Dr WEBSTER (Mallee) (17:26): I rise to support this motion and National Skin Cancer Action Week. In 2024, I had a skin cancer cut out of my nose. I decided then that I would use what was an uncomfortable—and very ugly to look at—experience to encourage other Australians to take skin cancer seriously, and, importantly, to remind people to get their skin checked. My own experience reinforced that none of us should assume it will not happen to us. That message matters especially in regional Australia because prevention and early detection only work when people can actually access care. The challenge is particularly acute in Mallee.

Research led by La Trobe University found melanoma rates across Loddon Mallee were 34 per cent above the Victorian average, with isolation and access to health care two of the barriers confronting patients. I want to acknowledge the Loddon Mallee Integrated Cancer Service, or LMICS, whose northern Mallee cancer representatives met with me in person and via video in my Mildura electorate office last week. I appreciated the opportunity, particularly as I'd been unable to join their annual forum at Bendigo Health in August, which examined inequity in regional cancer care.

LMICS's message in that meeting was a clear and sombre echo of my maiden speech in 2019: your postcode should not determine your health status. LMICS and its research partners are backing that principle with practical work through their project, RISE4SkinCancer, which is seeking to improve detection, treatment and referral pathways across Loddon Mallee by building the capacity of primary care. Their meeting with me illustrated how fragile and reliant on others regional cancer services can be.

LMICS reported that flight disruptions this year had caused radiation oncologists visiting Mildura to cancel clinics on at least five occasions and convert at least 10 clinics to telehealth. Patients themselves also depend on those unreliable flights to reach specialist appointments elsewhere. That is why bringing detection and expertise closer to home matters. I have strongly advocated for a VECTRA WB360 whole-body imaging system at Mildura Base Public Hospital.

VECTRA uses 46 stereo vision pods to produce a high-resolution, three-dimensional map of a patient's exposed skin. Individual lesions can be recorded against that body map and reviewed over time, allowing clinicians to identify and monitor changes which may warrant further investigation. Following my advocacy, a $3 million expansion through the Medical Research Future Fund established Mildura as the 16th site for the Australian Centre of Excellence in Melanoma Imaging and Diagnosis. The MRFF itself was established by the former, coalition government in 2015—an enduring coalition investment in Australian medical research and innovation.

Technology alone is not enough. We need GPs and nurse practitioners equipped to identify suspicious lesions, reliable referral pathways, specialists and a locally trained medical workforce. In my meeting with LMICS last week, it was clear that our cancer care networks are very fragile due to our dependence on fly-in fly-out specialists or flights to get patients down to Melbourne. Our long-term answer must include training and retaining more medical professionals in regional Australia.

My message during National Skin Cancer Action Week is straightforward and twofold. First, protect your skin, know your skin and get any suspicious changes checked early. Second, governments, both federal and state, must meet Australians halfway as they do their bit in prevention. Governments need to ensure early detection and treatment does not depend on your postcode.