Stirling Griff (SA, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) September is International Childhood Cancer Awareness Month,

  (ii) childhood cancers are mostly rare cancers with poor survival rates,

  (iii) as a group, rare and 'less common' cancers account for almost a quarter of all diagnoses and almost 40% of cancer deaths, and yet attract 13.5% of research funding,

  (iv) according to statistics supplied by Australian and New Zealand Children's Haematology/Oncology Group, about 710 children aged between 0 to 14 years are diagnosed with cancer each year, and about half of them are four years old or younger,

  (v) of children diagnosed with cancer, 100 die each year before the age of 15,

  (vi) brain cancer accounts for about 40% of childhood cancer deaths, followed by leukemia at 23%,

  (vii) according to Canteen, adolescents and young adults have experienced lower gains in five-year survival and death rates compared to young children and adults, partly because of poorer access to clinical trials, and

  (viii) during last year's election the Government pledged $20 million towards the Zero Childhood Cancer initiative, however, in the recent federal Budget, the Government pledged only $5.8 million over four years for research and clinical trials into childhood cancer; and

(b) calls on the Government to:

  (i) substantially increase its funding towards childhood cancer research and towards building an internationally-linked national network of cancer trials for all low survival cancers, and

  (ii) allow cancer drugs on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to be repurposed so that patients can access the appropriate cancer drug for their particular treatment needs, rather than restrict subsidised access only to the PBS-prescribed drug for their cancer type.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition government is providing record levels of funding for medical research and new treatments in the global fight against childhood cancers. Paragraph (a)(viii) of the motion is incorrect; we are funding both projects. Paragraph (b)(ii) is irresponsible. The suggestion that parliament should override our medical experts is wrong. We provided $20 million to the Zero Childhood Cancer initiative, which has already started enrolling patients. We are providing $5.8 million in funding for Cancer Australia to support new paediatric clinical trials, with the first project being AIM BRAIN. In the budget, we provided $68 million to build Australia's first proton therapy cancer treatment and research facility. Under the Medical Research Future Fund, we've provided $13 million in funding for rare cancers.

Question agreed to.