Coker welcomes Senate inquiry into Bellarine cancer cases

CORANGAMITE federal member Libby Coker has welcomed the announcement of a Senate Inquiry into the incidences of cancer on the Bellarine Peninsula.
Ms Coker said she was pleased that the Senate would tomorrow deliver on a promise made during the election campaign – first by herself and then by (now) Senator Sarah Henderson.
“That is to establish a parliamentary inquiry into the incidence of cancer on the Bellarine Peninsula, especially among residents in their late teens and 20s around the Barwon Heads/Point Lonsdale area.
“A number of these young people went to school at Bellarine Secondary College in Drysdale.”
She said residents of the Bellarine, and especially those families who have lost loved ones to the horror of cancer, needed to have their minds put at rest.
“The Victorian government and the responsible chief health officer say there is no cancer cluster, having looked at the incidence of cancer in the area.
“However, this inquiry gives us all the opportunity to hear the evidence and reflect on what has happened.”
Ms Coker said the families of young people who were affected needed the inquiry to be thorough and conclusive.
“I hope as many constituents as possible, as well as local government, state authorities and health agencies will all make submissions.”