Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I would just like to respond to the government's response with reference to Lyme disease. I was part of the committee, and I am very grateful to former Senator John Madigan, who asked me to step in. This is one of the promises that I made and I am very grateful, so I have to thank former Senators Madigan and Dio Wang. As you would know, Mr Acting Deputy President, our load is quite big at times, being Independents, so we tried to share that workload around between us last time. And I am very grateful to have listened to what these Lyme disease sufferers have said.

I have noticed that it has caused controversy and conflict all over the world, especially in Australia, where we officially do not recognise Lyme disease. The medical and research professionals are polarised on this topic and have not come to an agreement. Instead of making it so difficult, they should just call it what it is: it is a tick-borne disease. But what we can agree on is that there are thousands of Australians suffering with tick-borne disease. We know that there are thousands of Australians who are misdiagnosed or told that it is all in their heads. We have thousands of Australians whose lives have been torn apart by this disease, and their families and friends are also suffering.

What else do we know? We know that when people get bitten by a tick they are coming down sick very shortly after, and they are coming down very sick. We know that these symptoms are being passed on to their children. We do know that tick-borne disease can be contracted overseas and we learnt on Sunrise this past weekend that there are five or six new and uniquely Australian varieties of the bacteria that cause tick-borne disease.

Just last week I attended the Senate committee hearing which looked into the growing evidence of an emerging tick-borne disease that causes illness in many Australian patients. I have heard both sides of the story and I have had a lot of people contact my office seeking help. What I have found is that there is still a lot that we do not know about this bacteria, about the pathogens and about tick-borne disease itself—and certainly about the variants that we have here in Australia. But denying that we have some sort of tick-borne disease in this country will not give us the answer as to why these people are extremely sick.

These are the questions that need to be asked, this is what people were telling the committee last week and it is what I have heard in the past and from John Madigan. I want to know if the symptoms can be sexually transmitted, or transmitted through blood or plasma products. What they are telling me is that it can stay dormant for 25 years after the bite. If this is true, then what is going on with our blood services? We need to get on top of this, and we need to get on top of it fairly quickly.

I want to know: if the new and uniquely Australian varieties of bacteria which cause Lyme disease or tick disease do not cause tick disease, what disease do they cause? We do not know how to treat or manage this disease—well, that is what most of the medical professionals are telling us, although we have a group of medical doctors that are telling us they have a 70 per cent success rate. I suggest we talk to them as soon as possible.

It is about time the professional bickering over the disease stopped and the government funded research to answer the questions surrounding the tick-bone disease. That way we can properly equip the medical professionals with the tools to diagnose and treat the thousands of people living in constant pain and misery. While the bickering continues and the government does not specifically fund research for the tick disease, victims of tick bites are not getting the help they need, and that is a real problem. It is also putting a great deal of strain on our public health system, and I think it is already under enough. As it stands, victims are getting a triple shot of chronic fatigue and being misdiagnosed with MS or lupus or anything else the doctor can excuse himself for when he cannot come up with an answer. I heard from a lady who spent seven years visiting doctors and specialists, and it was not until her blood was sent to the US—that is right: all the way to the US—that she was finally able to receive closure and was diagnosed with what they call Lyme disease, which basically is tick disease.

Government-funded research would shine a spotlight on this tick-borne disease and find closure for many sufferers, who just want to have their pain and suffering recognised and to be reassured it is not in their heads. It is actually real. Government-funded research would answer the questions I and many others have outlined: what is it and how could it be treated more importantly? And this is an opportunity for the research and medical professions to break new ground. How wonderful if we could find a cure for tick disease. That would be groundbreaking. There would be millions of sufferers around the world.

I will conclude by endorsing the recommendations of the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs on this issue, which include an ongoing inquiry in the 45th Parliament, and a recommendation to develop education and awareness programs for the public and the medical professionals regarding ticks, tick-borne illnesses, and classical Lyme-like disease contracted overseas or even in our own country and for the chief medical officer to continue consultation with the medical and patient communities. But I must emphasise these recommendations are meaningless if they are not backed up by a government commitment to fund research into tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease.

In concluding, I am very aware that Lyme disease is massive in America. As a matter of fact, most people that have been diagnosed with Lyme disease have their testing done either in America or in Germany. It is very hard to ignore the historic and unprecedented political events unfolding in America right now. It is more than likely that President Obama will be replaced by President Trump, and that opens the door to some great opportunities for Tasmania and Australia. I congratulate President Trump, his family and his team. He is a straight talker and we need more straight talkers in politics. I note that President Trump is opposed to the TPP trade deal, which undermines Australia's sovereignty, and I simply say: let's do a trade deal with American that benefits both our countries. After all, we are great friends and share a love of democracy and freedoms. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.