David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Sudden cardiac arrest can impact people of all ages, genders and lifestyles. It does not discriminate. Approximately 10 per cent of people who experience a cardiac arrest outside of hospital survive. However, if good-quality and timely CPR and AED are utilised, survival rates can increase to 70 per cent. That is where the work of organisations such as St John Ambulance comes in. St John Ambulance asks governments, partners, funders and communities to get behind public access to defibrillators.

Working together with StreetBeat, an initiative led by GoodLoop Mutual in partnership with St John Ambulance ACT, I sponsored the installation of one of these life-saving devices in my community. I was also able to run community training on how to use this AED last week, in recognition of Heart Week. This program has so far installed 47 publicly accessible AEDs across Canberra. Last week, it was announced that, due to the generosity of people such as Mat Franklin and Capital Chemist, we will see an AED installed in every residential suburb in Canberra, making our city one of the first in the world to achieve this. Every Australian should have access to this life-saving equipment. Any Australian can learn first aid and how to use one. I commend St John Ambulance and GoodLoop Mutual for working to make this a reality.

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