Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the issue of polio awareness and the treatment of postpolio syndrome sufferers within my electorate of Flinders. In particular, I want to acknowledge the work of three groups within the context of the fact that October is Polio Awareness Month. Firstly, there is the Mornington Peninsula Post-Polio Support Group, which works with people who have both postpolio syndrome and late effects of polio—separate but related conditions. As part of that group, Fran Henke from my electorate has been a tireless champion along with the chairman, Dennis Lloyd, and others. She has raised the needs of polio sufferers—people who have passed through the polio stage and now suffer the legacy and the conditions which are associated with that illness.

On 28 October at the Sandhurst Club, the Frankston Peninsula eastern region polio day will be held, and I would urge all those who can to support it and to pay tribute to the work of the Mornington Peninsula Post-Polio Support Group. They are working with people with real needs. Because we have had such success, albeit imperfect, with the eradication of polio around the world, we often forget that there are many people in Australia who suffer the effects of postpolio syndrome and late effects of polio. These are real conditions, in many cases debilitating, and often there is embarrassment or a lack of confidence among people who wish to bring forward these concerns.

That brings me, secondly, to the work of Rotary. Rotary is a sterling organisation which does many things. Its work on polio eradication around the world is perhaps its single most important contribution. That task is not yet complete. There are a number of countries where more work is still to be done. I have examples before me from Dennis Lloyd: in India, Somalia, Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as Nigeria and elsewhere, there are ongoing cases of polio. But Rotary, and in particular the groups on the Mornington Peninsula, at Western Port and on the Bass Coast who have contributed to the global task, deserve great credit for the extraordinary steps they have taken to date.

The third group I want to acknowledge is Polio Services Victoria. This group of men and women do a great job in addressing the needs of polio sufferers. They would like to be better resourced and to have the ability to access greater data on those who suffer from either postpolio syndrome or late effects of polio. These are real and pressing concerns. It would be good if more could be done to assist Polio Services Victoria. Above all else, I draw the House’s attention to the fact that October is Polio Awareness Month. I thank and congratulate all of those groups— (Time expired)