E&OE…
Topics: Monash University’s new neuroscience facility; leadership; energy; Julia Banks.
GREG HUNT:
To Professor Terry O’Brien, Professor Christina Mitchell, congratulations to Monash and to Alfred on the new neuroscience department. It is about saving lives and protecting lives. It’s about giving hope and treatment to people with epilepsy, with Alzheimer’s, and the broader dementia family of issues, the motor neuron conditions and diseases and of course, brain tumour, as well as concussion and epilepsy. So these are immensely important developments that Monash and the Alfred are bringing together.
It’s part of a broader national push on medical research, which is both great for the economy but most importantly, it’s extraordinarily important for patients. So, over the coming years, what’s been commenced today formally, but which was commenced long ago in terms of planning and preparation, will make a profound difference to thousands of lives around Australia. I’d invite Terry and Christina to say a few words and if you have any questions on this topic, we’ll take them together and after that, I’ll address any other questions. Terry.
TERRY O’BRIEN:
Thank you, Minister Hunt. So it’s an incredibly exciting day today for patients with neurological diseases because thanks to the investment from the Alfred Hospital and Monash University and the federal and state governments, we now have for the first time in Australia a purpose-built facility on one site, where we can start with the patients in identifying the significant problems and unmet treatment needs that they have, go back to the highest quality, basic science, develop and test new innovative treatments and solutions and then bring them back to a purpose-built, first in neurological disease clinical trial facility all on one site. And this is going to unquestionably develop and bring to patients new treatments that will change lives for these devastating conditions.
JOURNALIST:
The fact that it’s all on one site, how does that help a patient and a researcher?
TERRY O’BRIEN:
It’s so important because what it means is the clinician scientists, who actually look after the patients, are able to work side by side with their basic science, engineering, physicists, pharmacology colleagues and articulate to them what are the really important problems that need to be addressed by basic science.
So the basic science is focused on addressing the clinical needs and it means that people like myself, who do both see patients and do laboratory work, can actually do that. If we had to drive off to another site 20 kilometres away, it would be very difficult to actually be both a scientist and clinician. And one of the desperate needs we have in this community is more clinician scientists, people who see patients and also do science.
JOURNALIST:
What benefits could we see for those patients? How could it change their lives?
TERRY O’BRIEN:
Well, until very recently, most neurological diseases had no treatments that could actually slow these things down, reverse it or let alone cure it. All treatments were symptomatic. What we’re now starting to see is treatments that actually are effective on the disease itself, not just the symptoms. They need high quality, very specialised facilities to be tested to prove they’re effective and safe and the current environments for doing that are not set up for neurological patients who have very specific needs.
So, what this means – we have a facility that new treatments for neurological diseases can be tested optimally. And it’s unique- almost unique in the world, it’s unique in Australia. I’m getting inquiries multiple times per week from companies all over the world, biotech companies who are wanting to use this facility now to develop and test their new treatments.
JOURNALIST:
Can you talk us through a little bit about the pioneering epilepsy study you guys have here, the clinical trials?
TERRY O’BRIEN:
Yeah. So epilepsy, which is the area that I predominantly treat, is one of the most common chronic neurological diseases. It affects at any one time several per cent of the population. One in three people with epilepsy, their seizures aren’t controlled. So it means they have a risk of injury, they can’t drive, they have all sorts of neurocognitive and psychological problems as a result and they die at a rate of 30 times the general population of sudden death.
And for that one-third of people, there is really very little we’ve been able to do. So this new facility has two components. One is it allows us to deeply assess these patients and identify patients who can have transformational treatments like epilepsy surgery, which can cure the epilepsy when they’ve never had those seizures controlled before. We had a patient referred to us very recently from South Australia who had seizures multiple times per night, every night for 35 years. Since the surgery, he’s now been completely seizure-free so it’s transformational.
