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

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) National Asthma Week was 1 to 7 September 2015;

(b) the theme of National Asthma Week 2015 was „You Care We Care—One Asthma Community‟;

(c) asthma affects around one in four children, one in seven adolescents and one in ten adults;

(d) 2.3 million Australians currently have asthma;

(e) asthma is the number one cause of hospital admissions amongst young children; and

(f) while many in our community lead highly successful lives despite their asthma, asthma continues to be a significant burden for too many including those who live below the poverty line and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; and

(2) congratulates Asthma Australia for its work promoting National Asthma Week and raising community awareness of asthma.

The week 1 to 7 September is National Asthma Week and the theme of this year's Asthma Week was 'You Care We Care—One Asthma Community.' Asthma is a long-term condition that affects a person's breathing. It is a significant cause of illness and poor quality of life and it is particularly prevalent within Australia.

It is a type of obstructive airways disease and one in 10 people suffer from asthma. Twenty per cent of people aged 15 and over with asthma have a written action plan and that should be a lot higher than it is. Children aged zero to 14 were the most likely to have written asthma plans, at 41 per cent, which is still not high enough. In 2008-09 $655 million was spent on asthma, and that is 0.9 per cent of all direct health expenditure on disease. In 2012-13 there were 37,500 hospitalisations and there were 394 deaths in 2012. With over two million people living with asthma it must be one of the nation's top health priorities. Everybody knows somebody who is living with asthma—it affects everybody, be it a friend, a work colleague, a family member or that person themselves. I am sure we will hear a little bit more about that from our next contributor to this debate.

Asthma week is the national week for promoting asthma-awareness education and self-management and for inspiring people who live with asthma. The highest prevalence of asthma is in older people and the deaths most commonly occur within the over-65 age group. There are more hospitalisations in that age group as well and nearly double than the rate of smoking. It has been demonstrated that there is a strong connection between smoking and asthma, and there are higher rates of asthma in children who are exposed to passive smoking as well.

There is a high likelihood that those with asthma will develop diabetes and mental and behavioural disorders, so there is a correlation between those. But, as with most chronic diseases, they can be prevented and remediated to an extent by healthy eating, exercise and making sure that you follow the right procedures. It is always interesting to note that those people who live in lower socioeconomic areas, or who have less disposable income and less access to education and preventative health programs, are those that tend to have the highest prevalence of asthma. The incidence of asthma is higher among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians than other Australians. That relates, once again, to higher rates of smoking, asthma plans not being in place and less access to preventative medicine.

I think it is vitally important that each and every member goes back to their electorate and makes their electorate aware of the fact that asthma plans are vitally important, that asthma can be managed and that asthma is one of the most prevalent diseases within our community. We need to encourage people to stop smoking and to develop asthma-friendly approaches to their lives.

Andrew Southcott (Boothby, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder for the motion?

Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion. Before I add my contribution in support of my friend and the parliamentary co-chair of the Friends of Asthma, the member for Shortland, can I—because this is the first opportunity I have had in a forum such as this—acknowledge your recent decision, Deputy Speaker Southcott. Very few people are given the privilege of serving in this place; even fewer get to decide when it is their time to leave. I think that is a measure of a member who has been successful in this place—not only in terms of your efforts across very many spheres, including being a strong advocate for South Australia and the electors of Boothby, but in being given the right, effectively, to choose your time of departure. I think that says a lot, so congratulations.

I support the member for Shortland's motion on asthma. She and I are co-chairs of the Parliamentary Friends of Asthma. I join with her in congratulating Asthma Australia for their proactive and consistent advocacy for asthma awareness and laud them for their work in developing an understanding of asthma, its effects and its treatments. Asthma is a massively prevalent condition in Australia. It affects almost one in every 10 Australians. As the member for Shortland noted in her motion, 2.3 million Australians suffer from the condition of asthma, including yours truly. Whilst asthma is a condition which affects many and is often quite mild, it can also be a condition that can prove fatal. Astonishingly, asthma kills nearly 400 Australians per year—or eight per week. Asthma, like so many conditions, disproportionately affects the socially disadvantaged in our society, especially those who live below the poverty line—including, sadly, our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Asthma awareness is critical in assisting those suffering from this condition and it does save lives. The reality is that there is a knowledge deficit in the management of asthma attacks in this country. It is my hope, through motions such as this and the work of Asthma Australia and the National Asthma Council Australia, that we can raise awareness. In raising awareness we will eliminate that deficit.

