour. People need to be on the front foot. Often men are the biggest problem here, because basically on medical issues we are largely stupid.

Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Don't admit anything!

Alan Griffin (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Frankly, we have to think about that more often. Sucking it up can in fact mean that in the end you give it up. That is not what you want to do in the circumstances. I did not catch the interjection from the member for Cowper, so I will not respond in a way that might be inappropriate. I will say that he, with his electorate being on the beautiful north coast, understands the importance of this issue.

The motion also acknowledges the work of anti-cancer community organisations, the medical fraternity and the pharmaceutical industry in increasing the awareness of skin cancer and risk prevention strategies, promoting the importance of regular skin checks and facilitating affordable access to skin checks and early stage treatments. You need a holistic approach when it comes to dealing with issues like this. You need to be in a situation in which you keep people informed, you keep looking for new answers and you do not rest on your laurels.

I would like to mention one particular skin cancer awareness campaign that was kicked off in November last year in Skin Cancer Action Week. It targeted that group that I mentioned before that are largely stupid when it comes to the question of their own care. It is a campaign with John Newcombe and Tony Roche, two great Australian tennis players. The slogan is 'Newk and Rochey say "Watch your back!"'. In November 2012, tennis legends Newcombe and Roche joined Cancer Council Australia and the Australasian College of Dermatologists to urge all men aged 45 and over to watch their backs as part of Skin Cancer Action Week. Watching your backs in this case relates to the question of skin cancer, not what we would normally be involved in in this place!

What I can say is that men in this age group are at more than double the risk of dying of melanoma than women of the same age. Although melanoma can develop anywhere on the body, around one in three cases in men occur on the back. Men aged 45 and over are likely to have spent a lot of time in the sun in their younger years before we had skin cancer awareness campaigns. 'Slip, slop, slap' started when I was in my twenties and by then I had spent a lot of time out in the sun. Being aware and checking what is going on with your own skin, with your own body and with your own life is a really important thing for men and women to do. We have a responsibility to look after ourselves. These problems will grow in the future. We have a responsibility to ensure that we look after our mates and those around us. If we work together on these issues, we can make a positive impact.

Some of the improvements in community attitudes that I mentioned earlier are an important part of a change that is occurring within Australian society. But if we are going to get to where the member for Dunkley mentioned—being world leaders in some of these areas—we need to keep working at it. This is a motion that is important, because it is important to raise awareness in the Australian community. It is an issue that confronts all of us all of the time. I commend the motion to the House.

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Bruce for his speech on this motion. I commend the member for Macarthur for stepping into the breach for me by seconding this motion. I am the seconder of this motion in the papers, but unfortunately I was not here in time to be able to do it in the chamber. I thank the member for Macarthur. I commend the member for Dunkley for this motion. The member for Dunkley is an extremely committed member of parliament and someone very dedicated to his electorate and to causes in his electorate. As his is a coastal electorate, he understands the importance of this issue. It is fantastic—and I did not realise this until I heard him speak—that there is a business in his electorate that has developed mole-mapping technology, which is going to be absolutely crucial in the fight against skin cancer. I commend the member for Dunkley for bringing this motion forward. It was an honour for me to be able to second it. It is an honour to be able to talk on this motion tonight.

Skin cancer is something that is growing in prevalence, sadly, in our society. It is something that we must tackle immediately. I have the honour of being one of the co-convenors of the group 'parliamentarians supporting cancer causes'. The very first breakfast that we had was about melanoma. During that breakfast, Marie Karakousis spoke. She has had melanoma. It was one of the most heartfelt speeches that I have heard in this House. It really brought home for me the need for us all to be very vigilant when it comes to skin cancer.

As a matter of fact, I must thank the House of Representatives and the parliament, because, as a result of bringing doctors to Parliament House to look at people's skin and check them, I went and had a check and I found that I needed to have two skin cancers removed. Fortunately, after they went for testing they were found to be benign. I have also been recommended to go and get mole mapping, which is something that I am going to do. For those who have spent a lot of time under the sun in regional and rural Australia, it is particularly important that you check your body constantly to ensure that there are not moles which could potentially develop into melanomas.

This motion here tonight is extremely timely. The member for Dunkley went through the six key points that you should always have in mind when it comes to dealing with skin cancer. We have moved on a little bit from the Slip, Slop, Slap campaign—that was a great start in making people aware of the need to make sure they covered their skin, especially when the UV was at its highest—but we need to do a lot more now. We have to make sure that we watch our skin and we need to look for any unusual signs that there might be something which is occurring which should not be, and make sure that we get straight onto it and get to our doctors. We also have to make sure that our doctors have the skills to be able to quickly identify potential melanomas and have them dealt with. We also need to keep improving the technology and we have to keep investing in the drugs to deal with skin cancer. Drugs which deal with skin cancer are still extremely expensive and the research into it is still in its infancy. Therefore, we have to make sure there is the money that can go into the medical research to deal with these issues. I commend this motion to the House, I commend the government members for supporting it, but in particular, I commend the member for Dunkley for putting this on the agenda in this House tonight.

Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For most Australians, summer means the beach, barbecues and a variety of other outdoor activities. In my electorate of Hindmarsh, we are lucky enough to have some of the best, most beautiful beaches in Australia, as well as parks, recreational spaces and sporting grounds. These places support our community to be healthy and active, which is important. Like all Australians, I want us to be able to enjoy the lifestyle that we have here in Australia, but there is a danger that too many people who are using these outdoor spaces are ignoring. As we heard from the speaker before, while most of us know—and have known for many years—about the dangers of skin cancer and the clear evidence linking sun exposure to skin cancers, it is still the most common cancer in Australia. We have the world's highest incidence of skin cancers; Australians are four times more likely to develop a skin cancer than any other form of cancer, and approximately two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer before the age of 70.

While anyone can be at risk of developing skin cancer, the risk increases as you get older. These figures alone are worrying, but there are real and significant personal and economic costs associated with skin cancers. In South Australia alone, about 115 people die from melanoma skin cancer every year. Recent research has found the total costs of treating non-melanoma skin cancers swelled from $264 million in 2001 to $511 million in 2010. This will increase dramatically in the future as our population ages, unless we act now. Even more worrying is the fact that we can prevent skin cancers, but we do not. The majority of skin cancers in Australia are caused by exposure to UV radiation in sunlight and prevention is the single most effective way to save lives, but not enough of us are taking action to reduce this unnecessary exposure. While some steps to address this issue are being taken around the country—with several states, including my very own, announcing plans to ban, for example, commercial tanning beds, which should be applauded—more needs to be done. The biggest issue appears to be that too many of us are complacent about the risks, and we need to take even greater action to protect ourselves from the sun. This issue does not stand alone and should not be the sole responsibility of any single authority or person.

A good example of the broad action required is that a number of schools across my electorate including Sacred Heart College in Somerton Park, Star of the Sea School in Henley Beach and the primary school that I attended, Cowandilla Primary School, just to name a few, were able to build shade structures for their students through the BER funding. Personal responsibility is also paramount and we all need to avoid sunburn by minimising sun exposure, especially in the middle of the day when UV levels are most intense. We need to seek shade and wear a hat that covers the head, neck and ears. We need to wear sun protective clothing and close-fitting sunglasses and sunscreen, which is so important, and we need to avoid using solariums or tanning salons. Where we cannot prevent skin cancer, we must support policies that enable early detection to reduce the number of Australian lives that are needlessly lost to skin cancer every single year, because over 95 per cent of skin cancers can be successfully treated, if found early.

All Australians should become familiar with their skin. Check all of your skin, not just in exposed areas and if you notice anything unusual including any change in shape, colour or size, or the development of a spot, please visit your doctor as soon as possible. I wholeheartedly support the view that prevention is better than cure and we need to do more to take action to reduce those risks as well as educate our friends, family and workmates about the seriousness of, and the susceptibility to, skin cancer. I also want to acknowledge the important work of organisations like the Cancer Council, Surf Life Saving South Australia and schools, as well as the many GPs and health professionals who undertake to care for and educate our community on this important matter. In fact, one of the local chemists at West Beach had a Get to Know Your Skin Day where you could have your skin looked at and any unusual spots were recorded.(Time expired)

Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the member for Dunkley's motion on skin cancer. As my colleagues have already acknowledged throughout this debate, the incidence of skin cancer in Australia is the highest in the world, and is two to three times that seen in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. In Australia skin cancers account for around 80 per cent of all newly diagnosed cancers. Queensland is world renowned for its warm and sunny weather, which lends itself to the outdoor lifestyle that so many of us enjoy—whether it be at the beach or at a backyard barbeque with friends. Sadly, however, our increased exposure to the sun means that Queensland has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. Indeed I, like many of my friends, regularly have treatment for skin cancer after many, many years of doing the wrong thing.

According to the latest figures available from Cancer Council Queensland, 3,007 Queenslanders were diagnosed with a melanoma of the skin in 2009, with 250 dying from the disease. Of those, 1,757 were male and 1,250 were female. In addition to those diagnosed with a melanoma, approximately 133,000 non-melanoma skin cancer cases are diagnosed in Queensland each year. Experts agree that early detection will significantly reduce the number of Australians who lose their lives to skin cancer every year. Beyond that, there are a number of simple measures we can all take to prevent skin cancer: minimise your time in the sun between 10am and 3pm, seek shade where possible, wear suitable clothing that provides good sun protection, wear a hat that also protects your neck and ears and apply SPF-30 or higher, water resistant sunscreen at least 20 minutes before going out into the sun.

