Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There's nothing more thrilling in this job than when you get to see an almost magical change occur in someone's life as a result of something that a government has done. At the top of my mind right now is the recent decision by the government to list the medicine Orkambi on the PBS for children over the age of six years with the most common strain of cystic fibrosis. This medicine will provide over 1,200 people across Australia with a longer and better quality of life. The official line is that will be saving their families about a quarter of a million dollars a year each, but, of course, the reality is that but for this medicine being listed on the PBS almost none of these patients would have been able to afford it or receive it. So it's life changing for the patients and their families. That's what government should be all about: delivering these essential services.

I've met with many people and many families over the past two years and heard their impactful stories about the daily and long-term challenges they face with cystic fibrosis. I remember one lady in particular who came up to my mobile office—I think it was at Teneriffe—on the side of the road and told me about how being involved in a clinical trial for Orkambi had enabled not just her but also her partner to return to the workforce. That's two people who have regained the security and dignity of work and, more importantly, regained their independence and their lives. I think that's what the Prime Minister probably means when he talks about a fair go for those who have a go. So congratulations to the entire cystic fibrosis community, who've worked so hard over many years to achieve this result. I'm thinking in particular of the tireless advocacy of Petrina Fraccaro, who's the CEO of Cystic Fibrosis Queensland. She and her team have done a lot of work to make this landmark PBS listing a reality.

Orkambi is not the only instance where the federal government has stepped up and committed to funding life-changing medicines. Yesterday, the Minister For Health advised the House that two new medicines have been listed—one for 22,000 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and another for the 140,000 Australian families who have a child affected by ADHD. Other recent examples include medicines for patients with neck and head cancer and rare types of leukaemia, new medicines for hepatitis C and diabetes and new treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and spinal muscular atrophy. Without all these medicines being listed on the PBS patients would only be able to obtain their benefits if they could afford the often hugely significant costs, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. That's a total of 18,070 new medicines that have been listed or amended under this government. That's one a day, and that is a great track record for this government.