You heard from the member for Shortland that only around 21 per cent of Australians suffering from this disease have an action plan, and that is something that needs to improve. Four or five years ago, despite the fact that my condition was chronic, I was one of those people, but I can say to anyone listening to this contribution that my life has improved immeasurably as a result of my asthma plan and the fact that I now comply with it.

For example, with my asthma, which is my constant companion whether I am here in Canberra, home in my electorate or on the road generally, I am in tune with my condition. I know when I am beginning to feel unwell, and I follow the steps set out in my asthma plan. Instead of waiting for a GP consultation that might take a week or more, wherein my condition will deteriorate to the point where I become very unwell, I can begin actions towards addressing my own condition and then follow that up with a meeting with my general practitioner, which invariably goes along the lines of: 'This is the action I took. It was in line with my asthma plan, and I am on the road to recovery.'

Significantly, healthcare expenditure on asthma nationwide is some $600 million. It is a significant cost to the taxpayer and it behoves all policymakers in this place to gain a better understanding of asthma, the condition and how it affects approximately 10 per cent of our constituents. I was surprised to learn that about 50 per cent of the sufferers above the age of 50 have not been diagnosed. This, of course, dramatically increases the chances that an attack in that setting will prove fatal. I cannot stress enough the importance of diagnosis in mitigating the more serious effects of asthma. I often hear people cough and—Mr Deputy Speaker Southcott, and given your profession, one that you are about to return to, I am sure you are aware of this—I know it is an asthma cough. I often say to them: 'You need to speak to your doctor about that. It is clearly asthma.' And they will often just blow it off as a cold or a flu. It is not and they need to speak to their GP about it.

I am proud of the work of the Parliamentary Friends of Asthma in this place and of this motion. I encourage all members to come to a better understanding of this condition. Sure, it can present as a mild condition, but it can also be a fatal condition. As I said, it kills approximately eight Australians per week. I hope that I have raised awareness so that more and more people take the opportunity to get themselves an asthma plan.

Stephen Jones (Throsby, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I congratulate the member for Shortland for putting this matter on the agenda in parliament today, it being National Asthma Week. I also want to congratulate the member for Barker for his insight as a person living with asthma and for the plans that he has in place to deal with it.

As we have heard already, it is close to eight people a week—that is, by the end of the day it is more than likely that another person in Australia will have died because of their asthma. The quality of life of somebody living with asthma, unless it is well managed, is severely impacted. We should care about asthma and its impact on individuals for that factor alone. We also know it can be a considerable strain on families and carers and productivity within the workplace. The direct medical cost is about $600 million a year. Over half of that is in pharmaceuticals and a significant amount in acute hospitalisations. So it is right that we have a conversation. The rates of asthma in Australia are some of the highest in the world. We do not know why that is, but more money into research and understanding of this condition will help us to understand. Hopefully, over the time that I am a member of this parliament, we will know more about the causes and perhaps the cure.

The most recent data tells us that about 10.2 per cent of Australians, around 2.3 million people, are living with asthma. Overall, males and females reported similar rates of asthma—roughly 9½ per cent for males and 10 per cent for females—but there is one group of Australians for whom there is a significantly higher rate of asthma, and I would like to spend a bit of time talking about them. They are our first Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. There is an almost 50 per cent higher incidence of asthma in this group of people. Fifteen per cent of Indigenous Australians are living with asthma—in fact, it is the second most commonly reported illness. There are a number of differences in the asthma statistics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. There is a high prevalence amongst older people and also amongst those who are living in remote locations. There is a higher death rate than in the general population, which means it is not being managed properly. There are higher hospitalisation rates for asthma, something that would not always be necessary if it was being managed properly, and we think there is a link with nearly double the rate of smoking in Indigenous populations, which is of particular concern. I would use this as an opportunity to encourage all members of this house to rethink the strategy of cutting $130 million out of Indigenous-specific antismoking programs.

Relatively high rates of exposure of children to passive smoking is relevant, and we know that there are fewer asthma relevant inhalants being used by Indigenous children as well. So, sadly speaking, those people with the highest incidence are less likely to have a plan in place and less likely to be treating it properly.

Many people have grown up with asthma and think that they can grow out of it. We know, and I know this from relatives of my own: you are never completely free of the condition. It is important that you are continually putting in place management plans, consulting with your GP and ensuring that they are aware of your condition. If you are waking up breathless, wheezing, coughing or if you are struggling to keep up with normal activity, these are indications that you probably do have a condition and you should be consulting your doctor.

