Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is timely that we are debating the motion moved by the member for Newcastle on dementia awareness, for a couple of reasons, and I congratulate the member for moving the motion. Next week, Dementia Awareness Week is being marked across the country with a series of events. But the motion is also timely due to the work we are currently undertaking in the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing. We have just heard the member for Hindmarsh talk about that. He mentioned our recent trip to Moree; on that trip he forgot his tie, and I see he is wearing the tie he bought in the main street of Moree—he is not listening, but it is a beautiful tie and I was glad to share a cup of coffee with him afterwards.

The disease that touches many families across Australia is Alzheimer's. It is always distressing for relatives to see the decline, sometimes gradual and sometimes rapid, of their loved ones, and we know that there are many tough decisions to be made in terms of arranging care. This situation has touched my own family recently with my mother being placed in a dementia ward in Victoria, down in Melbourne. To see the degradation in her mental faculties, in her mind, has been concerning to the whole family. But we know she is in a place which is very caring and that is looking after her. Whenever I get the chance I take the opportunity to visit her. It has been lucky that the health and ageing committee has had quite a few hearings in Melbourne, so I have been able to pop down and see her. But, as I said, this disease does touch many people.

In my role as the Deputy Chair of the House of Representative Standing Committee on Health and Ageing, which is currently inquiring into 'Dementia: early diagnosis and intervention', it is pleasing to see that we have had so many speakers here today and that there is a genuine will in the parliament to do what it takes to get to grips with the condition.

The headline on the Alzheimer's Australia website is, 'Fight Alzheimer's; save Australia', and it is true that, with our ageing population, cases of dementia are only going to grow and grow. They will double in the next 20 years. We must do all we can to assist organisations to conduct the research that might make a cure possible someday. We must promote early intervention programs, because if you can catch dementia early it makes a massive difference in the long term as to the quality of life of both the patient and the carers involved.

Our committee's terms of reference are to:

… inquire into and report on the dementia early diagnosis and intervention practices in Australia, with a particular focus on how early diagnosis and intervention can:

There have been a fair number of public hearings so far and there are more to come. We just heard the chair of the committee talk about some of our experiences. In Moree we heard about the lack of services in regional areas, and that is a real issue. That is probably why the member for Newcastle has brought this up, and if there is something that we can do to improve services and improve things for people who need care, hopefully that is what the result of our inquiry and our recommendations to the government will be.

I am particularly looking forward to the Perth public hearing, which is due to be held soon. We are fortunate in my electorate of Swan to have Southcare, which offers aged care services including dementia respite services at their Bickley Club facility. As we heard during the inquiry, respite is important particularly for carers as theirs is a thankless job. That is one of the areas where the committee will have some good recommendations.

As the member for Newcastle's motion notes, dementia is the greatest cause of disability in Australians aged 65 years and over, and we need services that can cater for this across the community. I have had a great relationship with Southcare over the years, and I have been to a couple of openings of new buildings in the last few years. There will be further opportunity to debate the findings and I am sure that we all hope the member for Newcastle will be able to make a contribution to the debate during our committee hearing.

Part two of the motion recognises the significance of Dementia Awareness Week in promoting and advocating the needs of those suffering with dementia, their families and their carers. I am pleased to note that as part of this week Perth will be hosting an event called Brain Health—Making the Connections.

I again congratulate the member for Newcastle for bringing this motion before the House.

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