CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS
Mr GEORGANAS (Adelaide) (09:33): Lung cancer remains one of Australia's greatest health challenges and its impact reaches into every community across our nation. The statistics alone are confronting. It's estimated that one in 17 Australians will be diagnosed with lung cancer during their lifetime.
To put that into perspective, if we look around the House of Representatives today, that would equate to approximately nine of us receiving a lung cancer diagnosis during our lives, and around 13 parliamentarians across both houses of parliament. But, behind every statistic, is obviously a human being and a person—a husband, a wife, a parent, a brother, a sister, a grandparent, a friend—and that is why the fight against lung cancer matters.
Today I want to acknowledge a remarkable South Australian and one of my former constituents from Adelaide, Lorraine Tyler. I met Lorraine when I was doorknocking in the 2016 campaign, and she was very passionate about cancer detection and prognosis and better treatment for lung diseases. Lorraine was a passionate advocate with Lung Foundation Australia and a powerful voice for people living with lung cancer.
She chaired Lung Foundation Australia's lung cancer patient advisory group and spoke tirelessly about the need for specialist lung cancer nurses and better support for patients and families, and about the importance of introducing a national lung cancer screening program. Lorraine understood that early detection saves lives. She was determined to ensure future Australians would have access to the care and support that they needed.
Sadly, Lorraine did not live to benefit from the National Lung Cancer Screening Program herself, but her legacy lives on in the thousands of Australians who now will, because advocacy matters and makes a difference. The voices of patients matter, and people like Lorraine helped turn what was once an ambition into a reality. On 1 July 2025, the National Lung Cancer Screening Program officially commenced.
We know that early detection can be the difference between life and death. It can mean earlier treatment, better outcomes and more time with loved ones. As we recognise this important milestone, we should also recognise the people who made it possible, and that's people like my constituent Lorraine Tyler—people who transform their personal experiences into advocacy and into action and get changes made.
The National Lung Cancer Screening Program is more than a health initiative. It is proof that, when patients, advocates, clinicians and organisations work together, meaningful change can be achieved. Today, Australians will live longer and healthier lives because people like Lorraine chose to speak up and make a difference, to fight for that change and to leave a better system behind for others.
That is a legacy worth recognition, gratitude and remembrance.