Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to take this question from the member for Throsby, and I note that he refers to a condition called an inborn error of metabolism and that measures in the recent budget addressed the support that the government gives to those who are affected.

My office recently met with the Metabolic Dietary Disorders Association here in Parliament House, and we have kept in touch with the association since. I note that many of my colleagues on this side of the House have called me about this. You were among them, Madam Deputy Speaker, representing your electorate of Corangamite, as was the member for Swan, who we have just heard from. We have had telephone conversations, and from memory I believe I have had similar approaches from the members for Petrie, Boothby, Barker, Fisher and Macquarie.

I have taken these approaches very seriously, and one of the things that I have always tried to do as Minister for Health is to understand what the experience of an individual family or patient is. In having the conversations that I have had with our colleagues, I am aware that this is a very difficult condition. It difficult to live with. It is difficult for families and it is challenging for parents.

I have asked my department to provide me with some advice about how we might approach supporting those with this condition, without stepping away from what is on the record now in a formal sense in the budget. It is often children who are affected by this condition, but of course it continues into adulthood. I look forward to having more to say on this subject in the near future.

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