REBECCA WHITE, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE: I’d like to thank Alison Lai who’s the CEO of Cancer Council Tasmania for hosting us here to talk about a really important screening program to detect lung cancer. We know that screening saves lives, it’s why we’ve seen such vast improvements in outcomes for people who have been diagnosed with things like breast cancer but for lung cancer that hasn’t been possible in Australia until the first of July last year. The 31st of December marks six months of operation for the lung cancer screening program which has already seen 50,000 people across the country enrol and 45,000 people screened. This is important because of the five largest- leading cancers in Australia of which lung cancer is one. Lung cancer has the lowest survivability rating, about 27 per cent of people survive to five years after diagnosis, which is low compared to the other more common types of cancers we see in Australia. Lung cancer screening is changing lives, it is saving lives.
Across the country we've seen thousands of people enrol and be screened and from that nearly 5000 people have been identified as requiring more frequent follow-up screening and 558 people have been identified a Categories 4 to 5, requiring immediate and further investigation. And these were people who showed no signs of lung cancer. The program has been designed to help people who've had a career- sorry let me start that again. The program has been designed to help people who've had a life of smoking, who are aged between 50 and 70, and who show no signs at all of lung cancer. And what it has helped us to do is identify people early so they can begin more regular screening, if that's what's needed, or early intervention to provide treatment options so that their survivability from lung cancer is enhanced.
Here in Tasmania, 1900 people have enrolled for the screening program and nearly all 1900 have been screened. This is a great milestone not just for Tasmania but for the whole country that so many people are benefiting from this program. Early detection saves lives and cancer screening for lung cancer has been a real game changer.
ALISON LAI, CEO OF CANCER COUNCIL TASMANIA: Cancer Council Tasmania has been strongly encouraging as many Tasmanians who fall into the eligibility criteria to take part in the screening program because early screening does save lives and Tasmania is no different to the national statistics when it comes to lung cancer. It is the fifth most commonly diagnosed cancer here in the state and unfortunately it is the number one leading cause for those with a cancer diagnosis. Unfortunately, what that means is that if you receive a lung cancer diagnosis, the survival rate is not as high as others with other different cancer diagnoses.
One of the big myths I just wanted to share though around lung cancer is- people who are eligible to take part in this program should absolutely do that. One of the big myths around lung cancer as well is that you have to be a smoker to get lung cancer. One in ten men and one in three women who actually get a lung cancer diagnosis actually don't have a history of smoking. But smoking will absolutely be the number one risk factor that will increase a person's susceptibility to getting lung cancer in the future. So the National Lung Cancer Screening program is indeed a game changer for those individuals who are at very high risk of getting a lung cancer diagnosis and we have been encouraging everybody eligible to make sure they speak to their GP or health practitioner or come and speak to the Cancer Council Tasmania Quitline about getting more information about how to access the program.
JOURNALIST: It was mentioned before that sometimes there's not always clear symptoms for people with lung cancer and if you're not a smoker then I guess how would people know to then even go get the screening? What should be the message to them if they're just not sure?
LAI: Yes. So the National Look Screening program if you know someone or you yourself are aged between 50 and 70 and you currently smoke or have been a smoker in the last 10 years and perhaps have been smoking somewhere in the vicinity of about 30 packs a year, then this is a program that you should consider. You don't need to be showing any symptoms, in fact that's the purpose. We're trying to catch people very early on who might be showing you know signs of other lung cancer developing so those individuals should absolutely reach out to a health practitioner and enrol themselves into the program.
For just general well-being for Tasmanians out there, the biggest risk factor that you can eliminate to reduce the chance of a lung cancer diagnosis is smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke. Things like keeping a healthy diet and exercise and lifestyle becoming- is part of reducing the risk as well. The thing that we would say for people if- as well the important message is that if they are somebody who is diagnosed with lung cancer, there are services and programs out there available to them, not just for the patient but also for the family members as well, like Cancer Council Tasmania. There are services here that we can assist because getting a lung cancer diagnosis can be incredibly traumatic. It can throw someone's life into a terrible spin, turns it upside down and there are supports out there for those families and those patients.
JOURNALIST: Do you have the stats of I guess how many Tasmanians may be diagnosed with lung cancer each year?
