Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Askew and I are the co-chairs of the Parliamentary Friends of Parkinson's, and it is my great pleasure today to inform the Senate of some exciting developments with regard to Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease is a progressive nervous system disorder which over 150,000 Australians are currently living with. The symptoms can be treated with a combination of medicine, surgery and lifestyle changes, but there is no cure.

Last month, a highly successful symposium on Parkinson's was hosted by the University of Tasmania, with more than 500 people attending either online or in person. I was greatly encouraged to hear from the guest speaker, Professor Glenda Halliday, about the current research efforts, particularly the high level of multidisciplinary collaboration taking place today, which is accelerating our understanding of Parkinson's disease. The University of Tasmania has also established the Tasmania Parkinson's Project, which aims to improve the lives of people with Parkinson's through research and education. Since the launch of the project, over 1,000 people have registered. This is a really great result, considering that the more people register for the project, the more they can do to improve care, research and education.

Finally, next week a national summit on Parkinson's disease will be held here in Parliament House, and it will be my distinct honour to be addressing this summit as a co-chair of the friendship group. The summit will host the National Parkinson's Action Plan Taskforce, a new nationally coordinated body of researchers, clinicians and advocates. Initially the vision of my fellow Tasmanian—and Senator Askew's fellow Tasmanian as it turns out—Dr Harley Stanton, the group has rapidly grown from humble beginnings in 2021 to a unified and strong new voice for Parkinson's disease. The summit will be attended by the Governor-General, His Excellency General the Hon. David Hurley AC, and opened by Professor Carolyn Sue AM, a leading Parkinson's researcher.