Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with great pride and honour today that I am able to stand here and represent the ongoing dedication and commitment of one of my La Trobe constituents, Kerri Cassidy. Kerri Cassidy has dedicated the last seven years to raising awareness on behalf of people with multiple sclerosis, commonly known as MS, and other neurological diseases, for them to have equitable access to angioplasty treatment for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, referred to as CCSVI.

Kerri has had this treatment herself and she is passionate about helping other people with MS. Angioplasty is the surgical repair and unblocking of a blood vessel commonly known as the coronary artery. This treatment is required for a person who is diagnosed with CCSVI, as the flow of blood in the veins draining the central nervous system has been compromised.

Kerri Cassidy introduced herself to me in 2014 as CEO of CCSVI Australia. She has played a vital role in the ongoing research to confirm the requirements for MS diagnosed patients to have financial assessment for the treatment of CCSVI through the Medicare system. As Kerri explained to me, if you do not have MS, you are entitled to get a Medicare rebate for this; if you do have MS, you cannot. To me, that seems very unfair.

Kerri has inspired a community of professionals and other neurological disease sufferers to work together in groundbreaking research. To date, 80 per cent of the treatment patients in this study have had results displaying measurable improvements in disability, cognition and quality of life.

Kerri is actively seeking bipartisan support from the Australian government to review the medical evidence collected. She is actively seeking financial support to be available for the treatment of CCSVI through Medicare. This has the potential to relieve the financial burden of nearly four million Australians.

This is also a huge congratulations to Kerri. This week, in Parliament House, she was part of the 2016 National Disability Awards, which she attended with her husband, Glenn. It was a great pride to witness Kerri Cassidy being recognised and rewarded as a joint winner of this year's Excellence in Justice and Rights Protection Award. This is something Kerri can be very, very proud of. 3 December is the 2016 International Day of People with a Disability. Kerri, you have achieved so much and you are achieving so much for others. Thank you so much for what you do.