CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Mr PASIN (Barker) (10:55): I rise today to speak about my Big Aussie Barbie, which this year raised $1,200 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. This is the 12th barbecue I've hosted, after I attended a prostate cancer barbecue here in Parliament House in 2014. It was at that barbecue that the startling facts about the diagnosis and death rate of prostate cancer were made plain to me.

It's the most common cancer diagnosed in Australian men, with nearly 29,000 Australian men diagnosed every year. These men are our fathers, our brothers, our uncles and our sons. Thanks to the generosity of the local community, my Big Aussie Barbie, in partnership with the Limestone Coast Prostate Cancer Support Group, has raised more than $12,000 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia since its inception.

I also want to thank local businesses Bakers Delight, Shelton's butchers and Coates hire, who once again generously supported this event, together with long-term major supporter Key2Sale real estate. Most importantly, we've had hundreds of conversations over the barbecue plate. These conversations about early detection give men the best chance of successful treatment and survival, and I've no doubt that these conversations have led to many an early diagnosis and have saved many a life.

A PSA test is a simple blood test, so I encourage men to have the test. Unfortunately, in the week leading up to this year's barbecue, the Albanese Labor government announced they will strip Commonwealth funding from the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia's specialist nursing program, effective from the middle of next year. The government will axe a proven trauma-specific nursing program that's been built over more than a decade, without any credible explanation and before its own independent evaluation has been completed.

This established program delivers 150,000 consultations each and every year and supports more than 22,000 new patients, in addition to existing ones. The Prostate Cancer Foundation specialist nurses understand the particular and sometimes delicate challenges involved in engaging men about their health. They support men through difficult conversations and complex treatment decisions while also encouraging early testing, helping to break down the reluctance many men have about getting help.

I'm calling on Minister Butler to urgently meet with the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, release the evidence behind this decision and guarantee no person living in Barker will miss out on a specialist prostate care nurse.