Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It only takes a second—a single second—for our lives and the lives of our families to be changed forever. It could be a car accident, a sporting injury, a fall from a roof or a swim at the beach—a catastrophic accident that results in a spinal cord injury, years of rehabilitation, specialist health care and a life in a wheelchair. It could happen to any one of us at any time.

Today 20,000 Australians and their families live with a spinal cord injury, and every single day in Australia an Australian injures their spinal cord. In addition to the catastrophic impacts on their lives and the lives of their families, spinal injuries cost the nation nearly $4 billion a year. My home state of Western Australia accounts for 2,800 Australians with spinal cord injuries, which costs over half a billion dollars per year. Interestingly and somewhat inexplicably, regional Western Australia has disproportionately more spinal cord injuries than our metro areas. The impacts on people's physical health, mental health, families and relationships are profound and life-changing. All aspects of a person's life are impacted, and they have to adapt their lives to accommodate quite severe disabilities. These challenges are often exacerbated when people return to work after many months, or many years, of intense rehabilitation, having to adapt to very different ways of not only living but working.

Today there is still no treatment for people with a spinal cord injury. It absolutely astounds me that, globally, spinal cord injuries have not received the research funding and attention they deserve, particularly given the severity of the impact of these injuries on the lives of so many. However, there is good news, and the good news is that Australian research bodies such as NeuRA and SpinalCure Australia are now leading the way. NeuRA was founded in 1991 and is an independent and not-for-profit research institute that is seeking to prevent, treat and cure brain and nervous-system diseases, disorders and injuries through its world-leading research. SpinalCure was founded in 1994 and is now an Australian leader in funding and promoting cure-related research into spinal cord injuries. They are a not-for-profit organisation relying solely on donations and grants to fund their groundbreaking research.

I'm delighted to have had the opportunity, for several years now, to work closely with SpinalCure's very passionate CEO, Kathryn Borkovic, and inspirational executive director, Duncan Wallace. Duncan became a quadriplegic almost 40 years ago after being hit by a drunk driver. In April 2022, SpinalCure presented me and then minister for health Greg Hunt with a petition signed by more than 30,000 Australians calling for funding to establish a dedicated neurostimulation research and treatment program here in Australia. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Greg Hunt and acknowledge his passion and commitment to supporting this type of research here in Australia. I'm delighted to advise colleagues that SpinalCure recently received $6 million in funding for their Project Spark. The funding was provided under the Medical Research Future Fund and delivered by the former coalition government. This is the first time that government funding has been provided for core-focused spinal cord medical research in Australia.

Project Spark is a national medical research collaboration led by NeuRA, which is working to develop the first treatments for Australians with spinal cord injuries through what they call neurostimulation, in clinical trials. I've been working closely with SpinalCure Australia to raise awareness of Project Spark at a federal level. I am so proud to support the efforts of their amazing ambassadors, who include Sam Bloom and Kerri-Anne Kennerley.

Kerri-Anne became a supporter of SpinalCure Australia after her beloved late husband, John, became paralysed after a tragic fall from a balcony that resulted in fractures to his C3 and C4 vertebrae. John was put into an induced coma. He spent six weeks in intensive care and had multiple operations. Doctors diagnosed him as an incomplete quadriplegic. Kerri-Anne lovingly cared for him until he passed away in February 2019, three years after his accident. Since then, she has been a tireless advocate of research and support for those who have suffered a spinal cord injury.

Sam Bloom had an accident in Thailand, when a balcony railing fell, causing her to fall six metres onto the concrete floor below. Miraculously, she did survive, but she suffered catastrophic injuries, becoming a paraplegic. Sam bravely shared her story in the book Sam Bloom: Heartache &Birdsong, where she tells her story about how her life and her family's life changed after that accident. Her inspirational book was turned into an absolutely magnificent movie called Penguin Bloom, which I encourage everybody to watch. It is deeply moving and it gives a wonderful insight into the lives of the families and individuals that are changed forever by spinal cord injury. Sam is not only a passionate advocate; she is a generous donor as well, and recently donated $100,000 of her own money to Project Spark.

Neurostimulation is the world's leading experimental therapy for people with spinal cord injury. It is the use of tailored electrical currents to amplify messages between the brain and the body, using the nerves that remain intact after an injury has occurred. It has already resulted in life-changing functional recovery, such as bowel and bladder control, hand movements and cardiovascular stability. To most of us, this might not sound very significant, but regaining functions such as these are life changing for a person with a spinal cord injury. In some small initial studies overseas, it has actually restored the ability for some people to stand and to walk many years after this injury has occurred. While the first trial will begin in Sydney, as a senator for Western Australia I am very excited that it is planned that the second community-based clinical trial will be done in Perth. This trial will seek to improve hand, arm and respiratory function in quadriplegics. These two trials, in Sydney and in Perth, will treat over 200 Australians, hoping that we can restore some loss of bodily functions.

My sincere thanks go to the work of these amazing Australian research bodies. Treatments that will reverse the physical impacts of spinal cord injuries are now a very real possibility. People with spinal cord injuries have been waiting decades for the science to develop at the same speed at which much other medical research has been done. SpinalCure Australia are hopeful that they can reverse the cost of spinal injuries to the economy, and they expect the annual cost savings to be in the billions. But, as we here in this place all know, success is not measured in dollars alone; the most important success is the improvement it makes to thousands of Australian lives.

It is my great hope that Australia can cement its standing as a world leader in curing spinal cord injuries and also that we can play a pivotal role in global efforts to develop advanced therapies and, ultimately, we hope, a cure. Once thought to be impossible, SpinalCure may just make it possible to improve the lives of Australians living with a spinal cord injury. I strongly urge all colleagues, on all sides of this chamber, to encourage the Albanese government to support this important cause with further funding. I'm aware that there is a budget proposal that has been put forward to the government, and I'd also like to take this opportunity to encourage the health minister to support and champion this proposal for additional funding to increase scientific research capability and expand clinical trials domestically.

To the team at SpinalCure Australia: congratulations on your amazing work. You are already making a real difference in the lives of people and you are offering hope to so many more. I look forward to continuing to support your important research and your future life-changing findings for all Australians living with or supporting those who have spinal cord injuries.