As members of this parliament know, I am an extremely proud supporter of the research being undertaken at the University of Queensland in my electorate. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the outstanding work of one of my constituents, Professor Adele Green, who is this year's Queensland Australian of the Year. Professor Adele Green, who holds an adjunct appointment with University of Queensland's School of Population Health, is a leading melanoma researcher based at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. Professor Green has been at the forefront of melanoma research for 20 years. As head of Cancer and Population Studies at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, her work focuses on assessing the impact of environmental factors in the cause and prognosis of melanomas, as well as the effect of genes on the development of melanoma. Professor Green's research establishing that daily sunscreen use can halve the risk of melanoma set the benchmark for prevention. Recently, Professor Green was lead author on a study of more than 26,000 Queenslanders diagnosed early with thin melanomas, which revealed a 20 year survival rate for 96 per cent of patients. The study has been described as a blueprint for the assessing thin melanomas with a risk of metastatic disease. Professor Green has also been recognised for her contribution to public health, including Indigenous health, and her leadership in the wider scientific community. I congratulate Professor Adele Green on her work, which is benefiting not just Queenslanders but all Australians.

I also recognise the work of a team of researchers at the University of Queensland's Institute of Molecular Bioscience, whose work was named as one of the 10-best research projects of 2012. IMB director, Professor Brandon Wainright, his co-chief investigator, Pritinder Kaur, and their team are researching skin cancer and, in particular, basal cell carcinoma. Professor Wainright and his team have made great headway in understanding the genetic pathway behind skin cancer and generating the replenishment of damaged skin. The team's first major breakthrough came with a discovery of the gene named 'patched', which causes basal cell carcinoma. In mapping the gene, they discovered that 'patched' is part of a larger genetic pathway called the 'hedgehog pathway'. The hedgehog pathway is a very important pathway that almost every organ in our body uses to develop. However, it also contributes to the development of a wide range of tumour types. The team is now working to prove that the cells generated by manipulating the hedgehog pathway are true stem cells, and they can cause the hedgehog pathway to affect, repair and regenerate skin. This is important work which has far-reaching applications, including for the treatment of burns and improving our ability to heal wounds. While this groundbreaking research will undoubtedly assist those with more advanced forms of skin cancer, it is essential that Queenslanders regularly examine their skin for signs of skin cancer, especially if they are in the older age group or have sun-damaged skin or multiple moles and freckles, because in doing so, and combined with ongoing research— (Time expired)

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

I rise to support the motion moved by the member for Dunkley, a motion that raises awareness of skin cancer in Australia—and Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. In Australia, we have a lifestyle built around outdoor living and a culture of surf, sun and sand. Australians have always been proud of their bronzed Aussie image, but by trying to become the bronzed Aussie, Australians are potentially putting their lives at risk. The No. 1 cause of skin cancer in Australia is exposure to ultra-violet, or UV, rays. This motion before us raises awareness and points us to the fact that we need to act now.

Skin cancer is divided into two categories: melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. Non-melanoma skin cancers are the most common in Australia—these are basal and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin. It is estimated that about 474,000 new cases of these cancers will have been diagnosed in 2012, although we do not have those figures as yet. The mortality rate from non-melanoma skin cancers is very low, with 445 deaths reported in 2010. Melanoma is the fifth-most commonly diagnosed cancer, with 11,545 new cases in 2009—but, once again, those are the latest figures. In 2002 Australia had the highest skin cancer rate in the world, as all speakers have pointed out, and about two in three Australians will be diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer by the time they reach 70. All my family has had some form of non-melanoma skin cancer. As my mother aged she was constantly having non-melanoma skin cancers removed. It is very common. The older you get the more common it becomes.

The incidence rate of melanoma has been rising. National records began in 1982. It is projected that there will be 17,570 new cases of melanoma diagnosed in 2020, an increase of 6,025 cases, or a 50 per cent increase in comparison with 2009 figures. The cost of treating skin cancer was estimated at $294 million in 2001, and the figure for melanoma was $30 million. Skin cancer places an enormous cost on our health resources. Amongst all hospitalisations with the principal diagnosis of cancer, non-melanoma skin cancer is the most common and melanoma is the 10th most common.

The Australian government has had a commitment to fighting skin cancer. Since 2007 it has invested $2.5 billion in infrastructure, medicine, screening and research. But the real change that needs to take place is a cultural one. We can see that happening with younger people in our society and with children when they are going to school. The culture is changing. Hats are compulsory at schools and the building of COLAs in schools are also giving young children protection against UV rays. Childhood is when the damage really occurs that leads to skin cancer in later life.

I come from the Hunter, where we have been identified by the Cancer Council as being one of the zones that are on the red alert, as is the Central Coast. In those areas we have higher incidence of skin cancer than in other areas. So I would like to encourage the people I represent to think very carefully about skin cancer and what they do. I encourage them to take five steps to save their skin: seek shade, wear protective clothing, wear a broad rimmed hat, wear sunglasses and repeatedly reapply your sunscreen.

Debate adjourned.