Ms HOARE (5:06 PM) —I am pleased to second this motion, and I congratulate the member for Throsby for bringing the issue of pneumococcal vaccine to the attention of the House. Pneumococcal disease is caused by an infection of streptococcus pneumoniae. It is responsible for significant worldwide illness and death, especially in the very young, the elderly and those with predisposing risk factors, such as Indigenous people. Pneumococcus is the leading cause of bacterial pneumonia and middle ear infections, and it is an important contributor to bacterial meningitis. Pneumococcal infections are a common reason for presentations to doctors. Pneumococcal disease is deadly, and it kills and seriously disables more Australians than meningococcal C disease. I defer to my colleague the member for Moore's medical knowledge in this area, and I thank him for that.

A major difference between these two deadly diseases, though, is that the government funds a vaccine for meningococcal C and refuses to put up the approximately $60 million to ensure vaccinations are available to families. As it is now, parents face a heartbreaking choice: do we pay around $500—almost impossible to come up with for most struggling families—to fully immunise our child or do we take the risk that our child will not contract pneumococcal disease? This is a reality for a lot of families who simply cannot afford to pay for the vaccine. It is yet another example of the Howard doctrine on health: you can have great care and access to great services if you can afford them; if you are poor and more susceptible to illness, then too bad.

Dr Michael Rice, the chair of the AMA's child and youth health committee, has described this appalling and miserable approach in the government's refusal to universally fund the vaccine for children as setting up a two-tiered system based on those who can afford to pay for their vaccinations and those who cannot but are equally at risk. In 2002 there were 1,897 cases of pneumococcal across Australia, which claimed 168 lives. The government has agreed to fund vaccination for only a small number of children who are considered to be at risk. In September 2002 the Howard government's technical experts—the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation—recom-mended to the minister that a vaccine for pneumococcal disease be funded. Last year the National Health and Medical Research Council recommended that pneumococcal vaccine be available for all Australian babies. The NHMRC listed the vaccine in the Australian standard vaccination schedule. Still, though, the government seems to think it knows best when it comes to vaccinations: ignore the experts and Dr John will make the decision. This is the first time the committee's recommendations have been ignored by any government.

The government showed some initiative a few years ago in encouraging parents to immunise their kids. While there is debate among parents as to whether they should immunise their children, the evidence is there to suggest that in most cases children are better off. In any case, the pneumococcal vaccine should be available to all children. If parents choose not to immunise their children, that decision should be based on conscience and not the ability to pay. Those families on low incomes who cannot afford the $500 and whose children will remain unvaccinated face pneumococcal disease rates where approximately 300 newborn babies every year can be expected to develop serious infections. With declining bulk-billing rates and rising copayments the last thing parents need is another choice between paying the bills and paying for health care.

I would like to pay tribute to the efforts of parents and families of children who have died from or survived the effects of pneumococcal disease and their campaign to convince the government that all children should have access to this vaccine. Kathleen Houldsworth of Nowra lost her 11-month-old daughter, Lilyanna, to this dreadful disease. She was reported in the Daily Telegraph on 8 December last year as saying:

Parents are pleading with the government to provide a free vaccine and to ensure it is available to all children. Labor continues to strongly criticise the government's decision not to fund these vaccines. The decision goes against the advice of Australia's best experts and was made for budgetary rather than public health reasons. Our children are the most precious things we have. How dare a government allow funding considerations to put our children at risk of a largely preventable disease. (Time expired)