Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Diabetes is the leading cause of coronary heart disease, the leading cause of amputation and the leading cause of blindness. Yesterday in this place, with my co-chair of the parliamentary enemies of diabetes, the member for Moreton, we hosted a reception to announce the establishment of the Preserve Sight program. This is supported by a $1 million grant from the Commonwealth government for the first year, and I thank Minister Greg Hunt, who has been a very strong supporter of the diabetic community. He can be sure that we will continue to knock on his door about years 2, 3 and 4.

Importantly, this program is also supported by a $5 million commitment over five years from Specsavers and also supported by Vision 2020, Oculo, the Centre for Eye Research and RANZCO. The Centre for Eye Research in Australia estimates that more than a third of the people with diabetes will develop some form of diabetic eye disease in their lifetime. This means that, of the current 1.7 million Australians who reportedly have the disease, around 567,000 are likely to have or develop some form of diabetic retinopathy, which can lead to blindness. For those nearly 600,000 Australians who are facing an avoidable tragedy, this will be a lifeline. This has the ability, with early action, to save their eyesight, and that is a wonderful program.