16 News

New specialised endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics will be established in every state and territory to improve diagnosis, care and treatment to support over 800,000 Australian women who have the disease, as part of the Morrison Government’s funding package.

Through the 2022-23 Budget, a record $58 million will be provided under the National Action Plan for Endometriosis to improve endometriosis diagnosis and primary care support, helping more women to find appropriate care and better manage the impact of endometriosis.

Endometriosis has a profound impact on around one in nine Australian women and girls. It is a highly individualised condition, with symptoms ranging significantly from person to person, but commonly impacting on family and social life, work and study.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said this significant investment will address the need for more endometriosis awareness, treatment and support.

“One in nine Australian women suffer from endometriosis and this funding today will bring welcome relief and support through better diagnosis, treatment and care,” the Prime Minister said.

“I have seen firsthand with Jen just how debilitating endometriosis can be for women, the mental and physical toll it takes, and it’s so important we continue to fund new services and treatments for the hundreds of thousands of women who suffer from endometriosis.

“Our plan will improve the quality of life for women living with endometriosis, with record support, building on our National Action Plan for Endometriosis, so women of all ages can get diagnosed and be supported.”

The Morrison Government will also help couples plan for their pregnancy by investing $81.2 million to create a new Medicare item to support access to genetic testing for three serious genetic conditions.

Genetic testing can assist families who are planning for their pregnancy and may be at risk of passing on significant genetic conditions, to understand and assess their risk and to plan their pregnancy appropriately.

The new Medicare item builds on advances to date through Mackenzie’s Mission and will support universal Medicare funded testing to check if couples are carriers of cystic fibrosis (CF), spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), and fragile X syndrome (FXS), with the item available in 2023.

CF, SMA and FXS are the most common inheritable genetic disorders resulting in substantially reduced life expectancy within the Australian population.

This testing is presently available in Australia as a privately funded service and this measure will provide a Medicare rebate for genetic testing for CF, SMA and FXS.

Endometriosis initiatives include:

• $16.4 million to establish new specialised endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics in each state and territory and a nurse navigators pilot.
• $25.2 million to support women with severe endometriosis and other conditions that affect fertility to access a new Medicare funded magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.
• $5.1 million to develop an Endometriosis Management Plan to support patients in primary care.
• $5.1 million towards the National Endometriosis Clinical and Scientific Trials Network and for early career researcher scholarships to continue growing research capacity and address research gaps.
• $2.5 million to transform and promote the Australian Clinical Practice Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Endometriosis into a “living guideline” that will be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect community feedback and the latest expert medical advice.
• $2 million to increase awareness and education of endometriosis amongst priority populations through the Australian Coalition for Endometriosis, a Mentor Program to support those newly diagnosed with endometriosis and a Workplace Assistance Program to support employees and employers to navigate discussions in the workplace.
• $1.4 million for the EndoZone digital platform, providing access to evidence-based information.
• $300,000 to promote access to the suite of Medicare Benefit Schedule (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme items for diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis.>

Minister for Health and Aged Care Greg Hunt said increasing access to genetic testing would be a welcome relief for many parents and couples planning pregnancy.

“This will allow thousands of Australians to undergo genetic testing without huge out of pocket costs and enable them to see if they are genetic carriers of disorders like CF, SMA and FXS,” Minister Hunt said.

“As a passionate advocate for genetic testing, I am proud that the Morrison Government is making this significant investment, which will not only help Australians and their families, but ensure they know and understand the risks of inheritable genetic disorders.”

Member for Boothby Nicolle Flint said: “The Morrison Liberal Government is helping women and girls who suffer from endometriosis with education and awareness, clinical support, and research, and I could not be more proud of the Prime Minister’s announcement today. 

“Over the past four years our Government has delivered the first-ever National Action Plan for Endometriosis, record funding for education and awareness programs, clinical support and research.

“Today, we have announced even more funding and support for everyone affected by endo which will help change lives for the better. 

“It was a huge shock to me to be diagnosed with Stage 4 endometriosis in early 2020.  Endometriosis had stuck both of my ovaries and my fallopian tubes to my uterus, one of my ovaries was also stuck to my bowel, and there was a lot of endo on my bladder and my bowel.  It took 3.5 hours of surgery to remove it.

“My diagnosis explained everything; my period pain that I thought was normal, my heavy periods, clotting, my terrible bowel pain and related bowel issues and more. I have an amazing team of medical specialists who have my pain and my symptoms under control and that is what we want for everyone who has endo.

“So as someone who lives with endo, I know that our announcement today will change lives, and help women and girls get the advice and support they need.

