CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
It's great to be here with you today as we take the next step at the launch of the national advertising campaign "DonateLife, Discuss it today. OK".
This is something that I am passionate about.
As a donor recipient myself, I am absolutely committed to increasing the rate of organ and tissue donation in Australia. As is everyone in this room.
We all know that there is a high level of public support for organ and tissue donation.
But while transplant success rates in Australia are among the best in the world, organ and tissue donation rates remain comparatively low.
At any given time, approximately 1,700 Australians are waiting to get the call for a life-saving or life-transforming transplant - this includes some 1,200 Australians waiting for a kidney transplant.
One of those people waiting by the phone for that call was Dean Jobson.
I had the privilege of meeting Dean back in February, at the launch of Organ Donor Awareness Week.
Dean is your average knockabout bloke, a young bloke from Goulburn.
Except that at that stage, Dean had been waiting 19 months for a heart transplant.
He couldn't work, he was dependent on a mechanical heart to keep him alive, and his dad had been forced to give up work to be his carer.
But Dean had a great attitude, which impressed everyone who saw him in the Theatrette in Parliament House that day.
He didn't feel sorry for himself.
Instead, his attitude was:
"I'd prefer to be alive and on a transplant waiting list than the alternative. I've still got the chance."
And ladies and gentlemen, I'm very pleased to be able to say today that Dean got his chance.
Recently, Dean got that long-awaited phone call.
There was a donor.
Dean got his transplant.
And he's doing well.
He's now an outpatient at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney.
And he's hoping to be home for good sometime in the next fortnight.
His transplant has made a huge difference to him because he no longer needs his ventricular assist device - his mechanical heart.
He's now an ordinary bloke, with an extraordinary heart. He's happy, and his parents are over the moon.
Dean's cardiomyopathy affected everyone in his family - his life, of course, but also his parents' lives as they needed to care for him at a time when they might have thought about taking things easy.
This beautiful gift from a selfless donor and donor family has given Dean and his family their lives back.
Dean's story is a very real example of why the Australian Government is committed to increasing the rate of organ and tissue donation in Australia.
That's why in July 2008, the Australian Government announced the $150 million World's Best Practice Approach to Organ and Tissue Donation for Transplantation plan.
This is a national reform plan built on international best practice and experience, with three core elements:
* A coordinated, national approach to organ donation and transplantation;
* Expert, dedicated staff on the ground in all our major hospitals to enable organ and tissue donation to proceed; and
* Increased community awareness about the importance of organ and tissue donation and the difference it can make.
We've made significant progress in laying the foundations for change in public hospitals.
We've improved hospital systems.
We've established a national clinical network of staff - over 150 doctors and nurses in 76 major hospitals around the country dedicated to improving organ and tissue donation.
Across the country, the new hospital medical directors and nursing staff are spearheading change within hospitals, enabling donations that might not otherwise have gone ahead, including from smaller regional hospitals for the first time.
And these donations are happening.
I am advised that recently, a hospital that had never previously been involved in organ donation was able to help a family to carry out the wishes of their loved one.
And by doing so, three Australians received a life-changing transplant. And two of these people had been on the waiting list for more than seven years.
Donor Family Support Coordinators are being rolled out for the states and territories.
These dedicated, compassionate experts support families through the traumatic, confusing and highly emotional process of making a decision about their loved one becoming a donor. And they support those families, whatever decision they make.
In addition, new clinical triggers to help identify potential donors and additional funding to hospitals to make sure costs are not a barrier to organ donation are making a difference.
The early signs are encouraging - and the Government believes that Australia can do much better as the reforms transform the approach to organ and tissue donation across the country.
But while hospitals have a pivotal role to play, equally important in our quest to boost donation rates is what takes place outside the hospital walls.
Community awareness is absolutely vital.
And that awareness can be raised around the kitchen table.
On the couch in the ad break. In the car on the way to the shops. Over coffee or a meal or a drink at the bar.
We need to talk to the people we love about what we want to happen when we're gone.
And we need to know what their wishes are regarding organ donation.
Because families that know each other's donation wishes are more likely to uphold them.
And families will always be asked to give the final OK before donation can proceed.
That's why it is vital to discuss organ donation with your family.
This is the third element of our reform plan.
Research tells us that the vast majority - around 80 per cent - of Australians support organ donation and think it is important to discuss it with their family.
However, only 17 per cent of Australians have actually discussed their donation wishes in detail with their family and loved ones. And 37 per cent have never had that discussion.
We have to change those statistics. We have to make sure that all Australians have the facts they need to make an informed decision.
And that they understand that they need to share their decision with the people close to them. Too many Australians do not talk about organ donation.
40 per cent of Australians do not know whether their loved one would want to be a donor or not. Many family members do not confidently know each other's wishes.
Many people have not discussed their donation decision with family members for more than a year.
Many can't remember whether they have had the discussion at all.
We know that the most important thing people want to know in order to make a decision about consenting to organ donation is - is this what they wanted?
The simple fact is that even if a person is registered as a donor - and I encourage you all to register as a sign of your commitment - their family will always be asked to give consent for donation to take place.
The family is always asked to give the final OK and that is why it is important for the people close to you to know your decision about organ donation.
There are many non-government organisations who are working tirelessly at the local level to raise awareness of organ and tissue donation within the community.
This campaign will supplement their endeavours.
Working together we can make a difference.
When I look at South Australia's long history of strong performance in this area, with its rate of donations above 20 donors per million population - double the national average of around 10 donors per million population for the last decade - I know that we can do better across the country.
We need to do better to help the many Australians who need an organ or tissue donation to survive. It's as simple as that.
There are many people passionately committed to increasing awareness of organ and tissue donation and working tirelessly towards building a world class system.
And I commend their contribution, and thank them for it.
Today we are launching a call to action to all Australians. It is time for all Australians to:
* discover the facts about organ and tissue donation;
* decide about becoming an organ and tissue donor, and
* discuss their decision with their family and friends.
It is time for all those dedicated health professionals in the sector to work together to ensure that families are given the opportunity to have their loved one's intention to donate carried out.
It is by doing this that we will help save the lives of many Australians who are waiting for a new chance at life.
From tomorrow night, Australians across the nation will begin to see this television advertisement.
And I hope it will encourage all Australians to begin talking about organ and tissue donation.