MATTERS OF INTEREST

WALK TO CURE DIABETES

The Hon. R. WORTLEY (15:21): Politics were put aside last Sunday 14 October when South Australian members of parliament, both state and federal, came together for a five-kilometre beach walk to help find a cure for type 1 juvenile diabetes. The South Australian pollies team included Mr Tom Kenyon, Ms Lindsay Simmons, Mrs Isabel Redmond, the Hon. John Dawkins, Ms Chloe Fox, the Hon. Stephen Wade, Kate Ellis, Steve Georganas, Senator Anne McEwen, Senator Annette Hurley, Senator Dana Wortley and myself. The South Australian pollies team was fortunate enough to be accompanied by the Adelaide Crow Nathan Bassett, who also suffers from type 1 diabetes.

The Walk to Cure Diabetes brings together over 80,000 people at locations across Australia. Over 6,000 people participated in Adelaide's walk from Glenelg to Brighton and back. It was a great opportunity for each member to catch up with and support the children from their electorates who suffer from diabetes and whom they met during Kids in the House back in July. The Walk to Cure Diabetes is one of many fund-raising events organised by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), which is the world's largest not-for-profit supporter of diabetes research, investing over $1 billion in the search to find a cure for type 1 diabetes. JDRF was founded in the US in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes and it has been supporting families in Australia since 1984.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. R. WORTLEY: Mr President, I can hardly hear myself speak. Perhaps if members can whisper.

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. G.E. Gago: They are very rude, aren't they, Russell?

The Hon. R. WORTLEY: No, they are just a little over-excited, but it would be appreciated if I could hear myself speak. Since its inception, JDRF has invested almost $40 million in Australian diabetes research, with over $10 million invested across 30 research projects in 2006-07. Funds are raised through the annual Walk to Cure Diabetes, Ride to Cure Diabetes, gala dinners, community events and major donors. JDRF supports over 30 research projects in Australia, including the groundbreaking islet cell transplantation program. The mission of JDRF is constant, and that is to find a cure for type 1 diabetes and the associated health problems. JDRF has a track record of finding and funding the best research in the most efficient and effective ways possible. JDRF has been heavily involved in every major scientific breakthrough in type 1 diabetes research since 1970. In the past year alone exciting progress has been made in the areas of:

transplanting insulin producing islet cells through a global research effort and a groundbreaking islet transplantation program in Australia;

developing an artificial pancreas that delivers insulin into the body just like a healthy pancreas; and

developing vaccines for relatives of people with type 1 diabetes who are most at risk of developing the disease.

I thank all members for their support and generous donations. It was a great bipartisan effort. JDRF is one of the most efficient charities in the country, so you can be confident that every dollar donated is making a difference. We have also had a very generous donation by Mr Gordon Pickard of the Pickard Foundation. He has pledged to match every dollar raised by the SA pollies team. As a result of Mr Pickard's donation, and other generous donations, SA pollies have raised close to $9,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. I would once again like to thank everyone for their support, and I look forward to supporting JDRF and the Walk to Cure Diabetes next year. Research is the only hope for a world free of diabetes.