Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Multicultural Engagement) Share this | Hansard source

At the outset I'd like to commend my good friend and colleague Senator Bilyk for her outstanding and diligent advocacy in relation to these matters over a number of years.

The National Cancer Screening Register Amendment Bill 2024 amends the National Cancer Screening Register Act 2016 to add lung cancer as a third 'designated cancer' to the coverage of the register. The National Cancer Screening Register is national electronic infrastructure which currently supports the delivery of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program and the National Cervical Screening Program. This bill will expand the register to include lung cancer screening along with bowel cancer and cervical cancer screenings. The new National Lung Cancer Screening Program was announced by the government last year and will allow screening to be available nationally to eligible individuals from July 2025. In line with Medical Services Advisory Committee advice, the NLCSP will target asymptomatic individuals aged 50 to 70 who have a history of cigarette smoking.

The coalition support this legislation—as we supported the establishment of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program—as we strongly support the intention of this register and screening program to increase rates of early detection of lung cancer in Australia. This builds on the work of the coalition to support better lung cancer outcomes across our country. On World Cancer Day in 2019 the coalition announced that we were inviting Cancer Australia to conduct an inquiry into the prospects, processes and delivery of a national lung cancer screening program in Australia. Following this announcement, Cancer Australia launched a consultation hub through which organisations and individuals could make submissions about the proposal. The coalition provided our commitment to establishing a lung cancer screening program pending the results of this inquiry and the approval of the medical expert panel. The National Lung Cancer Screening Program that has now been announced by the government is the culmination of the coalition's announcement back in 2019—this is a case of the current government continuing the good work of the previous government—resulting from Cancer Australia's feasibility assessment, which reported back in May 2023, and a recommendation from the Medical Services Advisory Committee. We welcome the government's decision to continue the important work we started in government to establish a lung cancer screening program. It is great to see that the coalition's commitment to this goal has now been realised.

The coalition understood that early diagnosis is integral to improved lung cancer outcomes, including better survival rates and better quality of life. Early detection and intervention, as Senator Bilyk said, literally save lives. In line with the coalition's intentions, the National Lung Cancer Screening Program will target high-risk individuals to detect lung cancer in its early stages to increase the likelihood of successful treatment and improve lung cancer outcomes. To facilitate the delivery of the program, the National Cancer Screening Register will be expanded through this legislation to support patients with their screening pathway. The inclusion of the National Lung Cancer Screening Program is a welcome step in preventing and detecting lung cancer amongst Australians and ensuring better health outcomes. Once again, the coalition supports this bill.