Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today is Eczema Awareness Day, and Monday 14 September is World Atopic Eczema Day. Deputy Speaker Freelander, as one of the nation's most pre-eminent paediatricians, you understand more than anyone in the House the importance of these days to lift awareness of eczema, because it is very badly misunderstood. A lot of people think that eczema is a condition which only affects young people or is only a mild malady—a rash on the back of the hand or something like that—but the truth is it is much more serious. There are over 1.6 million Australians experiencing eczema as we speak, and some of those—in fact, around one in five—suffer from a more severe form of the condition. Severe eczema is not just a rash; it's a chronic inflammatory condition. It is painful, it is itchy and it includes dryness, cracking, redness, crusting and oozing. These physical symptoms often have mental health implications. Forty per cent of Australians with severe eczema suffer depression and anxiety, and 85 per cent have trouble sleeping. Put simply, their quality of life is badly and sometimes permanently affected. This is no minor issue.

The good news—and there is good news—is, thanks to medical research and innovation, for the first time in 30 or maybe 40 years new treatments are offering hope to people with severe eczema. The first of these new treatments to be available in Australia is a drug called Dupixent. I heard firsthand about the benefits of Dupixent at an event in Parliament House in February. Sufferers described how this drug had turned their condition and their lives around. These were very moving stories, including from some very young people. This is very encouraging because the Therapeutic Goods Administration, the TGA, has approved the drug as safe and effective and PBAC, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, the independent experts, have recommended to this government that it be listed on the PBS. In making the recommendation, the PBAC acknowledged the significant reduction in the extent of the disease and improved patient quality of life, as well as the high clinical need.

This recommendation came in March. It has been recommended to government. It has not yet been listed on the PBS. The Minister for Health talks a big game when it comes to PBS listings but he doesn't play a big game. He doesn't actually deliver anywhere near as much as he says he does. The Minister for Health should list Dupixent on the PBS. It is a life-changing drug. There is no excuse. It was recommended six months ago. We've given the minister time. I didn't expect him to list it a day after it was recommended or a week after it was recommended, but he has now had six months. This costs $1,600 a month—far too much for most Australians. Australians are suffering more than they need to because the minister hasn't listed Dupixent. He should list it on the PBS.