Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to draw the attention of the Minister for Health and Ageing to an excellent health program currently available to constituents of Tangney and surrounding areas in Perth. It is called Healthy Lifestyle and it is for people with type 2 diabetes or multiple risk factors for heart disease. It is run by the Canning Division of General Practice, and I am proud to say that the diabetes educator, Beverley Mackay, is a constituent of mine. I am also pleased that this program, a very farsighted and well targeted program, was introduced during the Howard government.

Beverley Mackay and her colleagues, including dietician Andrea Ryder and coordinator Amanda Crook, provide a brilliant service, especially in the areas of diabetes support and education. They provide an eight-hour course for two hours per week, giving advice on exercise, diet, stress reduction and other diabetes related issues. The course is free. The feedback from participants is overwhelmingly positive.

Unfortunately, I understand that it is currently only open to people referred by their doctors—that is, those who have a current medical condition or who are at imminent risk. If we are genuinely serious about preventative medicine, we should now be looking to expand these courses and make them available to people who really want to have a healthier lifestyle but do not know where to start. The government should investigate the possibility of charging a relatively small fee for nonpatients to participate and even perhaps refunding part of the cost if the goals set—weight loss, for example—are achieved.

Many participants also said they would be happy to pay a small fee to be able to buy a copy of a DVD of the exercise regime, were one to be made, to assist them to continue effective exercise regimes once the program had finished. This suggestion would seem to be tailor made for a collaborative project by university students in health and media, which would have great benefits for my constituents and others and also help fund the program.

Speaking of funding the program, as this is such a successful and effective program with the potential to do so much more, I would like an assurance from this government that funding will continue, if not until 2050—which seems to be the Prime Minister’s favourite year to quote—then at least for another decade. Will the minister continue to fund this program? I look forward to the minister’s response.