MsFARMER (Bulimba-AlP)

The Bligh government is committed to making Queenslanders Australia's wealthiest people.  Through the Toward Q2 targets the government will work towards having the shortest hospital waiting times in Australia and cutting obesity, smoking, heavy drinking and unsafe sun exposure by one third. The government is already making significant progress on these targets. In the year since they were set, emergency waiting times in Queensland have moved from sixth in Australia to third, and our elective surgery waitlng times are now the best in Australia.

The government has an aggressive program to address chronic disease with excellent initiatives to encourage healthy communities, protect children from harmful smoking and encourage Queenslanders to be active.

There is another chronic disease that is lesser known than the main offenders but causes significant pain and anguish to Queenstanders. Scleroderma affects over 5,000 Australians. lt is painful and debilitating and can cause death. It can start as a streak or line of hardened waxy skin on an arm or leg or on the forehead. It can extend over the body and can involve deeper layers of the skin and sometimes restrict the movement of the joints that lie underneath. The hardening can extend to affect major organs, causing them to become hard and fibrous and to function less efficiently. No-one knows what causes it and it is complex to study because of its variable nature, prolonged course and the relatively small number of persons affected by it. Therefore, one's doctor may often make decisions about treatment based on incomplete information.

The Scleroderma Association of Queensland Inc. is a remarkable association that, despite the significant problems in researching and managing the disease, is finding solutions and providing support to scteroderma sufferers. I especially mention Colin Breeze, the association's president, and Vicky Snow, its secretary. Neither suffers from Scleroderma but both devote a huge number of hours to their mission. Vicky and her husband Alan are already active community members in the Bulimba electorate and I thank them for that. They are two of the kindest and most hardworking people l have met. I am proud to say that the Scleroderma Association of Queensland is supported by Queensland Health and also that I have been asked to be its patron. l commend the association to all members and encourage all to become aware of this disease.

Down load a copy of Di's speech here

INTRODUCING OUR PATRON:    Di Farmer MP

Di Farmer has accepted the position of Patron to the Scleroderma Association of Queensland, and we are very pleased that she has done so.

Di was elected as the State Member for the seat of Bulimba at the 2009 election.

Di and her husband Ian, are the parents of two lovely daughters Millie and Lucy.

Di has always been active in a number of voluntary roles for organisations. Examples are: as Secretary of the Morningside Development Association, helping to run the Morningside Festival and Carols in the Park and as a volunteer for Bulimba Meals on Wheels. Di is also a member of the Morningside State School P&C, Treasurer of the Balmoral Local Area Ambulance Committee and a member of Career Employment Australia, a not-for-profit organisation supporting disadvantaged people to re-enter the workforce.

Having started out her working life as a speech pathologist, Di has held positions of leadership throughout her career such as General Manager of Jacaranda Wiley, a national educational publishing company.

Di is passionate about community organisations and will fight to make sure that our message is placed on the public agenda. She has already given a speech on Scleroderma in State Parliament on the 16th September 2009 and the transcript of this speech is found on this website.  (to be added at a later date).

Di brings a wealth of real life work experience from the private and public sectors – blended with a strong track record as an active member of community organisations. We as an Organisation are extremely fortunate that she has undertaken the role of Patron of the Scleroderma Association of Queensland.