Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Friday I met a group of people who were inspirational in every way. I joined social workers Mark Silver and Fiona Riley for a meeting of their Parkinson's support group at the Elgin Street Centre in Hawthorn. Each week around a dozen men gather to share their experiences about living with Parkinson's. They are among the more than 750 people living in the electorate of Kooyong who are afflicted with the disease. These men range in ages, come from a remarkable variety of vocational and cultural backgrounds and have more than one trait in common. Their bravery and zest for life was obvious as they recounted wonderful stories from their time as a CEO of a leading corporation, a sport administrator and a medical practitioner. Dare I say it; one man was even a politician of note.

As I listened to these men talk about their experiences, including one who immigrated to Australia from the subcontinent and another from war torn Europe, I was struck by how debilitating this degenerative disease is. It is a condition of the central nervous system that affects a person's physical condition. There is no cure and no clear cause. Medication does help. This disease, first termed 'shaking palsy' by Dr James Parkinson in 1817, has altered the lives of so many people. It affects more than 100,000 Australians, including my great friend Sir Zelman Cowen, and more than 6.3 million worldwide. I know as I stand here today the best and brightest are desperately searching for a cure. One hopes that they find it soon. (Time expired)