David Van (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Urgent action is needed to tackle Australia's biggest killer—heart disease. Cardiovascular disease is the underlying cause of one in four deaths in Australia and costs over $12.7 billion. The Heart Foundation has identified several initiatives to tackle this big killer of Australians, a disease that is largely preventable—that is, rheumatic heart disease. One initiative that has captured my heart is the Remote Laundries project. Australia has some of the highest rates of rheumatic heart disease globally, a disease that is substantially caused by disadvantage.

Alarmingly, eight in 10 Aboriginal children in remote areas are afflicted with disease such as scabies by their first birthday. Without treatment, scabies can lead to severe health issues including kidney and heart disease and rheumatic heart disease. The cure is clean bedding, towels and clothes, which are taken for granted by most Australians but which are crucial to remaining healthy. However, access to washing machines and hot water in remote communities is harder than you would think. Remote community laundries fill this gap and have had enormous success including a 60 per cent reduction in scabies since the project began. I want to send a heartfelt thank you to Fred Scrubby from the Barunga laundry, Sam Autio from the Darwin laundry, Miriam Wurrawilya from the Angurugu laundry and Renelda Wurramara from the Milyakburra laundry and all the staff and volunteers who are helping clean up this disease one wash at a time.