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

My question is to the Minister for Health. Would the minister please explain what the government is doing to improve cancer services in my electorate of Wannon?

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

May I thank my friend the member for Wannon for his question. I know that cancer treatment is a strong focus for him. He is co-chair of Parliamentarians Supporting Cancer Causes, so he joins all members and senators, across parties, in wanting to see better outcomes, better screening, better diagnoses, better treatment and better medicines for cancer, which is the major cause of illness in Australia. As we all know—because everyone has been touched by someone's cancer story and cancer journey—cancer has a significant impact on individuals, families and the health system.

The good news is that our survival rates are amongst the best in the world, but, as the member for Wannon would be acutely aware, mortality rates for all types of cancer combined are significantly higher in rural, remote and very remote areas of Australia—much more so than in our major cities. Every regional member of parliament is determined to address this. Women living in remote and very remote areas of Australia have over three times the mortality rate of cervical cancer. There is 1.3 times the rate of lung cancer and breast cancer for people in rural Australia compared with our major cities. In the period 2006 to 2010, five-year survival from all cancers combined was higher in major cities than regional areas. So, the bad news is: the further you live from a metropolitan city, the less likely you are to reach a five-year survival target if you have a cancer diagnosis.

The member for Wannon is absolutely committed to this cause. The coalition committed $10 million during the election campaign to fund a vital piece of health infrastructure in his electorate. He lobbied hard to secure Commonwealth funding for Peter's Project, a fully integrated, state-of-the-art cancer centre in Warrnambool, right there in rural Australia, where it counts. This is a perfect example of the coalition's targeted spending on frontline health services—something we are absolutely committed to. It is fantastic to see positive projects like this that will make a real difference to the lives of country people. Amongst other things, the facility will provide two radiotherapy bunkers, a CT simulator, a physics laboratory, a wellness centre, therapy rooms, oncology consulting suites, a clinical trials office and spaces for treatment—real frontline services that will have a real impact on the lives of those within the member's electorate and the surrounding areas of rural Victoria who have been diagnosed with cancer. I commend the member for Wannon for his excellent advocacy.