Gabriel Ng (Menzies, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

That's right! Thank you to the member for Bruce! When caught early, 96 per cent of men survive for at least five years after diagnosis.

These last facts were particularly striking for me. Thanks to these men, and because I have a family history of prostate cancer, I prioritised getting a PSA test when I got my over 40s health check. I've caught up with the Box Hill Prostate Cancer Support Group a couple of times since, including at the recent Whitehorse Spring Festival. They were getting out into the community, putting themselves out there to raise awareness. And even though they met resistance from some of the men they approached, they wanted to make sure other men got tested early and were aware of the risks.

As men, we often put our health last. If something isn't falling off or sticking out at a weird angle, we don't worry about it. But we need to talk about our health more and we need to be more proactive in managing it—not just for ourselves but also for our families, for our kids—and because catching problems early lessens their impacts and even prevent deaths. Perhaps for this reason, the awareness of prostate cancer and the importance of catching it early is not where it needs to be. That is why I am proud to be part of the Albanese Labor government, which is standing up for men's health. We're investing more than $32 million in men's health initiatives, including $11.3 million to Movember to provide men's healthcare training to primary healthcare workers. This will mean more than 60,000 doctors and nurses will be able to support men to get the health care they need. Of course, this is on top of our other health initiatives, like our record investment in Medicare, which will mean more Australians can see a GP for free, as well as our increased training and support for new GPs and nurses.

Thank you to the Box Hill Prostate Cancer Support Group for supporting each other, for your advocacy to help me understand how the government can better support you and your families, and for raising awareness throughout our community to save lives and reduce the impacts of prostate cancer.

House adjourned at 19 : 59

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