Page 2472 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 31 July 2019
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Our agreement with ACT Labor commits to reducing the incidence of diabetes and other preventable conditions by expanding and refocusing the healthy weight initiative, which includes a comprehensive preventive health strategy. The initiative will help address the rising rates of overweight and obesity in our community and increase healthy lifestyle choices across schools, communities, workplaces, homes and places where food is provided, sold and consumed. It is working with schools to increase physical activity opportunities and working to renew urban and built physical environments to help promote physical activity opportunities.
The initiative promotes active travel behaviours to support people to exercise as they commute and encourages active lifestyle and behaviour changes. This is one area where there is a lot of opportunity to have an impact. If we can combine those two things we need to do each day, which is to get our physical activity and to go places, into a single thing, through a range of active travel options, that makes it really easy for people. Part of what we need to do is help people find easy ways to do this, and make it part of their lifestyle.
I have been really encouraged by the impact light rail has had on the number of people who have taken the opportunity to cycle down to light rail and jump on from there. They either cycle at the other end, or, if they leave their bike behind, walk at the other end. These are the sorts of outcomes we can achieve through rethinking how we design our city so that people can get around in a range of ways and not always be dependent on cars as their sole form of transport.
Each of these elements that I have talked about today in the preventive health space can play a really important role in reducing obesity, the incidence of diabetes and fostering positive health and wellbeing for our community.
It is not an easy fix but it is one where a series of small actions can have a really positive impact. Promoting diabetes prevention, as National Diabetes Week seeks to do, and as Ms Lawder’s motion does today, can help people understand why this is important and some of the opportunities that are available to them to both seek help and take steps in the preventive space.
In regard to the specifics of Ms Lawder’s motion, in paragraph (3)(a) she calls on the ACT government to recognise the work of professionals. Certainly, I support such recognition and applaud the work of diabetes educators, dietitians, podiatrists, nurses, exercise physiologists and other health workers, who all do an extremely commendable and important job for the ACT community and provide vital services to the people who live with or are at risk of diabetes.
I would also like particularly to recognise Diabetes NSW & ACT and congratulate them on the work they do each year in National Diabetes Week, and the education and events they regularly provide to the ACT community to help reduce the risks from and impacts of diabetes.
In terms of Ms Lawder’s paragraph (3)(b), which calls on the government to work closely with Diabetes NSW & ACT to ensure the testing of ACT public servants in
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