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Monday, 21 November 2011
Page: 13027

Ms RISHWORTH (Kingston) (21:15): I commend the member for Hindmarsh for bringing this motion on burn injury prevention to the House. It gives me great pleasure to speak in favour of this motion. Last sitting week I was very pleased the member for Hindmarsh held a function to raise awareness in this place of burn injuries, hosted by the Julian Burton Burns Trust, where we got to hear first-hand about some of the great work that the trust does and also about the horrific impact that serious burns have on people. A wonderful video was shown that really brought home how difficult, how painful, how long term and how debilitating a burns injury can be. Sometimes it can take one split second, one poor decision or just a small mistake to lead to a burns injury that leaves a lifelong impact on people.

It was great to hear of the work that the Julian Burton Burns Trust does in burn prevention. I could have done with one of those lessons last week when I had a pot of boiling oil. I thought the way to cool it down would be to put the vegetables in it. I found quickly it was not the right thing to do. I was very lucky—I ended up with a few burns on my hands. But it just goes to show that in one split second things could have been a lot worse with that oil. As I said, I was very lucky, but some people are not so lucky.

Raising awareness of how to make decisions and how to prevent burns is so critically important. The Julian Burton Burns Trust does that incredibly well. It goes into schools and community groups and talks with people about how to prevent burns. That is to be commended. In addition, at the function last week we also heard from a burns care nurse, who goes in and provides care and support services for burns patients.

The previous speaker mentioned that during the last parliament the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing held an inquiry and produced a report on burns injuries. I was a participating member. One of the great things we were able to do as part of that inquiry was to bring all the players in this area around the table and discuss these issues. It was the first time this had happened for some time. It was great to see everyone in the room discussing these issues. It was a great report. It had some important recommendations that I was very pleased to put forward to the government.

I commend the work of Julian Burton. It was from his tragedy that he decided to make a difference. Unfortunately, he was one of the victims of the terrorist attacks in the 2002 Bali bombings, sustaining life-threatening burns injuries. Despite his personal suffering, he decided to go and try and make a difference to other burns victims. He has continued to do that throughout his recovery and has established the trust through which he raises money for prevention, care and research. This work is very important.

The motion in front of us today recognises that 220,000 Australians will suffer a burn injury every year. Indigenous people living in remote communities are disproportionately affected by burns injuries when compared to those living in metropolitan areas. The cost to the Australian government from burns injuries is estimated at $1.5 billion annually, but the costs are much greater for those who survive injuries through their pain and suffering. This motion is very important and draws attention to burns and the work that the Julian Burton Burns Trust does. I commend the motion to the House and certainly wish the Julian Burton Burns Trust, all those organisations, all those nurses, all those doctors who treat people with severe burns injuries and the victims themselves all the very best for the future.