Recently, I was contacted by Emilie from Watsonia. Emilie tells me that her daughter Zoe was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2022 at the age of nine and her dad, Craig, has lived with the disease since he was 15. During these school holidays, Zoe and Craig will walk over 80 kilometres from the Dromana Pier on the Mornington Peninsula all the way back to Heidelberg, in four days, to raise funds for a cause very close to their hearts. All the funds they raise will support type 1 diabetes research at St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research, Australia’s largest type 1 diabetes research facility. This is really important work.
Our government is supporting people with type 1 diabetes. We have expanded access to continuous glucose monitoring products, through subsidies on the NDSS, and we have made a $273 million commitment, providing 71,000 more people with type 1 diabetes with access to CGM products. This is on top of our significant financial support for essential medicines like insulin, and for blood glucose test strips, through the PBS and NDSS.
There is much more to be done to support people with type 1 diabetes. Further research and funding into diabetes treatment is immensely important—not just to Craig and Zoe, but to so many others in my community and others who hope for a cure and for further improvements.
Zoe, all the best for your fundraising efforts. It is such an important task you are taking on. Thank you for highlighting this important issue.