“I would like to thank our amazing volunteers and endo advocacy groups Endo Australia, Pelvic Pain Foundation, QENDO, Endo Active, and Endometriosis WA for their years of tireless work with me, with the former Member for Canberra Gai Brodtmann, Minister Greg Hunt and the Prime Minister. Without these incredible volunteers who are medical specialists, endo sufferers and advocates, we could never have achieved all we have in such a short space of time.”

The Morrison Government’s National Women’s Health Strategy 2020–2030 has five priority areas; maternal, sexual and reproductive health, healthy ageing, chronic conditions and preventive health, mental health, and the health impacts of violence against women and girls – core issues affecting the lives and livelihoods of women and girls.

This significant investment builds on our Government’s commitment to implementing the National Women’s Health Strategy 2020–2030 and improving long term health outcomes for women and girls.

National and international leaders and experts from military, academia and aerospace industry met in Canberra this week for the biennial 2022 Air and Space Power Conference (ASPCon22).

The two day conference, examined resilience and innovation in an increasingly contested air and space power environment. The challenges presented by space as an operational domain were also addressed.

Minister for Defence, the Hon Peter Dutton MP said significant change across the geopolitical, societal and technological spectrums has made it vital to harness collective expertise to shape and deliver air and space power.

The Minister for Defence also officially announced the establishment of Defence Space Command at ASPCon22, with Air Vice-Marshal Cath Roberts, AO, CSC, as Commander Defence Space Command.

Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld said ASPCon22 was an opportunity to enhance thinking both collectively and individually, about air and space power within the context of national and international objectives.

“Credible air and space power that enables Australia to shape, deter and respond also requires resilient support systems combined with an organisational culture that embraces innovation,” Air Marshal Hupfeld said.

“I enjoyed discussing our respective approaches to, and lessons learnt, on air and space capability issues, as well as identifying opportunities for future cooperation in these areas.”

ASPCon22 featured an Innovation Expo aimed at connecting cutting-edge research and innovation from Defence, research institutions, academia, start-ups and industry to key innovators and stakeholders.

A variety of domestic and international military, industry and academic speakers included Chairman of the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore Mr Bilahari Kausikan, Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld AO, DSC, and president of Boeing Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific Dr Brendan Nelson AO.

Due to COVID-19 limitations, ASPCon22 was delivered as a hybrid event (virtual and in-person) from 22-23 March at the National Convention Centre in Canberra.

For further details about ASPCon22 visit: https://airpower.airforce.gov.au/events/aspcon22_event

Greens Leader, Adam Bandt MP, has referred allegations of a $1 billion taxpayer funded climate fraud through the government’s carbon credits scheme to the Auditor General and called for a full, independent inquiry into the claims.

Overnight a whistleblower, the highly-renowned former head of the Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee, Andrew Macintosh, described the program as “largely a scam”.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP said:

“This is yet another rort from a terrible government.

“This climate fraud must be fully and independently investigated.

“When the former head of the government’s Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee reveals that the carbon credits scheme is ‘largely a scam’, we need an open transparent inquiry with powers to get to the bottom of it. 

“This is a critical issue. Both the Morrison Government and Labor are claiming to take climate seriously while planning to open up 114 new coal and gas projects, relying on permits and offsets to cover up their duplicity. If carbon credits are fraudulent too, then Australia will definitely blow its climate targets”

Greens spokesperson for agriculture, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said: 

“The Morrison Government’s botched carbon credit scheme undermines farmers wanting to do their bit for climate change.

“I meet plenty of farmers who care deeply about the land they’re on, understand the changes they are seeing around them and want to act, but these serious allegations about the integrity of the Government’s carbon credit scheme threaten that goodwill. 

“Since forming Government, the Coalition has ripped up nearly all existing climate policies such as the carbon price and clean energy package, ramped up fossil fuel exploration and production, and has instead offered farmers a rort.

“While Australia’s leading farmers and the nation’s major farm groups endorse emissions reduction targets and set their own ambitious climate goals, the Coalition has sabotaged climate policy and shot farmers in the foot.

“It’s in Australian farmers best interest for a full independent inquiry into this matter, so we can get it right, and have full public confidence in the effectiveness of any carbon credit scheme.”

Greens Environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:

“Our environment can’t afford any more short-changing when it comes to protection.

“While casual rorting and cooking the books may be easily glossed over in the corporate world, Mother Nature keeps a very clean balance sheet. No amount of spin or tricky accounting can cover-up the biodiversity  crisis our environment is in. 

