Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

I take the interjection from Senator Payne. It was a very good initiative. I had the opportunity yesterday to meet with all members of that committee. I was able to commend them for their public-spirited commitment to public duty and good public policy. They are people who give up their time freely to assist the government to implement the far-sighted policy which we announced at the election and have since been delivering.

There has been further progress in this vital area of policy. Dementia and memory loss centres in each state and territory to deliver information on dementia—about early prevention, early intervention, diagnosis, memory checklists, day workshops and counselling—are due to be operational by March 2006, something that even somebody like Senator McLucas would welcome as a good initiative. Six hundred and sixty-seven EACH Dementia packages were allocated in December 2005. In August 2005, the Australian government also hosted the national dementia research workshop to identify gaps in dementia research and provide direction for future research priorities. (Time expired)