Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to draw to the attention of the House an Age article run last Saturday and written by Chris Johnston that outlined some of the incredibly debilitating health issues facing Wyndham and its suburbs in the electorate of Lalor. The title of the article was 'Wyndham region home to Victoria's sickest suburbs'. It cited the Social Health Atlases of Australia, developed by the University of Adelaide. Sadly, my community has the highest rates of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, mental health issues, bad teeth, obesity and asthma. Type 3 diabetes is rising fast: 6½ people are diagnosed each week. A state survey shows that 74 per cent of Wyndham people do not exercise. The article bemoaned, as I do, the cruel and short-sighted cuts in this government's budgets to programs funded under federal Labor directly targeted to address these issues. I know these programs were working locally. They were reaching into schools, early childhood centres and workplaces. They have reached, by local government's measurement, 28 per cent of the population to date. This government's continued cuts to health care are hurting communities across this nation. They are hurting my community of Lalor. They need to reinstate this funding immediately.