“Pretending things will get better, while doing little to stop things getting worse is pushing our biodiversity to breaking point. We need stronger environmental protection laws and an independent watchdog to enforce them.”

Community organisations across the country will share in more than $500,000 from the Morrison Joyce Government help raise awareness about organ and tissue donation in Australia and encourage more Australians to take the easy step to sign up on the Australian Organ Donor Register.

Ten community organisations will get a share of the $512,000 to promote this important cause.

Minister responsible for the Organ and Tissue Authority, Dr David Gillespie said there are around 13 million Australians aged 16+ who are eligible to register as organ and tissue donors – but haven’t.

“You never know if you or a loved one may one day be in need of life-saving transplant,” Dr Gillespie said.

“What we need is more people to register their wish to be an organ donor, and importantly, to tell their family.”

Dr Gillespie, a former regional doctor, said increasing awareness about organ and tissue donation, and encouraging families to talk about donation and registration, is vital to getting more people to say “yes” to donation.

“Support from organisations across the country – undertaking research, running events or online promotional activities – helps to share about the importance of organ donation and show how easy it is for people to register,” Dr Gillespie said.

“Organ donation is such a generous gift that can help so many people and their families. These new community grants will help spread the word, especially to our culturally and linguistically diverse communities, First Nations Peoples and our young Australians.”

With around 1,850 Australians on the organ transplant waiting list and a further 13,000 people on dialysis, some who may benefit from a kidney transplant, the demand for donors has never been greater.

“For some of the 1,850 Australians currently on the organ transplant waitlist, it’s a matter of life and death,” Dr Gillespie said.

Details of all successful 2022 grants is available below and on the Organ and Tissue Authority website.

The DonateLife 2022 Community Awareness Grants are provided by the Organ and Tissue Authority as part of its national Community Awareness and Education Program.

Registering to be an organ and tissue donor is easy. You just need your phone, Medicare card and just one minute. Head to donatelife.gov.au or you can join through the Medicare Express Plus app where you download your COVID-19 vaccination certificate.

Successful 2022 Community Awareness Grants

Applicant	Category	Project focus	Funding $(GST ex)
LaTrobe University	Research	Research into the barriers to registration amongst young people.	$22,319
Gift of Life Inc.	National event (up to 3 years funding)	Canberra-based public awareness event (community walk) with national footprint and expansion plans through coordinated activities including school engagement and social media engagement.	$50,000 per year for 3 years
Queensland Remote Aboriginal Media	Publicity	Three-month radio campaign to support DonateLife Week targeting First Nations Peoples, including segments in four key Indigenous languages and social media content	$42,760
Pixel 42	Publicity	Produce targeted video content to First Nations People and young people with distribution through TV, Indigenous broadcasters as well as other DonateLife partner organisations.	$50,000
Southern Cross University	Research	Research into beliefs about donation in with Indian and Bangladeshi communities in Sydney including dissemination strategy for national roll out and future engagement with CALD communities.	$48,580
Migration Council Australia	Education	Integration of videos (animations) and articles in 20 languages into the MyAus app for migrants and refugees new to Australia.	$48,000
Multicultural Communities Council WA	Education	Co-design development of educational material (booklets) on donation in ten languages and the distribution of educational material.	$33,600
Multicultural Services Centre WA	Education	Co-designed development of online tools and publications (including 12 podcasts) to reach CALD communities, with further distribution though ethnic and community radio, to be scaled nationally.	$49,947
Podshape Podcasting	Publicity	Podcast series about donation targeting young people and First Nations Peoples, hosted by former NRL star Sam Thaiday.	$48,500
SMRD	Publicity	Saffron Day event, which promotes awareness about donation amongst people of SE Asian origin, and to the broader Australian public through digital promotional activities.	$18,000

The Morrison Government is extending the National Suicide Prevention Research Fund with an additional $4 million over two years, as part of our commitment to increase Australia’s world leading research into suicide prevention and treatment.

In 2020, a total of 3,139 Australians died by suicide. While it represents a 5.4 per cent reduction in the number of suicides compared to 2019 and the lowest national suicide rate since 2016, suicide remained the leading cause of death among those aged 15-44. In addition, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to die by suicide at more than twice the rate of non-Indigenous people.

Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, said suicide has a devastating impact on individuals, families and communities.

“Our Government is fully committed to working towards zero suicides. Zero is the only acceptable target as it recognises the immense value of each and every life,” Minister Hunt said.

“Research into suicide prevention is a critical part of this effort – enabling us to find new and better approaches to reducing the number of Australians lost to suicide every year.”

