Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I stand here today as the co-chair of the Australian Tuberculosis Caucus, and I wish to acknowledge my other co-chair, the Hon. Matt Thistlethwaite. We are very capably, between the two of us, representing this issue here in this country. I also acknowledge my colleague and very good friend the Rt Hon. Nick Herbert, the British Conservative MP for Arundel and South Downs. Together with the South African health minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, Nick is the co-chair of the Global TB Caucus, as well as the co-chair of the UK's All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Tuberculosis. He is an example to those of us who would use our parliamentary positions to further the common good, whether it be around the corner, or around the world.

Yesterday Nick met with our parliamentary colleagues in the Australian Tuberculosis Caucus. We are currently a cross-party group of 20 parliamentarians focused on securing Australian support to end tuberculosis as a global epidemic. We are part of both the global caucus and the Asia-Pacific caucus, which I co-chair with my colleague Dr Helen Tan from the Philippines. At the most recent count there were 18 national tuberculosis caucuses, with a combined membership of 2,300 representatives from around 130 countries. It certainly is a powerful potential for global good that is being facilitated in large part by Nick Herbert. Most of my colleagues would not know that when I was young my mum spent a year in the Cairns Base Hospital recovering from tuberculosis, but in the modern era I, like Nick, believed this was a disease of the past. In 2005, Nick visited Kenya to see the country's TB and HIV s and the trip opened his eyes to the scale of the continuing TB epidemic.

Today, TB is the leading cause of death for people with HIV globally. In 2015, tuberculosis killed 1.8 million people, making it the world's greatest infectious disease killer. TB has, most assuredly, not gone away. Nick's own backyard, in London, has about 5,000 cases each year—one of the highest rates of tuberculosis among European capitals. His all-party parliamentary group often focuses on the burden of TB in Africa, so yesterday it was good for us to highlight for him the burden of disease in our region. While we in Australia may have it under control, the Asia-Pacific bears over 60 per cent of the global burden of tuberculosis. Our nearest neighbour, Papua New Guinea, has the highest rate of tuberculosis infection and the island of Daru in the Western Province, which borders my electorate, has one of the highest rates of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in the world.

I was at a delegation in South Africa in 2015 with RESULTS when I met Dr Jennifer Furin from Doctors Without Borders. Her comments on the TB burden in the Western Province were bleak. Dr Furin said:

I have been working with TB for over 20 years. I have worked in prisons in Russia, in Siberia, and many other high‐burden countries and in the most difficult of circumstances therefore nothing generally shocks me.

However, I was absolutely shocked and felt despair from what I saw in Daru, which was far worse than what I have ever experienced and the TB burden is horrific. Having said that, what is most despairing is the fact that with the right application this situation can be quite easily addressed.

Australia and Papua New Guinea share goals for increasing tuberculosis detection and treatment completion rates. I am pleased to say that we have backed this commitment with welcome financial support.

In 2015, Minister Bishop announced additional funding for tuberculosis control in PNG, taking Australia's assistance covering both the Western Province and National Capital District to $60 million over seven years. This commitment for funding concludes in 2017. Better tuberculosis identification and treatment in PNG will address the huge avoidable human and economic costs of the disease in that country since many of those who suffer from TB are of working age, and it will reduce the number of Papua New Guineans driven to seek treatment in Australia. In the long-term, Australia's commitment to the development of TB services in the Western Province and in Port Moresby will be bolstered by the development of stronger health systems in the entire country and will support sustainable local tuberculosis control infrastructure.

I would like to leave it at this point in time. I reserve my right to speak at the conclusion of the next speaker.