Opening of Institute for Musculoskeletal Health

I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet and I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging. It is a pleasure to be here among so many incredible people – researchers, clinicians, health workers, support staff. As together, we celebrate the opening of this new home for the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health Into the future, these rooms will serve as the launchpad for your vital work.

The place where each of you will continue to contribute to expanding what we know about musculoskeletal conditions. And how, as a nation, we can provide the best standard of care for the Australians who suffer from them. Often unseen, seven million Australians of all ages battle with the burden of these diseases every single day of their lives.

Not just in aged care settings, but at home and in hospitals, in rehabilitation centres and across general practice. But is your work combining frontline care with quality research that has a huge, real impact on the lives that diverse cross-section of our community. It is a difference that doesn’t just matter to millions of Australians – it matters to the world.

And that is why today, I was proud to announce the Commonwealth is delivering a record investment into a new Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Conditions Research Mission A $100 million commitment delivered through the Medical Research Future Fund, turbocharging research into arthritis and similar diseases. Because as Australians grow older and as our health needs grow more complex.

It is investments like this that help us to develop a thought-out, national response to health care. So those Australians who find themselves at risk of developing conditions like arthritis in the future benefit from better And so the millions of Australians who live daily with these conditions receive the care and the relief they deserve, to live fuller lives.

As the son of a mother who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, that mission is particularly close to my heat. I saw the pain and difficulty of that disease, and how it can make a person suffer. But I also know that those conditions do not define an individual.

And with the right care and support from those around them, they do not have to limit them, either. That is why your work is so important. Because with sharp minds and dedication, you give hope and health to those who need it most.

And you capture the best of the Australian tradition and the Australian spirit – co-operating, driving breakthroughs and making the world a better place. PM&C acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, water and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the elders past, present and emerging.