Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Australia 50th anniversary Reception, Government House

[E&OE]

I begin by acknowledging that Government House sits on the land of the Ngunnawal People here in the ACT. If you’re a Canberran, you’ll know what a beautiful part of the country this is. We thank them for looking after it for us, for generation after generation, and pay our respects to their elders past and present.

Good evening, everyone.

Linda and I are delighted to welcome you to Government House and to host a 50th anniversary reception for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

For 50 years the Foundation has improved the quality of life of the many millions of Australians and people worldwide living with Type 1 Diabetes.

It’s an outstanding contribution. That’s why we’re here today – to recognise it and to celebrate it.

Natural disasters have been a feature of our lives over the last two to three years.

In times of adversity, we see Australians at their best. Adversity doesn’t just build character, it reveals it.

In recent times we have again seen Australians stepping up, without hesitation, to help one another.

It’s sometimes easy to forget that there are other areas of Australian life where people and organisations are also doing outstanding work.

Linda and I see examples of it every day. Here’s three examples from the last month alone:

The provision of 40 social housing units to the homeless In Coffs Harbour by Mission Australia.

The graduation by Youth Insearch of its next cohort of young leaders – people who are part of an organisation that has helped more than 32,000 vulnerable youth turn their lives around.

The continued good work of The Smith Family – 100 years strong this year, with tentacles in education, health and aged care, recycling and emergency relief. If you remember the White Elephants then you'll know how long The Smith Family has been around.

Those three organisations are the tip of the iceberg. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is also in that category.

Linda and I could talk to each of you for hours on end about the goodness in our community; a goodness that, despite current events, makes me optimistic about our future.

The work of the Foundation also makes me optimistic.

Fifty years ago, a 10-year-old child diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes had a life expectancy of only 31 more years. That child’s life expectancy has advanced by 25 more years.

So, do the sums – today, that child, born in 1962, is now 59 or 60 years of age. In 1972, that child was not expected to live beyond 2003. He or she is still alive thanks largely to the work of the Foundation.

That is worth celebrating.

The Foundation has been backing medical research for decades and makes life better for those living with Type 1 Diabetes.

One of the things I like about the Foundation is that it is in the long game. Year in, year out, each major advance in science creates a base of knowledge, thereby making it easier to translate subsequent discoveries into practical treatments.

The Foundation helps fund the work of leading scientists, enabling them to join the dots, propel their medical advances and get solutions to market as quickly as possible.

Its Centre of Excellence in Perth is designed to drive discovery with maximum speed. The Centre is the first of its kind in Australia and one of only five in the world.

I love it when organisations I am a supporter of have ambitions to not exist. It means they have a laser-like focus on positive outcomes.

Imagine a world where nearly one million Australians will not live with a strict daily regimen of skin pricks, blood sugar measurement, calculations and injections. Imagine a world where Mums and Dads don’t have to get up in the middle of every night to make sure their child is asleep and not in a diabetic coma. All of us look forward to that day.

Today, we celebrate. And, in doing that, we also say thank you.

Thank you to all in this room and all involved in the work of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Australia for driving this progress. To the donors and supporters, research scientists, advocates, and to those who participated in the clinical trials – thank you.

We wish you every success as you inch closer to finding a cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

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