Thursday, 24 March 2022

Adjournment

Ms SYMES (Northern Victoria—Leader of the Government, Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Services) (18:09): I move:

That the house do now adjourn.

Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute

Ms CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (18:09): (1842) My adjournment matter this evening is to the Minister for Health, and it is in relation to the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, which is an iconic institute. It is world renowned and has done work for many, many years—almost 100 years, actually. The Baker Institute is situated at the Alfred hospital. It something I am very familiar with, having done my training at the Alfred. It was in the backblocks. It has now got a very prominent position, as it should, because of the work it does in cardiovascular heart disease and diabetes.

The Baker Institute, as I said, is world renowned for the work it is doing, but it has been under some financial strain over the last few years because the operational infrastructure support funding has been stagnant since 2017. It relies on very generous donations through philanthropic donations and other campaigns that raise money for it to continue to operate the way it does in this very important area of medical research. And over the last two years with COVID, which has taken an enormous toll, the areas of heart disease and diabetes are on the increase. I was speaking with Professor Tom Marwick the other week. In his words, he said there is going to be a ‘juggernaut of chronic disease’, and I agree with him. I talked about this in my maiden speech when I first was elected to Parliament, around the incidence of diabetes, especially around type 2 diabetes.

COVID has seen chronic disease so much more exacerbated through inactivity and other issues around stress and eating habits, and as we know, there have been so many issues around mental health and eating disorders with the young. However, in relation to chronic disease such as diabetes and heart disease—which has been very topical, unfortunately, through the terribly sad situations of the high-profile heart attacks of Shane Warne and Senator Kimberley Kitching—it is very much in the forefront of people’s minds. I have been told West Melton, for instance, is the heart attack capital of Australia. So this is very important in your area, President, in terms of the western parts of Melbourne, and very important to—well, you are Northern Metropolitan—the entire Australian community. So the action I seek is that in this year’s budget consideration is given to significant amounts of funding to keep this institution going in a way that it can continue with the wonderful research and work.