But also it allows us to test new treatments that are not- because not everyone can go to surgery so what we want is medical treatments that’s going to have the same effect as surgery. And we’re now starting to trial some of these new treatments, some of which have come out at our own laboratory’s research, that can actually not just suppress the seizures but actually change the underlying epileptic condition.
JOURNALIST:
The one that you are undertaking now…
TERRY O’BRIEN:
Well we’ve got a number of trials at the moment.
JOURNALIST:
Yes, and he’s doing a five-day trial.
TERRY O’BRIEN:
So, he’s in for- the patient we interviewed is in for a clinical evaluation. So he’s someone whose seizures haven’t been able to control with medications. Who we’re looking to identify exactly where the seizures are coming from, what the underlying substrate is and look to see how we can offer him better treatments.
He is actually part of our clinical search because everybody in our academic hospital like this, everybody is involved with clinical research. But the trial- the clinical research is as an observational biomarker study looking at measures imaging and genomic that might predict outcomes of treatments.
JOURNALIST:
What does that data over a week then- what will it show you?
TERRY O’BRIEN:
So, at the end of the week, we’ll hopefully be able to know exactly where in the brain the seizures are coming from, what the underlying substrate is, whether it’s something that’s amenable to an operation. And if it’s not, what other forms of treatment might be available. So, he potentially could be suitable for a new neurostimulator device or one of the new clinical trials of a disease-modifying treatment that we’re running. But by deeply understanding his epilepsy after this week, we’re able to go to target in a precision medicine way what the best treatment option is for him.
CHRISTINA MITCHELL:
I would just like to congratulate Terry and the Minister for this wonderful opportunity to do clinical research based on great discoveries. The brain is the great frontier and its diseases and research – it’s so inaccessible, but now with the great new imaging technologies that Terry and his team have developed, we can now diagnose early conditions that previously we couldn’t.
And because of the clinical trials unit, we can meet unmet need in terms of developing new treatments. So it’s very exciting. Some of this has been funded by the State Government and also in particular by the Federal Government. And it’s a wonderful opportunity and we’re all very excited and very grateful. So, thank you.
GREG HUNT:
Great. Happy to take any questions on medical research or after that other matters.
JOURNALIST:
Let’s go to the other matters then I guess. So obviously, you know, we saw a lot of chaos in Canberra last week. The man that you backed and sort of the cause of the whole chaos didn’t get elected – Peter Dutton. Was it all for nothing?
GREG HUNT:
Look, I am very optimistic about the future. I think with Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg we’ve got an amazing leadership team.
My view is that we will now have a very long, long period of stability with two extraordinary leaders and I realise many Australians will be disappointed and surprised by the events of last week. And personally, I went into last week not expecting anything such as that to happen and unfortunately, ultimately there was a loss of support from the party room. I recognise that, and that was my judgement. I think we have come to a place though where Scott and Josh together operate as and will represent a real generational change.
But even more importantly they represent a period of long stability and incredible vision for the country. I think Scott gets not just the Liberal Party, but he gets Australia. He’s from the suburbs. He has deep faith. He has a deep understanding of the community and he is just himself and is able to deliver an economic and a national security vision. But he’s also been very involved in supporting me on medical research and new medicines and mental health. He’s very strong on all of those.
JOURNALIST:
You didn’t support him though, you supported Peter Dutton. You’re a Victorian MP. This seemed to be conflict that was arising out of the Longman by-election. How do you feel about making that misjudgement? You called it a judgement before, you obviously didn’t read the rest of the party and the rest of the country.
GREG HUNT:
Look, my situation was that I put myself forward as somebody who could potentially help with the unity after the loss of support. The party room made that judgement and the fact that it is two of my closest friends, not just in Canberra but anywhere in the country that have been elected, fills me with a great sense of hope, not because they are friends, but because I know how good they are.