LAI: It's currently the number fifth highest cancer diagnosis here in the state. The most recent stats we have are from 2022, and in that year, there were close to 350 Tasmanians that were diagnosed with lung cancer, slightly higher for men than for women at that time. In that year as well it was the number one leading cause of death for cancer-related diagnoses and unfortunately that year the stats were around just over 280 people that year lost their life to a lung cancer diagnosis so early detection is key for lung cancer and the National Lung Cancer Screening program is a pivotal part of that.
JOURNALIST: Just before we get into Venezuela, keeping in Tasmania, did you have a, I guess, a comment on, Lucas Reid, the Hillcrest survivor who sadly died the other day?
WHITE: I mean, this is a tragedy and I can't imagine the way that community and that family must be feeling dealing with this on New Year's Eve, but also in the wake of the Hillcrest tragedy, which still impacts on families and the community there so deeply. My heart goes out to them and their family and I know that there'll be a lot of people looking at how we can improve e-bike safety in the future to make sure that we support all people to be safe on our roads.
JOURNALIST: What is the Australian Government's reaction to Trump's decision to capture the Venezuelan President?
WHITE: This is a situation that's evolving very quickly and we are monitoring the situation there closely as you could imagine. We're working with international counterparts to make sure that we are up to date on the details. We urge and support people to work in a diplomatic way to make sure that security is provided for the region, but also a democratic outcome. We understand that the matters there are moving very fast. Ultimately, we want peace in the region and we want the will of the Venezuelan people to be upheld.
JOURNALIST: But does the Government support the move? Like was that action necessary?
WHITE: The Australian Government was not involved in this. This was a unilateral decision made by the American Administration. It's not something that we've been consulted on.
JOURNALIST: Is the Government concerned any laws have been breached?
WHITE: We remain committed to upholding international law and we would urge all parties across the world, of course, to make sure that we adhere in such a way to uphold democratic principles and freedoms. It's something that we're monitoring very closely with international counterparts and I'm sure the Foreign Minister will have more comments to make.
JOURNALIST: Has anyone in the Government discussed this with their US counterparts or are there plans to do so?
WHITE: Discussions I understand are underway with international counterparts. Things are moving very quickly and our diplomatic channels are working to understand what information can be provided.
JOURNALIST: So international but US as well?
WHITE: I understand that we're working with international counterparts to get more information about the situation. You would appreciate the Australian Government is working to understand the position of the US Administration as well and that's happening through appropriate channels.
JOURNALIST: So just to clarify though because you kept saying international, is there anyone from the US that you’ve spoken to?
WHITE: The Australian Government is working through the appropriate channels to understand the situation. You would understand it’s evolving very quickly. There are discussions occurring at an international level. I'm not aware of any direct communication that has occurred between the Australian Government and the American Administration at this time.
JOURNALIST: On the Bondi attack,dozens of Australian sporting stars including Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett have signed a letter calling for a Royal Commission into the Bondi attack. Is the Government losing the argument against having a Royal Commission?
WHITE: We have a four part plan which is to first hold the perpetrators to account and bring them to justice. One of them of course is dead and the other is in police custody. The second is to support the New South Wales Royal Commission which will I'm sure have wide ranging powers to be able to call witnesses and compel evidence and allow people to look in great detail at the events that took place in the lead up to and occurring throughout the Bondi terror attack. The third is to work with the Anti-Semitism Envoy, who's provided a detailed report to the Government, which we are enacting. There's a lot of work that's underway across Government to make sure that we can support our community. I respect there are calls for us to take more action, but that's also why we've appointed Dennis Richardson to undertake a quick review and inquiry, he is the most qualified person to do this as the former head of the defence and security agencies, intelligence agencies, to report back to government by April. We need to have advice quickly and that's where the Richardson Review will provide that to us. I respect there are calls for Government to do more and we're doing everything we can including the support that will be provided to the New South Wales Government for their Royal Commission.
JOURNALIST: The Prime Minister says he's had expert advice regarding against having a Royal Commission. I mean in this matter, do the opinions of sports stars really matter?
