In my immediate family, five out of six of us have had suspicious spots or skin lesions removed. Thankfully, not every suspicious spot turns out to be cancer, but, when almost everyone around your family table has experienced that worry, it brings home just how common this is. In Tasmania, it's particularly concerning. We have one of the highest melanoma rates in the country, second only to Queensland. It's easy for us to think that our cooler climate somehow protects us, but anyone who's spent a summer in Tasmania knows you can be wearing a jumper and yet still get sunburnt. You don't have to feel hot for the sun to be doing damage.

As National Skin Cancer Action Week approaches from 15 to 22 November, I ask Australians, particularly Tasmanians, to do two things. First, protect your skin before the damage is done. In northern Tasmania, so much of our life happens outdoors—working on a farm in the north-east, taking the kids to Bridport for the day, gardening or cheering on the kids from the sidelines at a weekend sporting event. We love these things about where we live. We're so privileged to live where we do, and we should be able to enjoy the outside safely.

As a former teacher, I know how much effort schools put into sun safety and how very trying it can be to make kids wear hats. We remind them constantly: 'Put your hat on. Put your hat on. Put on sunscreen. Make sure you find shade.' But somewhere along the way we become adults who often forget this very critical advice. For our farmers, tradies, council crews or anyone working outdoors, protecting your skin should be as ordinary a part of a day as putting on your work boots. I acknowledge the Cancer Council and the incredible work they do. Part of that work is recommending all five forms of sun protection when the UV index reaches 3 or above: slip on protective clothing, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat, seek shade and slide on sunglasses. And please check the UV and not the temperature. I don't know many people who are doing that yet in Tasmania, but that's something we're going to be working on.

My second request is to get to know your skin and please don't put off getting any sort of skin changes checked quickly. Two in three Australians will develop some form of skin cancer in their lifetime. Behind that statistic are people waiting for test results and feeling enormous relief when a spot might be harmless or facing the very frightening news when it's not. It's really easy to think, 'I'll get around to having that checked.' Life's busy, and a small mark might not seem urgent. I suspect a lot of us here, who are very busy, possibly put off doing that ourselves. But this is my call to action for myself and for others. If a spot appears or changes in size, shape or colour, please try and book an appointment. It could be a GP or it could be a specialist if you can get into one. I know that is particularly hard in Tasmania right now. If you've had skin cancer before or you think you might be at higher risk, ask your doctor how often you should have that professional check done. Put it in your calendar. Prebook it. For some people, it might mean every six to 12 months. That early detection can make a real difference.

The Albanese government is investing $15 million into national prevention campaigns, supporting Cancer Council Australia's great work. We're supporting that work towards a targeted melanoma screening road map and funding cancer nursing and navigation services to help patients find the care and support that they desperately need when times get most tough.

I thank Cancer Council Tasmania for the incredible work that they do. It has been a privilege to join their five-kay run. It's been a privilege to join Relay For Life. The work that they do, the work that their volunteers do, is phenomenal, and it does change lives. Thank you to the doctors and nurses, the researchers, the community orgs that are standing beside families from diagnosis and right through treatment. None of us needs to wait for this campaign to actually take action, though. So please make sun protection part of your routine. Take a few minutes to check your skin regularly or, like I'm going to do, make that appointment that you have been putting off. The hope is simple: we want more summers, more birthdays, and more ordinary days with those people that we love.