It is of concern that only 21 per cent of Australians have a written asthma action plan. If we can do anything through this parliamentary debate and throughout the course of Asthma Awareness Week, we need to increase that rate significantly. It will take about five to 10 minutes I am told and, if you have got one in place, you are less likely to be hospitalised and less likely to be one of those people amongst that terrible mortality rate.

In concluding, I want to say there are some things that we can do to reduce the risks, in addition to having a management plan in place and ensuring that our ventolin and other inhalers are on hand—that is, to reduce the smoking rates. It is of deep concern that the smoking rates amongst people with asthma are no less than that within the general community and, if we can do something to reduce the mortality and the risk rate, this is a place to start.

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

Thank you. I rise to support to motion of the member for Shortland and, in doing so, I support National Asthma Week. Asthma is a condition of the airways in which sensitivity to environmental factors causes the airway to narrow, making it difficult to breathe.

Many Australians would be unaware of how prevalent asthma is in this country. The numbers quoted in the text of the motion are indeed startling. In Australia, asthma affects one in four children, one in seven adolescents and one in 10 adults. That is a total of 2.3 million asthma sufferers in Australia alone. Even more Australians may have undiagnosed asthma, particularly in older age groups. It is estimated that more than half of people aged over 55 with asthma have not been diagnosed.

The prevalence of asthma in Australia is high by international standards for reasons that are not fully understood. What we do know is that asthma prevalence in children and young adults has fallen slightly in recent years. Curiously, asthma affects more boys than girls in the 0-14 years age group, but more females than males aged 15 years and over. The majority of asthma sufferers have what is described as mild or very mild asthma with only occasional attacks. However, a minority suffer from persistent asthma that requires ongoing daily management.

The large number of asthma sufferers in Australia has a significant cost impact on the Australian economy. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare estimated that expenditure on asthma was $655 million in 2008-09 or, to put it another way, almost one per cent of the total allocated health expenditure in Australia. There is no single trigger that causes asthma. Every case is different; however, common triggers include aerosol sprays, air pollution, dust mites, pets and pollen.

There are also differences in how symptoms are experienced. Most common symptoms are shortness of breath, wheezing, chest tightness and a dry, irritating and continual cough. Anyone with these persistent symptoms is strongly encouraged to seek further advice from their GP.

If not managed properly, asthma can lead to hospitalisation and even, in extreme cases, death. In 2012, there were 394 deaths in Australia attributed to asthma. While rates of hospitalisation and mortality due to asthma are on the long-term decline, it serves to highlight the importance of proper management of the condition. Of concern is that it is estimated that up 90 per cent of people who have asthma inhalers do not use them correctly, which puts them at an increased risk of an asthma flare-up or attack. The good news is that asthma can be controlled with medication and lifestyle changes. There are a variety of treatments available and Asthma Australia recommends consulting your GP for advice on which method will work best for you. Having a healthy diet and an active lifestyle helps with the management of asthma, as does maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding smoking and minimizing stress—a bit difficult in this place!

Asthma awareness week is not just about educating asthma suffers themselves. Any person with asthma can have a flare-up of symptoms at any time. With so many Australians living with asthma, it is just as important that those around them are aware of the signs of an asthma flare-up or attack and know what to do when they occur. Asthma Australia advises that, if a person has obvious difficulties breathing, cannot speak a full sentence in one breath, is coughing or wheezing or is not responding to their usual reliever medication, bystanders should call triple 0 immediately. If you have a family member who has asthma, it may be worth learning Asthma first aid. There is a standard procedure that can be followed by adults and children. Further details are available on the Asthma Australia website.

Asthma Australia is not only dedicated to raising awareness of asthma; it also funds the National Asthma Research Program, which offers general research grants and scholarships to support understanding of new and more effective treatments for asthma. Donations are welcome from the general public, with the hope that one day a cure will be found.

The more we understand about asthma, the better we are able to diagnose it, treat it and manage it. The downward trend in hospitalisations and deaths from asthma is a promising sign that the message is getting out there. I commend Asthma Australia for the good work that they are doing, not just in raising awareness but also in raising funding for research into treatments and potential cures. I thank the member for Shortland for bringing the motion to the House today.

Debate adjourned.