Senator PRATT (Western Australia) (11:59): I move: That the Senate— (a) notes that: (i) 28 July was World Hepatitis Day, (ii) the event is one of only 4 official world disease awareness days endorsed by the World Health Organization, (iii) chronic hepatitis C is a large and growing health problem in Australia with more than 200 000 people living with the disease, (iv) left untreated, hepatitis C can possibly lead to liver damage, cancer and death, (v) hepatitis C has now eclipsed HIV/AIDS as the number one viral killer in Australia, (vi) hepatitis C can be cured with the appropriate treatment, (vii) needle and syringe programs have proven effective in relation to preventing transmission of hepatitis B and hepatitis C as well as HIV, and (viii) hepatitis C disproportionately impacts on the Indigenous community with Indigenous people representing less than 3 per cent of the total Australian population but more than 8 per cent of the Australian population infected with hepatitis C; and (b) welcomes scientific and treatment advances that greatly increase the chance of curing patients with the most common and hardest to treat strain of hepatitis C. I seek leave to make a statement. Leave granted. Senator PRATT: On behalf of the Parliamentary Liaison Group for HIV/AIDS, Blood Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmitted Infections, I am pleased to be moving this motion. Teresa Gambaro in the House of Representatives has moved a similar motion. July 28 was World Hepatitis Day and this motion places on record the more than 200,000 people who are living with hepatitis C and the impacts of this disease on their lives. We are welcoming scientific advances in this motion which will see great treatment advances for these many thousands of Australians who are affected by hepatitis C. It also acknowledges the effectiveness of needle and syringe programs, which have proven a great way of preventing the transmission of hepatitis C and HIV in this country. Question agreed to.