Page 2474 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 31 July 2019
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In the case of type 2 diabetes, there are no specific ways of preventing the condition, but there are strategies that people can adopt to reduce the risk of contracting the condition and, if they do contract the condition, of reducing the impact. These strategies are obvious, and they have been touched on by the Minister for Health—maintaining a healthy weight, engaging in regular physical activity, making healthy food choices, managing blood pressure, managing cholesterol levels and not smoking. There is no prevention for type 1 diabetes, but, as I said, there are now increased ways with new technologies to allow us to more effectively manage type 1 diabetes.
By far the most effective means of staying on top of diabetes, its risks, its management and possible prevention is to take the test. This is what Ms Lawder’s motion is about. The test that took place in her workplace, right here in the Assembly last year, was an important step for Ms Lawder.
Like Ms Lawder, I applaud the work of the people and organisations, and especially Diabetes NSW & ACT, who raise community awareness of diabetes and its treatment and management strategies. I applaud the work of the health professionals who help diabetes sufferers to manage their conditions, and I applaud the work of those who provide treatment services in such a caring and professional manner.
Like Ms Lawder, I call on the ACT government to work with Diabetes NSW & ACT to facilitate access by public servants to diabetes testing. I do note what Mr Rattenbury called the subtle amendment by Ms Stephen-Smith, the Minister for Health. The whole notion that Ms Lawder would come in here and attempt to mandate that ACT public servants should have diabetes tests is, quite frankly, risible. Although the amendment proposed by Ms Stephen-Smith is benign, and it will be supported, it is a bit risible to think that, given Ms Lawder’s stance on a range of issues, and the stance of the Liberal Party on compulsion, we would be attempting to compel public servants.
We are trying to raise awareness of the importance of testing, and question why, suddenly today, we have enthusiasm on the part of the ACT government to allow the testing of public servants or to facilitate testing of public servants. It is interesting to think that it has taken a long time for the government to get to this place. The government come in here on a regular basis and say how much they value their workers. Simple screening tests like this should be, as a matter of course, made available to public servants on a regular basis.
The fact is that this government has not done that. Part of the reason for this motion today is that this government has not done it. We do not want to compel people; we want to encourage people to take easy steps so that their life will be better, so that they will be more productive workers and so that they will not be in a position where they have to take long leave or retire early because of a debilitating disease.
The minister can come in here and say, “We don’t want to compel people.” No-one wants to compel people; we want to provide a mechanism so that people know about and can understand their own health for the betterment of themselves and for the whole of society. I commend Ms Lawder for her courage in this matter, and I commend Ms Lawder for bringing forward this motion today.
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