Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am glad I had the chance on Q&A to rectify the inadmissible evidence of the Leader of the House, who did not know who the Deputy Speaker was. I rise to draw the House's attention to Food Allergy Awareness Week, which began yesterday, 12 May, and runs until Sunday, 18 May. Food Allergy Awareness Week is about raising awareness of the life-threating risks of severe food allergies and anaphylaxis which are rapidly increasing in Australia. Australia has one of the highest incidences of food allergy in the world. One in every 10 Australian babies aged 12 months have a food allergy and over the last 10 years the number of reported life-threatening reactions due to a food allergy has doubled.

While there is currently no cure for food allergy and anaphylaxis, they are manageable and most deaths are avoidable. But avoiding deaths requires being aware of just how serious the risks are, particularly to young children and teenagers in school and social environments. To help raise awareness, Allergy and Anaphylaxis Australia are asking people to paint one nail to represent the one in 10 people with a food allergy or adopt a food allergy for a day and see what it is like to manage a diet with a food allergy. One of the other important things in this area is obviously funding—funding of research into this important issue of concern. As a mother with a child with anaphylaxis I know all too well the issues of concern here. We need certainty around the funding. We need to ensure the budget gives certainty to funding so great programs like these can go on and no more children need die.(Time expired)