Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion moved by the member for Riverina. I am sure that I speak for all members of this parliament when I say that we should continue to invest in the areas of research, health services and education for the benefit of those suffering with the HIV-AIDS infection and the Australian community as a whole.

While Australia continues to have one of the lowest rates of new HIV diagnoses among similarly developed countries, in recent years there have been worrying trends in infection rates for HIV-AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections—trends which the previous government did little to address. Up to 2006 there were five successive increases in the annual number of diagnoses of HIV, to around five diagnoses per 100,000 population. In 2006 there were 998, almost 1,000, new notifications of HIV infection.

The statistics are similarly disturbing for other sexually transmitted infections. From 2005 to 2006 the rate of chlamydia increased by 12 per cent, continuing increases seen over the past 10 years. Gonorrhoea rates in 2006 increased by 29 per cent. Infectious syphilis increased from 3.1 per 100,000 people in 2004 to four per 100,000 in 2006. Respected data shows that, between 2000 and 2006, the number of new HIV diagnoses in Australia increased by 31 per cent. In Queensland the rate of diagnosed HIV infection in 2006 was four per 100,000 population.

HIV continues to be transmitted primarily through sexual contact between men, although particularly concerning are recent media reports that there has been a significant increase in the rates of sexually transmissible infections in Queensland, particularly in young children—although an unknown proportion of the cases in children could result from a related chlamydia strain that causes an infectious eye disease called trachoma rather than having been acquired through sexual contact. The data also shows that, although there was a similar rate of HIV diagnosis per capita in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous populations, a higher proportion of cases were attributed to heterosexual contact and injecting drug use in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.

Although HIV-AIDS is one of the more commonly known of the blood-borne virus infections, in recent years chlamydia has been the most frequently notified sexually transmissible infection in Australia. Queensland has the highest number, at over 12,200 cases, and the second highest rate, at around 890 cases per 100,000 Queenslanders. Young, sexually active people are overwhelmingly the most at risk. Because untreated chlamydia can also lead to infertility in infected women, the high prevalence rates in Australia in women aged between 15 and 29 are of serious concern. Currently there is a testing program aimed at increasing the awareness of chlamydia and improving screening processes and surveillance. The results of this program will inform improvements in chlamydia testing nationally.

The data on HIV-AIDS and other sexually transmissible infections in Australia emphasises the importance of federal and state governments taking an active role in dealing with all sexually transmissible infections. Obviously, it has been some years since we saw the grim reaper on our televisions, educating the Australian community about the risk of HIV-AIDS infection. At the time that campaign was very successful in bringing this issue to the forefront of people’s minds. This was especially the case for our young people. Of course, many of our youth and young adults today have never seen that advertising campaign. It is important that we keep a high awareness of the risk of HIV-AIDS and other sexually transmissible infections.

Since 2005, prevention activities have been guided by a national strategy aimed at reducing the transmission of not only chlamydia but also other sexually transmissible infections, in addition to providing leadership through the four national strategies that underpin the national prevention and education activities. The government provides considerable funding to support targeted prevention and management of such infections. However, the statistics show that these strategies have not resulted in a reduction in diagnosed infections. It is not only the statistics that are disturbing in relation to chlamydia, gonorrhoea and infectious syphilis diseases; as these diseases share many risk factors, they paint a very worrying picture for HIV infection rates in the future.

Clearly, the previous government fell asleep at the wheel. While Australia had a world-leading role in HIV-AIDS policy under the previous Labor government, this position was allowed to erode under the Howard government. In 2008 there are significant opportunities to redress this concerning trend. Reducing the transmission of HIV, other blood-borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections is a key area of the government’s preventative health agenda. The Australian government is committed to working in partnership with government and non-government organisations to refocus programs that help address rising rates of HIV-AIDS and minimise the personal and social impacts on those living with HIV-AIDS.

There are opportunities in a number of areas to strengthen the health system’s focus on preventative health, as one of the key priorities of the government. Consistent with this, the government will look at how existing resources can be refocused and used more effectively to help reduce the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmissible and blood-borne viral infections. The government acknowledges that effective partnerships between government, researchers, clinicians and affected communities have played a critical role in preventing and managing the spread of HIV to date and has committed in 2008 to reinvigorating this partnership approach.

The previous government allocated $9.8 million in the 2007-08 budget for a four-year national prevention program to raise awareness of sexually transmissible infections, including HIV, and encourage behavioural changes to reduce their prevalence and spread. However, it did nothing to implement this program. The Rudd government will move ahead to ensure this program is implemented as quickly as possible.

With regard to our leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, the Australian Agency for International Development is undertaking a review of Australia’s international HIV strategy. It is greatly concerning that the epidemic is still expanding in many Asia-Pacific countries, including Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Fiji, Vietnam and China. Papua New Guinea has been confirmed as experiencing a generalised epidemic affecting more than one per cent of adults. On the other hand, with comprehensive responses now in place and a history of leadership on the issue, the epidemics in Cambodia and Thailand are considered to be declining.

The Australian government provides $13.4 million per year to community based and research organisations that contribute to the development of prevention, education and research policies and programs. The government will ensure that it works closely with all key stakeholder groups and non-government organisations in refocusing our approach to HIV. Approximately $8.3 million of this funding is allocated annually to four national research centres to provide epidemiological data and undertake HIV clinical and social research, HIV and hepatitis virology research and research focusing on sex, health and society. Funding arrangements for community based and research organisations were reviewed in 2007. Future funding arrangements are presently being determined.

An amount of $814.7 million over the period 2004-05 to 2008-09 is being provided to states and territories through public health outcome funding arrangements. The states and territories are required to meet a range of performance measures including the development of local HIV strategies and health promotion activities. The government is looking to reform and improve performance and accountability for funding provided to states and territories through its reforms to Commonwealth-state financial relations.

In addition, stakeholder organisations have raised a number of complex issues about the ongoing effectiveness of Australia’s national response to HIV-AIDS. That is why officers from the Department of Health and Ageing have met with one of the key organisations to gain a better understanding of the issues from the sector’s perspective. This advice is informing consideration of the issues raised.

The Rudd Labor government is committed to reinvigorating the partnerships between governments, researchers, clinicians and affected communities. To this end, the government will be undertaking a review of the four strategies before they expire at the end of 2008 and will respond to other issues raised by the sector in coming months. Importantly, the review will help establish more explicit links between the strategies and state and territory implementation plans. The government is confident that a reinvigoration of the preventative health agenda in partnership with the states and territories and other relevant stakeholders will assist in tackling the rising rates of blood-borne virus and sexually transmissible infections. The Rudd Labor government looks forward to working in partnership with all of these groups to tackle these important issues in our community.

See this speech in context