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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-06-01 Daily Xml
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Brave for Dave

Mrs HURN (Schubert) (15:21): Last year, I sadly attended the funeral of Dave Fiebig. He was a remarkable man, and his passing was such a devastating tragedy for all those who knew him, his family and his friends. He was one of these extraordinarily positive people. He was so fit, so healthy and so active and he was one of these people who could just fit so much into his day. It was on one day in December 2021 when everything changed for him; his wife, Chloe; and their two sons, Duke and Banks, because they received the devastating and life-changing news that Dave had brain cancer.

Chloe was immediately thrust into the role of primary carer, navigating a really uncertain medical world whilst also raising their two children who were four and three months at the time. They did not know where to turn. They did not know what this meant. They did not know what the day-to-day management of living with brain cancer would look like. They did not know anything about palliative care and, frankly, they did not know how much time they had left together.

Just like Dave and Chloe, there are so many patients who do not know where to turn to when they get this life-changing and devastating diagnosis. Chloe and Dave were so fortunate in some ways because they did receive some support from Ginta and the NeuroSurgical Research Foundation, as well as their neurosurgeon, Dr Adam Wells, who by all reports provided such deeply caring clinical and emotional support, but of course he is a neurosurgeon and Ginta is part of a research organisation.

Dave lost a very brave battle to cancer. It lasted seven months and now Chloe, who is just one of the most amazing, strongest women I have met, is using her grief and fighting for better outcomes for families who are going through those same challenges. She has started a foundation called Brave for Dave for families who are going through the same troubles. There are around 300 families each year in South Australia who receive the devastating news that they have a brain tumour and neurosurgeons and clinicians will tell you that it is one of the hardest things to manage.

Over the weekend, the Leader of the Opposition, Ginta, Chloe and I stood together calling for there to be a brain tumour support coordinator in South Australia and Chloe's experience really does show why we need one. We are actually the only state in the nation that does not have such a coordinator role, and we believe it is about time we did, just to really connect patients and their families to the services that are out there but that patients do not have the time to be able to go searching for. Having a brain tumour support coordinator would help ensure that patients and their families can spend that last precious time together.

I have known Chloe, Dave's wife, for well over a decade now. We knew each other through netball. We were at the Institute of Sport together and I remember when Chloe first met Dave. It was something that was so special to see. Chloe has always operated with a real sense of passion and determination to get things done, and she is now directing that passion and determination towards supporting families who have received this devastating news that their loved ones have brain cancer. She speaks with honesty and a genuine desire to help other families.

Having this role is about alleviating some of that burden. It has unanimous support from all the neurosurgeons from across South Australia and now we just need the government to provide some of that funding. It is estimated that such a role would cost around $100,000, and the NeuroSurgical Research Foundation are willing to stump up some of that money. In a SA Health budget of around $8 billion, $100,000 is a drop in the ocean financially, but we know it would make such an extraordinary difference to those who are going through so much. I would like to thank Chloe and Ginta for their advocacy work. To all the patients and the families who are out there suffering with a brain tumour, we will keep fighting for you.

I hope we can work in a bipartisan way to get things done. The minister laughs but over the weekend we actually made it very clear that this is not something that we sought to politicise. We made that clear at the press conference, and I thought it was a shame that the minister sought to do so yesterday because, frankly, I do not care who gets the credit. This is not about political one-upmanship.

The SPEAKER: Order! There is a point of order, member for Schubert. Please be seated. There is a point of order from the minister.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: I ask the member to retract the comments that were made in relation to allegations made against me.

The SPEAKER: Member for Schubert, offence has been taken.

Mrs HURN: If the minister could repeat the allegation, that would be helpful.

The SPEAKER: It is a subjective standard.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: The allegation that I politicised the matter in relation to brain cancer.

The SPEAKER: Very well. Member for Schubert, it is a subjective standard as to whether a member is offended by language you have used. The swiftest path is to withdraw and apologise.

Mrs HURN: I withdraw, Mr Speaker.

The SPEAKER: And apologise.

Mrs HURN: And apologise.

The SPEAKER: Very well.

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