Ruth Webber (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will make some brief remarks about Breaking the silence: a national voice for gynaecological cancers, as unfortunately time did not permit me to comment when the government’s response to this committee report was tabled earlier in the week.

I firstly want to congratulate the government for responding to this committee report. There has been some discussion here of late about when governments respond to committee reports. I am one of the newer, although by no means the newest, members of this place and in my experience this has been a remarkably rapid and very timely response. Those of us who were involved in this inquiry know that the main reason for that was the tenacity of Senator Ferris. As members of the committee said at the time the report was tabled: that Senator Ferris was prepared to share such a difficult and painful personal journey, and expose it in the public domain in order to try to achieve some public policy changes and outcomes for other women, is something that cannot be commented on too often or too highly. I am sure it has been an incredibly painful journey for her and that it continues to pose challenges.

It is only through Senator Ferris and others coming forward that the rest of the community can have a debate about the need to break the silence on the treatment of these terrible cancers. They affect many women in Australia and they are the silent killer for many women. We need to have the discussion, the education and the research, and we do need to expand treatment. That is what the committee sought to do when it handed down its unanimous report and I must say the government in its initial comments has gone a long way towards helping us achieve that. I note that it has agreed to the committee’s recommendation of $1 million in seed capital for a centre to coordinate research, education and treatment relating to gynaecological cancers and that it will go to Cancer Australia.

I think it is important to note, however, that the government is placing a lot of faith in Cancer Australia and a lot of pressure on what is a very new body. It is important for all of us here to maintain our focus and maintain our interest in how that body is operating to ensure that it gets the support it needs to do all the things that the government has said—not just in responding to the ‘Peter Cook report’, for want of a better title, but also in responding to this report. The bar is very high for them. There are very high expectations. They have some brilliant people working with them, but they are going to need our constant vigilance and constant support.

It is also important that we note in this place the important role that not just Senator Ferris but other people such as Senator Conroy’s partner have chosen to play after overcoming a very confronting personal illness and using it to raise the awareness of other women and other decision makers in this community. It is a very painful and very personal experience. To be prepared to share that with anyone in Australia who will listen and to be so committed to ensuring other women do not suffer similar pain is something that cannot be spoken of too highly. It is important that we acknowledge their significant contribution and that we maintain our vigilance over Cancer Australia. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.