This content relates to a former minister

Canberra Press Conference on 20 January 2022 on Door stop, Rockhampton and Skin cancer awareness

Read the transcript of Minister Gillespie at the Canberra Press Conference on 20 January 2022 on Door stop, Rockhampton and Skin cancer awareness.

The Hon Dr David Gillespie MP
Former Minister for Regional Health

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General public

Michelle Landry, Member for Capricornia:

The Minister for Regional Health, and my colleague Ken O'Dowd. And Dermatology Solutions, so thank you to John and his team for having us here. As we know, our skin care is very important. And I'm probably always in trouble of my daughter for not wearing a hat and all the rest of it, so I encourage people to go and have their skin checked.

So Minister's got some important announcements today about skin safety. And, you know, in this climate when it's so hot at the moment, just please make sure you, you know, slip, slop and slap, basically, because sun cancer is very prevalent in these areas. I'll pass over to David.

Minister David Gillespie:

Well, thanks very much, Michelle. It's a great honour to be invited into Michelle Landry's electorate, and to my colleague, Kenny O'Dowd, into the seat of Flynn as well. We've been travelling yesterday through Flynn and today in Capricornia.

To Dr John Evans, thanks so much for having us here at Dermatology Solutions, and what a fantastic facility you've got here. Yes, Michelle did give you a forerunner. We are here reiterating  the first $10 million of a $20 million skin cancer awareness program running this year to heighten the importance that people have got to realise in Australia, it's a wonderful sunny nation, but comes with some downside, and that is the ultraviolet light that you can't see, even on a cloudy day can burn your skin. And people have to be aware of that. Michelle mentioned slip, slop, slap, you know, wearing a hat with a brim when you're out in the sun and putting on sunblock.

It's good to get your vitamin D, but you don't want to overdose on it. You know, the big daddy of skin cancers is melanoma, and it can be prevented to a vast extent by avoiding extremes of sunburn, as well as squamous cell cancers, SCCs, and basal cell cancers, which are the garden variety of skin cancers.

And skin cancer is one of the most common cancers in Australia. And it's preventable to a degree. Our Celtic heritage of that fair skin doesn't really go well with a lot of sunburn. So, this awareness campaign is for more fair skinned Australians. So again, Michelle and Kenny know all about skin cancer, because so many people up here in Queensland had some of the highest rates. And so thanks to them for advocating for this campaign. Michelle is like a dog at a bone, and Kenny always promotes the best things for people in Central Queensland.

You've got two champions looking after you here. So I might hand back to Michelle, and you might get Dr Evans to say a few words.

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