Dr. Michael Byrne:

Students with asthma or anyone with any chronic illness, including people with type 2 and type 1 diabetes do not necessarily declare.

I wish to make two other points in terms of clarification. Deputy McLellan or Senator van Turnhout asked how we would cope if we made provision for adrenaline in remote areas. It is a definite challenge. Let us make it available in the high-risk areas first and demonstrate proof of concept, and we can then address the need in remote areas. If we can make it available in a place where we know there is a high risk, we should do so. The university community has been very positive about this initiative. Volunteers have come from among staff members who have anaphylaxis or children with anaphylaxis and even staff members who are concerned for the welfare of not just students but visitors and staff on site.

I thank the Chairman for his efforts in ensuring the issue was brought to this committee. Very few life-threatening situations can be treated as easily as this. Cardiac arrest and anaphylaxis are perhaps the only two things that are so eminently treatable with simple, available technology. People would have had the same debates before AEDs were made available in the community. AEDs are now in every sports hall in the country. They were often in sports halls before they were in GPs surgeries because the community knew that was where the risk was. We need to embrace this and do something about it.