The University of Queensland Ipswich Campus 10th Anniversary and
Official Launch of the Medical Program at the Campus
24th July, 2009
The Honourable Rachel Nolan MP, Minister for Transport and Member for Ipswich,
Mr Wayne Wendt MP, Member for Ipswich West,
Mayor of the City of Ipswich, Councillor Paul Pisasale,
University of Queensland Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alan Rix,
Deputy Executive Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences, Professor Helen Chenery,
Professor David Wilkinson, Head of the School of Medicine,
Other distinguished guests,
Friends and supporters of the University of Queensland, of UQ's Ipswich campus and of Ipswich itself,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In the spirit of reconciliation that we seek to foster throughout our community, I acknowledge the Yuggera, Jaggera and Yuggerabul peoples, the traditional owners of the land on which we are gathered today.
I am very pleased indeed, as Governor and in my role as Official Visitor of the University of Queensland, to be present today for this celebration of the 10th anniversary of the UQ Ipswich Campus and of the launch in 2009 of the teaching of Medicine at the Campus. This is a celebration not only for the university, but also for the community and for the City of Ipswich, further cementing its position as a dynamic regional centre, steadily growing in stature and significance within our State.
The introduction of the teaching of medicine, in this year that celebrates the 150th anniversary of our State, shows just how well founded and grounded was the vision of those who established the Ipswich campus. Ten years on from that joint decision by the State Government and the University of Queensland, the campus is now home to over 2,000 students, with close to 10% being international students - something I am delighted to see. But more than that it is a dynamic part of Ipswich's social, economic and cultural life and an important contributor to its flourishing diversity.
That a medical science degree is being added to the campus' curriculum is yet another testament to the key role that the University of Queensland is playing in helping to develop Queensland as a centre for global medical excellence and a hub of medical research and learning.
This is an issue in which I have taken a key interest throughout my first year as Governor, believing it to be crucially important for our State and our country and something that will add to our standing internationally. We should all be proud that here in Queensland there are now some 52 medical research institutes, eight medically focused cooperative research centres, four research hospitals, seven universities involved in medical research, and three government agencies with a medical research capability.
A recent Smart State Council report forecast that the medical research sector of the Queensland economy will create 3,500 jobs by 2010 and 16,000 by 2025. At that time the market value of the industry is expected to be $20 billion, with annual revenues of $4 billion.
The ability of UQ's Ipswich campus to become an important and growing part of this industry and to help meet the health needs of our community have been greatly strengthened not only by the introduction of this program in medical studies, but by the progressive addition over the past six years of other courses in the field of health. This include courses in nursing, midwifery, health sciences, dietetics, medicine and physicians assistant studies. The campus has also been successful in winning the Federal Government's tender for the Ipswich GP Super Clinic.
The University's initiative in fusing study of preventative medicine and health management to its medical degree course, through the introduction of its MBBS dual degree, is something that I applaud. Last week, I addressed the annual conference of the Australian Medical Students Association on global medical issues. Much of that speech dealt with the critical importance of preventative medicine in tackling global health problems.
It is a fact that much of the disease and illness we suffer is quite preventable. To be precise, globally almost 11 million people die of preventable infectious diseases each year. These are very troubling figures. It is also sobering to be reminded that worldwide more than 22 million people have HIV/AIDS and diagnoses of HIV infections are again on the rise in Australia - including in Queensland.
The WHO is now warning us of a worrying rise in the incidence of chronic and non-communicable disease - in particular diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
Driving this trend are preventable factors associated with our rapidly changing, increasingly urban and sedentary lifestyles. To take just one issue - obesity - we know the role of preventative medicine can be enormously successful and cost effective.
It may therefore not be surprising to learn that, according to the WHO's estimations, preventative medical programs have the potential to reduce premature deaths by 47% globally and increase life expectancy by almost 10 years - by 9.3 years in fact.
Given the seemingly inexorable rise in medical costs in Australia, the evident pressures on our health system and this ongoing strong growth of the population of our State, I can think of no better way to educate our Queensland doctors and medical administrators than in preventative medicine.
So I congratulate The University of Queensland on yet again creating much-needed innovative paths in education, and on further strengthening our State's emerging claim to be Australia's foremost centre for medical education and research.
I congratulate the students and staff of this campus on their decade of success in providing Ipswich and the surrounding region with such a magnificent regional centre of tertiary education. The scope of other courses which you offer - in agriculture, food and environment, engineering, architecture and planning, humanities, social science, education and arts science and information technology - are all vital elements of Ipswich's rise to prominence as a centre of regional excellence - with the Ipswich Campus of the University of Queensland proudly occupying a central place and, at ten years of age - which isn't very old, really - looking forward eagerly to the decades to come and the opportunity to contribute even more to the growth of this region and of our State, meeting the education needs of future generations in ways that are as imaginative, as innovative and as focused on contemporary realities and challenges as those we recognise and celebrate today.
Thank you.