Sophie Scamps (Mackellar, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. I like science and I like facts! It's been over a year since the Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport made 23 recommendations following its inquiry into the state of diabetes mellitus in Australia. With obesity costing our health system around $12 billion a year every year and the rate of diabetes in Australia reaching crisis point, when will the government release its response to this inquiry and get on with the job of improving the health of Australians?

Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Mackellar for the question and for the work she has been doing on that important committee. As I understand, it will continue in this term, chaired by the member for the Macarthur and deputy chaired by the member for Kooyong. That was a really impressive, ambitious report that I asked the committee to undertake. As the member probably more than anyone else in this place understands, this is one of the pressing public health challenges we have, driven in large part by poor diet and by rising levels of overweight and obesity. We are giving it very serious consideration. We will provide a formal response in due course. We are responding to a number of those recommendations.

In broad terms, a number of them go to food policy. That is now being led by the terrific new Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, who has responsibility for that area, particularly in relation to food labelling. Also one of the recommendations of the report, as I recall, goes to the dietary guidelines we have in Australia that are being reviewed now by the NHMRC as well as issues around marketing and advertising of unhealthy or junk food to children. We have commissioned some work from, I think, the University of Wollongong to review that. They are scheduled to deliver that work later this year.

The report also contains a number of recommendations around access to and affordability of cutting-edge technology and medicines. As everyone here knows, we have now provided subsidised access to constant glucose monitoring, or CGM, for all 130,000 Australians living with type 1 diabetes. That has been an extraordinary advance for that group. There are probably at least ten times as many Australians who have type 2 diabetes. The recommendation of great debate through that inquiry was whether some of those Australians at least might have access to CGM. As the member probably knows, there are a couple of applications now before the Medical Services Advisory Committee to consider if and on what conditions .

access to CGM might be subsidised through the MBS for type 2 diabetes patients. I'm really looking forward to that advice. That, I think, is the appropriate next step in that phase.

Also, the inquiry dealt with the potentially revolutionary impact of GLP-1s, often better known by their brand names of Ozempic, Mounjaro, Wegovy and others. I have asked the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee to provide us with some specific advice about the ways in which those medicines might be rolled out in a manner that ensures social equity. They are available on private scripts now but at quite a significant price. It may be $4,000 or $5,000 a year, which is well beyond the means of many communities of Australia. I'm looking forward to that advice from PBAC.