Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In politics one receives plenty of free advice, largely unsolicited. I was very glad that I was here in the chamber tonight to hear my friend the member for Paterson say: 'Nuclear should have started in this country 50 years ago.' Well, I say to the member for Paterson, who is still in this chamber: nuclear started in this country 66 years ago, in 1958, and it started in my electorate of Hughes in Lucas Heights.

Today in question time, the Prime Minister attempted to give me some free advice whilst at the same time largely not answering my question. My question to the Prime Minister was about the storage of waste at the existing Lucas Heights nuclear medicine and research facility, which is in my electorate. The reason for this question was because the Prime Minister does not appear to understand nuclear medicine.

The nuclear technology and innovation at Lucas Heights, located within my electorate, is in the Prime Minister's home state and a mere 27 kilometres from his Grayndler electorate office. I would invite the Prime Minister to come out and look at the facilities at Lucas Heights. My question today related to something which I am very proud of in my electorate: the fact that Australia has a viable nuclear industry consisting of many extraordinarily brilliant scientists, researchers and technicians, and that industry exists at Lucas Heights in my electorate.

The Prime Minister's response today was to point out, 'Lucas Heights is not a suburb'. It is, Prime Minister. Look it up on Google. It is a suburb. He said that nobody lives there and that I should direct mail Lucas Heights in the election campaign that is coming up. Well, Lucas Heights is one of the outstanding suburbs and locations within my electorate, and there are quite a few things at Lucas Heights. Lucas Heights Community School, for example, which I visited on 10 November last year, and which I have spoken about in this place before. I visited there with the honourable member for Macarthur, a member of the Prime Minister's own government, when that school launched its First Nations wellbeing hub. The Prime Minister unfortunately was absent from school that day. Also at Lucas Heights we have a childcare centre, which provides childcare services to hundreds of children, assisting parents in my electorate and the surrounding suburbs, supporting the work of the workers at Lucas Heights, workers for whom the Prime Minister today in question time appeared to have no regard.

So the Prime Minister gave me some free advice around election campaigning today—to direct mail. I can assure the Prime Minister, as we are coming into this election, that I will be taking that advice. I will continue to be campaigning the way that I have done since I entered this place, which is through going out and listening to the people, and visiting important facilities within my electorate, including the facility at Lucas Heights and including the many people in the surrounding suburbs of Lucas Heights—suburbs such as Barden Ridge, Engadine, Bangor and Heathcote. I will be continuing to talk to all of those people, and many of them proudly work at Lucas Heights. It is disappointing that the Prime Minister today appeared to be so dismissive of them, so condescending. It is disappointing that the Prime Minister was unable to acknowledge the important work being carried out on nuclear medicine and research at Lucas Heights.

For the benefit of the Prime Minister and for those on the other side, nuclear medicine is the process that introduces radiation or radioactivity to the human body to diagnose and treat a variety of diseases and conditions. Each week between 10,000 and 12,000 radioisotopes are produced that allow detection of life altering conditions. I will mention just a few of those treatments: diagnostic radiology, X-rays—for the Prime Minister—scans that involve radioactive substances, CT scans and radiotherapy—treatments commonly used in cancers. Let's look at the fact that 77,000 people received radiotherapy treatments each year. In 2023, more than 22,000 Australian women received this treatment for breast cancer, with over 4,000 for ovarian cancer and 2,000 for cervical cancer.

I invite the Prime Minister to educate himself about the benefits of nuclear medicine in this country.