WHITE: I have no doubt that all Australians have a view on what occurred at Bondi. It was a terrible tragedy. It's impacted so many across our community and it's really affected the way we feel as Australians about safety in our community and we need to be able to repair that and that's the focus of our Government and that's why our four part plan is focused on not only addressing what can be done immediately through the inquiry of the Richardson Review but also supporting the work of the New South Wales Government through their Royal Commission which will have wide reaching powers and be able to compel evidence and speak to witnesses to provide a broad range of opportunities for people to participate in that and I'm sure lots of people will take that opportunity.
JOURNALIST: Is it possible to have both the Richardson Review and a Royal Commission, like if the Richardson Review addressed urgent intelligence matters while still allowing a Royal Commission to the wider issues at play, including anti-Semitism?
WHITE: Well, arguably that's what the New South Wales Royal Commission will do. It won't be limited by the borders or the address that people take. I'm sure, just like we saw here in Tasmania through the Commission of Inquiry, where people have relevant information to share, they can do that. But as we also saw through the Commission of Inquiry here in Tasmania, those processes can take a long time. We need to get answers quickly on what improvements can be made, if any, in our intelligence and security agencies, because this is a matter that's confronting Australia today. And we need to make sure that we can get answers to respond to this quickly and that's where the Richardson Review is going to be able to provide that to Government.
JOURNALIST: And just on another issue, the Australian Manufacturers Workers Union wants the capital gains discount phased out for investment properties and negative gearing effectively. Do you agree with this?
WHITE: That isn’t a policy of the Federal Government.
JOURNALIST: Will the Government reform property taxes to bring down house prices?
WHITE: We're doing a significant amount to tackle the shortage of supply of housing but also to support people into home ownership. The 5 Per Cent Deposit Scheme has already seen thousands of people take up that opportunity but also we're working to build more houses which is the fundamental problem that we have in Australia is that we simply don't have enough supply and that's where our investment in the Housing Affordability Future Fund has been significant, but also working across other state and territory jurisdictions hand-in-hand with them to support the construction of more houses. That will help more Tasmanians, more Australians into homeownership. That is what people want and that's how we're working to support them.
JOURNALIST: Just on Venezuela again, I was wondering if you could be more specific about who you're speaking to. Are you speaking to Europeans? Are you speaking to your Asian counterparts about this? And what concerns do you have about the implications of the potential breach of international law for this region? Whether that might embolden, say, China, for example, in making a move against Taiwan or in justifying its own actions in the South China Sea?
WHITE: I think the first point to make is that we remain committed to international law and upholding those norms and making sure that we're working with our international counterparts to do that. We are speaking with our international counterparts and I can't go into detail about who they are. I direct you to make those inquiries of the Foreign Minister.
JOURNALIST: Okay, and on the implications of this potential breach of international law, what does that mean for this region? How concerned are you about that?
WHITE: Well, we are working with international counterparts to understand the situation. You would respect it is evolving very quickly. It happened overnight Australia time. We are seeking further information about what this means. We remain committed to upholding international law, as you would expect the Australian Government to. We understand that there are lots of questions here, and I respect your questions, but ask you to direct them to the Foreign Minister who's best placed to answer them.
JOURNALIST: Okay, thanks. Just on the latter of the sports personality, which is the latest in a series of high profile figures calling for this Royal Commission, is the Government in danger here of ignoring this building tide of public momentum that is calling for a Royal Commission? Is there any prospect of a U-turn?
WHITE: The Prime Minister has been very clear that our Government has a four part plan that is about responding to the immediate crisis that we've seen in the terror attacks at Bondi, as well as supporting the work that's happening in the New South Wales Government, who will be holding a Royal Commission and that will have wide-ranging powers, and I'm confident that won't be limited just to people in New South Wales to participate, but any Australian who wants to make a submission through that process, as has been the case with other Royal Commissions that we've seen occur in history. This is, of course, something that has elicited a lot of emotional response from across Australia. It's entirely understandable. This was the worst terror attack we've seen on Australian soil and there's no doubt we all want to see justice brought to bear for those who were impacted by this atrocity. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish community and working to support them through this this time. I understand there are lots of Australians who want to contribute to the healing that our nation needs to go through at this time. I respect that. Our Prime Minister has been clear about the steps our Government is taking. He's outlined them and we are committed to making sure the Richardson Review provides advice to Government quickly about what improvements can be made to securities and defence and intelligence arrangements because that is what our responsibility is.