And I say that in every respect – as people, as representatives, as healers and as visionaries. And so I think that that’s why I’m optimistic. If it were anything else, I think it would be obvious, but my response after the party room meeting was genuine sense of optimism for the country and for the party. And the party though is about giving Australia the best shot at government that will help people with their quality of lives and their cost of living and that’s what I think we can actually do together.
JOURNALIST:
Haven’t you actually cost the government though its power? I mean, we’ve seen the polls lately. The Coalition has absolutely plunged and Bill Shorten is the preferred Prime Minister. You know, you’ve triggered the by-election in Wentworth. You’ve lost one of the most senior ministers in Julie Bishop from the frontbench and obviously yesterday Julia Banks has now resigned as well and won’t contest the next election. So you’re losing powerful people and a fellow Victorian MP.
GREG HUNT:
Well look, equally what we see is that for the first time, in Josh, there’s a Victorian in the leadership pairing, in a decade since Peter Costello was in power. And he’s there as Treasurer and he’ll be an outstanding Treasurer and he’ll be an outstanding deputy leader. And my optimism is that together, with this stability and the unity, which I genuinely believe will now be the future, after we’ve drawn a line under the last decade.
And we need to be honest, of course over the last decade there have been challenges and I genuinely believe that stability will be there, that unity and my commitment to the two of them and my support is absolutely and clear and unequivocal. And it’s built over so much time together.
But secondly, their ability to help build an economic future for the country and a national security future, I think stands in very stark contrast to the Opposition and what does that mean? That means ultimately, as people get to know Scott, they will understand just the breadth and depth of his character, his abilities and above all else his commitment to Australians everywhere. That’s what he actually talks about. He talks about how do we help Australians have a better opportunity at their lives.
JOURNALIST:
Many of the events of the past week have revealed a culture of bullying in the Liberal Party.
GREG HUNT:
Look, I would condemn, absolutely condemn bullying in any workplace in any situation. I understand the Prime Minister has said that he is looking at these issues and I think that’s the entirely appropriate thing to do. So I want to acknowledge and support his actions on that front.
JOURNALIST:
What do you think of Julia Banks? What do you think about her resignation?
GREG HUNT:
Look, I’m very sad. She’s such a good person. She’s such a good MP. I respect her decision. I know it’s a difficult time for many, many people. I wish her the absolute best. She’s really an outstanding person and an outstanding MP.
JOURNALIST:
Do you believe there’s a culture problem then? That it’s not just her that has- there’s rumours that other MPs have come forward with these allegations too. Do you believe that this was something that actually happened?
GREG HUNT:
Look, I wouldn’t in any way, shape or form question the claims that individuals have made. I think that the Prime Minister has said that he is looking at it and as I’ve said, that is utterly, entirely the right and appropriate thing for him to do. So I’ll let him make those reviews and let him respond to that directly.
JOURNALIST:
Angus Taylor’s got a big task ahead of him. Is working on energy prices and lowering them the only way to win the next election?
GREG HUNT:
Cost of living and energy prices are a fundamental question for Australians and there are really two choices. We have an Opposition which deliberately wants to increase electricity prices. They did it when they introduced a carbon tax and now they want to do it with their existing proposals which amount to an electricity tax. We will not be taxing electricity. We will be doing everything to take the pressure off electricity.
So Australians have a very clear choice here. And as Scott said in his first set of interviews, it’s about giving Australians the chance to get ahead by giving them a fair go. And when he announced Angus Taylor, he said that Angus had one principal task and that was to be the minister for bringing down electricity prices. And I’ve already spoken to Angus and he is working on that already. And so there is a clear difference. Electricity prices up under Labor and we’ll be doing everything we can to bring them down under us.
JOURNALIST:
Did Peter Dutton make the right call with the French au pair?
GREG HUNT:
Look, I don’t know the details of that. I apologise.
JOURNALIST:
But should he have intervened?
GREG HUNT:
Again, I apologise but I just don’t know the details of that. Alright, thank you very much.