Page 3320 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 21 August 2019
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Eventually it got its own space and from there has gone from strength to strength to today, where it is under the leadership of Dr Sarah Martin.
I was very pleased to be able to join Minister Stephen-Smith at the celebration lunch today on site with current and former staff, including Dr Gordon White, who just recently was awarded an Order of Australia medal for his service to medicine, particularly sexual health.
I have personal experience with the centre, as I have spoken about before, and I think it is very important to note just how dedicated these staff are. A number of them have careers not just in sexual health but at the centre alone of more than 20 years. I underline my thanks for all that they have done and all that they do: the treatment, the advice, the care and the compassion, and their collective efforts to remove stigma around sexual and reproductive health.
On that, it is certainly important to note that when the Sexual Health Centre began it actually took them several months to fill some major staffing appointments because there was a fear among medical professionals that working in sexual health would ruin their careers. I hope—and I think I can speak on behalf of many, if not all, present today—that that is not the case and that it is a fulfilling and meaningful career and one in which you can tell that genuine pride is taken. There is a lot to be proud about.
Also in attendance were the leaders of the other important parts of our suite of sexual health services in the ACT: Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT or SHFPACT; Hepatitis ACT; and, of course, the AIDS Action Council. As AIDS Action Council Executive Director Philippa Moss said today, these organisations have a long, strong and enduring relationship with the Canberra Sexual Health Centre. They all have a history of not only complementing each other but also working together in ensuring that the ACT and its residents are sexually healthy.
We are very lucky to have had such services and such leadership in this space for such a long time, but, as I have iterated and emphasised in a range of forums, including in this chamber, it does not mean we can be complacent. We know that the number of people presenting to the centre is trending up; the number of STI diagnoses is trending up. We have still got plenty of work to do in the blood-borne virus space, and there is some pretty daunting stuff happening with gonorrhoea and syphilis. There is more work to do, and we need to keep talking about this and taking as many comprehensive actions as we can. But today we can pause and reflect and also be loud and proud about an extraordinary 40 years of the Canberra Sexual Health Centre.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
The Assembly adjourned at 6.05 pm.
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