During my time in office, I've had the heartbreaking privilege of meeting with Bradfield constituents to hear their stories of devastating loss and life-changing diagnoses. In particular, Georgina, who told me of the loss of her beautiful daughter Vanessa to sudden cardiac arrest just aged 24, to Nadine and *David, whose daughter Sasha was diagnosed with a rare regressive genetic condition at the age of four, and Lucy, who lost her young daughter to neuroblastoma. These families inspired me with their hope, turning their personal devastation into purpose and action.
They have formed and joined advocacy groups. They've rallied scientists, medical researchers, and universities to their cause. They have promising high-quality research and development: the application of CAR T-cell therapy to solid tumours, personalised gene therapies and targeted cardiovascular research.
What they desperately need is funding. Australia has a well-established medical research fund, the MRFF, established in 2015, with the goal of providing a billion dollars annually to medical research investment. And yet, since the fund was fully capitalised in 2022, annual investment has stalled at 650 million dollars. That's 350 million dollars short of what could be.
An eye-watering sum that is being withheld every year from the Australian scientific and medical research community. And this is just not just frustrating to scientists and medical researchers. The Australian Academy of Scientists have warned that low grant success rates are contributing to researchers leaving active research careers and being driven overseas. It means high-quality medical research projects are not being funded, and that the world is being denied potential, life-saving advancements, and the incredible expertise of Australian scientific talent.
It means that we're not building out Australian scientific capability or downstream capabilities at a time when we should be strengthening our long-term productivity. But equally, behind every promising research proposal that's not funded, there's a real person whose life is not going to be saved or improved because of this decision, and whose family is left asking "why?" as they desperately try to raise funds for expensive treatments overseas.
The Future Fund board has determined that it would be financially sustainable for the MRFF to make the full $1 billion annually available for research grants. And I acknowledge my colleague, the member for Kooyong's sustained advocacy in this space.
For Georgina, this extra funding would mean honouring Vanessa's life, through investing in the work of the Centenary Institute related to sudden cardiac death. For Sasha, personalized gene therapies would allow her again to regain lost skills to walk and talk again. And for Lucy, it would give hope to the Australian children who relapse with neuroblastoma and otherwise face a devastating 10 per cent long-term survival.