The Suicide Prevention Research Fund was established by the Coalition Government in 2016 and is managed on behalf of the Government by Suicide Prevention Australia. Since its inception, it has supported over 50 projects, including more than 30 that have now successfully completed their work.

The additional $4 million brings the Morrison Government’s total investment in the Suicide Prevention Research Fund to $20.5 million (2016–17 to 2023–24). It builds on considerable suicide prevention research funding delivered through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, David Coleman, said that ongoing research is helping ensure the delivery of the most effective evidence-based programs and services in suicide prevention, such as those funded through the landmark $2.3 billion Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan announced in the 2021-22 Budget. 

“Suicide prevention is one of the critical pillars of the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan. The Plan includes more than $298 million in suicide prevention programs and initiatives,” Assistant Minister Coleman said.

“Importantly, this includes universal aftercare for those who have been discharged from hospital following a suicide attempt. This is something I am personally passionate about and am committed to seeing rolled out in every state and territory as soon as possible.”

The Plan also included $61.6 million to expand the successful National Suicide Prevention and Leadership Support Program which supports services that work to reduce suicide deaths and suicidal behaviour, particularly in at-risk populations and communities.

In addition, $12.8 million was provided for the establishment of a National Suicide Prevention Office which will work across governments and government agencies to address broader social factors that often contribute to suicide. This continues the Morrison Government’s significant work to reform the approach to suicide prevention demonstrated by initiatives such as the appointment of the first National Suicide Prevention Adviser, the establishment of the National Suicide and Self-harm Monitoring System, and the delivery of postvention supports for families and carers bereaved by suicide.

“While we have made considerable progress in the last few years, we know there is more to be done. The Morrison Government is committed to continuing to deliver world-leading suicide prevention initiatives to protect and save lives,” Assistant Minister Coleman said. 

More information about the Fund, research grant and scholarship opportunities are available online – www.suicidepreventionaust.org

Anyone experiencing distress can also seek immediate advice and support through Lifeline (13 11 14), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), or the Government’s digital mental health gateway, Head to Health.

If you are concerned about suicide, living with someone who is considering suicide, or bereaved by suicide, the Suicide Call Back Service is available at 1300 659 467 or www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au

Young Australians needing support can access free services through Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), their local headspace or online through eheadspace (https://headspace.org.au/eheadspace/).

Australians needing support throughout the COVID-19 pandemic can access the Beyond Blue Coronavirus Wellbeing Support Service any time via telephone at 1800 512 348 or online at coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au 

An Albanese Labor Government will work with industry to reach 1.2 million Australian tech-related jobs by 2030.

As we look to the future, there are real opportunities for Australians to be employed in the sector and drive future economic growth.

Too many experienced workers and businesses have left our shores due to the failure of the Morrison Government to back tech jobs in existing and emerging businesses.

Labor will work closely with the tech sector, including the Tech Council of Australia (TCA), to develop an industry plan that will look to strengthen existing firms, build new ones, and grow jobs here at home.

This plan will build on the TCA’s work scoping out what will be required to build a stronger sector by 2030.

Technology is a core pillar for our economy and is considered equivalent to the third largest sector in the economy behind mining and banking.

It stands as Australia’s seventh largest employing sector.

During the pandemic, it was technology that helped many businesses to stay afloat and allowed many Australians to continue to work from home.

Currently tech is responsible for 861,000 jobs. Working with the sector we want to grow an additional 340,000 jobs by 2030.

Australians with either TAFE or university qualification can build great tech-related careers. 

Australia’s tech sector is massively important to our economy. 

Growing tech related jobs to 1.2 million by 2030 would boost the sector’s contribution from $167 billion annually to $250 billion.

Labor believes that Australia has the smarts and know-how to meet this demand.

In contrast Scott Morrison doesn’t want to develop new tech here, he just wants to import it from overseas: “We’ve just got to be the best at adopting.

Taking it on board. Making it work for us. And we’re really good at that.” (Morrison, Address to the Australian E-Commerce Virtual Summit, 21 October 2020)

Labor will support more tech related jobs through:

• 465,000 fee-free TAFE places and 20,000 additional university places, focused on areas of skills shortage including tech.
• Establishing Jobs and Skills Australia to plan for the future workforce needs of the nation.
• Strengthening our sovereign capability through smarter government procurement and the establishment of the National Reconstruction Fund to support growing businesses.
• Supporting the creation of new firms and jobs through Startup Year, by offering 2,000 Commonwealth supported places at accredited university accelerators.
• Support the creation of new firms and strengthen existing ones by leveraging Commonwealth spending under Labor’s Buy Australian Plan.  

Only an Albanese Labor Government can deliver a better future for Australia.