Zhi Soon (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the member for Hunter's motion. Like many of my colleagues have mentioned, September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, drawing attention to one of Australia's most commonly diagnosed cancers and the most commonly diagnosed cancer amongst Australian men. Sadly, in 2024, it was estimated that we lost more than 10 men to prostate cancer every single day. It is the simple but too often tragic reality that, if you can't get diagnosed, you can't get access to care, and, as the motion rightly notes, unfortunately, the barriers to diagnosis in our rural and remote communities are the largest, delaying access to timely care for patients. That is why access to general practitioners, specialists and the entire healthcare workforce is so important to detection, diagnosis, treatment and recovery for patients, and we acknowledge the life-changing, life-saving work that they do today.

This Labor government is working hard to improve the early detection and treatment of prostate cancer. In 2023, we invested $166 million in the Australian Cancer Nursing and Navigation Program, a first-of-its-kind initiative that improves access to high-quality, multidisciplinary and integrated cancer services for all patients, irrespective of their type of cancer or whether they live as part of the biggest investment in cancer nurses on record. In addition to this investment, there's $35.4 million over four years to continue supporting the prostate cancer nurses delivered by the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, an organisation that does fantastic work in this space.

The government has also listed a number of medications on the PBS to ensure life-changing treatments are affordable and accessible for all Australians. Earlier this year, talazoparib was listed for the first time to treat patients with metastatic prostate cancer and is expected to benefit 180 patients per year. Without this subsidy provided by the PBS, a course of treatment will cost patients around $101,000. Further, the government listed darolutamide for patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, making treatment accessible and affordable for about 5,000 men across this country.

Issues in the men's health space are incredibly complex. Statistics from Movember show that as many as two in every three men are foregoing health support due to real or perceived social pressures and gender stereotypes, with around half believing avoiding health check-ups is normal. We need to find ways to get men talking about their own health, and this government is partnering with Movember to provide training to primary healthcare workers and develop a strategy and a campaign to encourage men to visit the doctor. Often, the first step to diagnosing and treating prostate cancer is a trip to the GP and a simple blood test. I encourage men, especially those over 50 and with higher risk factors, to get to their GP to talk about the risks and the steps they can take to prevent and detect it. We have lost far too many men too early to prostate cancer. Don't leave it to chance.

This government takes health care seriously. You only need to look at our agenda to see that. For the first time ever, we have a Special Envoy for Men's Health to draw attention to men's health issues and to advocate for new and innovative solutions, particularly those in the mental health space. I can think of no better person in this Labor caucus for this role than the member for Hunter. Everyone in this place knows the depth of his passion for men's health, and he's thrown himself into this new role. I look forward to working with him to ensure that we lose fewer men too soon, be it to prostate cancer or to other mental health challenges. I thank him for bringing this very important motion to this parliament.

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