Page 2476 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 31 July 2019

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I reiterate my appreciation for and recognition of the work of the staff and board of Diabetes NSW & ACT and the many professionals who work in this field, assisting people like me every day with programs, information, support, medication and all sorts of different ways to live with and manage diabetes. They run an amazing number of programs all over New South Wales and the ACT about living with insulin and being carb smart and foot smart.

There are many things you may not think about when you have diabetes. For example, you are four times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke if you have diabetes. You are more likely to have high blood pressure. Whenever there is some kind of injury or wound to your foot, for example, it is more likely to develop into complications. Speaking for myself, and I presume most other Canberrans, the prospect of having your foot or leg amputated is not attractive.

Awareness and information are the first steps that you must take before you can change behaviour. Having testing available in the workplace is the way to create awareness and give people information. I thank everyone for their support in various ways of this important preventative health motion. I hope we will be speaking further with the health minister about ways to bring in this testing in the ACT public service so that we can avoid the very, very significant health complications for people in the future and the impact on our health and hospital systems.

Amendment agreed to.

Original question, as amended, resolved in the affirmative.

Youth—substance abuse

MRS KIKKERT (Ginninderra) (11.18): I move:

That this Assembly:

(1) notes that:

(a) according to the ACT Drug Strategy Action Plan 2018–2021, “illicit drug use … has a particularly adverse impact on young people”;

(b) the Action Plan commits the ACT Government to “providing people with … a range of treatment options”; and

(c) this commitment embraces “drawing on specialist sector knowledge [to] identify options to expand alcohol and other drug services to meet … the needs of priority populations”, including young people;

(2) notes that:

(a) the Commission Initiated Review of Allegations Regarding Bimberi Youth Justice Centre contains an estimate that “up to 90% of young people at Bimberi have had involvement with drugs in the community”; and

(b) this review reports that “there are gaps in rehabilitation and other drug and alcohol services for young people in the community”;


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