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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-11-26 Daily Xml
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MATTERS OF INTEREST

SPINAL CORD INJURIES

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:30): As you are aware, Mr President, we and our partners, along with other Labor state and federal politicians, attended the Australian Workers Union 2008 delegates dinner. In what is always an interesting and pleasant evening—

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: I rise on a point of order. Is this a five-minute matter of interest?

The ACTING PRESIDENT (Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins): It is.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: Then the clock ought to be on. The member should start again; we would not want him to have an unfair advantage over anyone else.

The ACTING PRESIDENT: We will start the clock. The honourable member might like to start his contribution again so that we can all hear it.

Members interjecting:

The ACTING PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA: Labor state and federal politicians attended the Australian Workers Union 2008 delegates dinner. In what is always an interesting and pleasant evening, this year's event noted the attendance of Jim Doyle, a sprightly individual in his nineties who, with 75 years' membership, is the oldest living member of the AWU. I congratulate Jim on his accomplishment, for he is truly a living legend of the AWU and of Australia's industrial history.

Another person of industry and accomplishment at the function was Neil Sasche, founder of the Neil Sasche Foundation for spinal cord injury in 1995. I point out that the AWU and its current secretary Mr Wayne Hanson, as well as our current President, a former secretary, have been solid supporters of the Neil Sasche Foundation since its inception. I understand that the evening raised in excess of $15,000 for the foundation.

It is the story of Neil Sasche and his foundation that I want to bring to this council's attention; however, first, I need to point out the enormity of the problem facing the sufferers and the nation. In Australia right now there are approximately 9,000 people living with a spinal cord injury, and that number is on a steady upward incline. Unlike most medical conditions, where the number of sufferers stays steady or decreases as medical advancements are made, the number of people living with spinal cord injuries increases each year in Australia alone by about 400. This increase is largely due to two factors: there is currently no cure for spinal cord injury; and there is no significant difference in life expectancy between a person with a spinal cord injury and a healthy person.

Spinal cord injuries can occur anywhere and at any time, but more often than not they occur in a motor vehicle crash or at work. In the 2003-04 financial year, 50 per cent of the new cases of traumatic spinal cord injuries recorded were through work-related injuries. With only 40 per cent of these employees returning to paid employment, spinal cord injury has a significant impact on Australia's workforce. Not only is spinal cord injury costly to the workforce, it is at great cost to victims, their families and communities, and of course the government.

A spinal cord injury costs in time, money and the victim's quality of life. It takes 2½ hours for the sufferer to be prepared for the day and to be put into bed, a routine that requires the assistance of carers and family members every day. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the care and equipment costs for each person with a spinal cord injury after hospitalisation are $284,000 per ventilator dependent tetraplegic individual per year, or $197,000 per non-ventilator dependent tetraplegic individual per year. These extraordinary figures allow for attendant care and equipment only, and do not include medical or ancillary treatment. If these were included the cost would likely be far greater. Nationally, half a billion dollars is spent overall on people with a spinal cord injury—again, not including medical and hospital bills and ancillary care.

What is the Neil Sasche story? Not content to just accept a wheelchair-bound fate, Neil worked as a fundraiser for Bedford industries, but then, realising that little work or research was being undertaken for spinal cord sufferers, he started the foundation. Since that time the foundation has raised and spent $1.5 million on research in South Australia. However, Australia is falling behind in the area of medical research, with the result that the necessary expertise is moving to other countries. Currently, the foundation is supporting research by Adelaide University with the goal of raising a further $5 million to establish a research centre at the university to focus on spinal cord injuries.

I point out that, given that the cost of current assistance to 9,000 sufferers is around a conservative half a billion dollars, $5 million is certainly a paltry sum to bring life and hope to these people. In closing, the federal government has just announced a $7.5 million grant for a research centre for prostate cancer, and it should be congratulated for that injection of funds for research. The state government has announced, through Health SA, a $5 million funding grant for further research into stroke, heart and blood vessel diseases and also deserves congratulations. The sheer cost of spinal injuries to the country and the rightful concern with quality of life suggest that it is due time for further support and help.

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