PDGN President Guy Barnett has stepped down from the role he was elected to in 2015 to concentrate on his Ministerial responsibilities in the Tasmanian Parliament.
He was appointed to the Cabinet in 2016 and is now Minister for Primary Industries and Water, Minister for Resources, Minister for Trade, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction. Guy is also a Diabetes Australia Ambassador.
Guy was a co-founder of our Global Network, and put an enormous amount of effort into the first and successful Forum in Melbourne. PDGN owes him a substantial debt of gratitude for his fundraising and organisational efforts.
Guy will continue as a member and we look forward to hearing from him in his continued advocacy for people with diabetes.
David Amess
The Global Network of Parliamentary Champions for Diabetes was deeply saddened by the untimely death of Sir David Amess, a vigorous champion of diabetes in the UK Parliament. David was stabbed to death by an alleged terrorist while holding a constituency surgery.
Sir Michael Hirst and John Bowis OBE, co-Chairs of PDGN as well as Secretary-general Adrian Sanders, all served in Parliament with David Amess.
Michael said: “David was one of the most decent, hard-working MPs in Parliament. He could always be relied upon to champion diabetes and the interest of those with diabetes”.
To David’s widow, Julia, and his family, the Global Network offers its warmest sympathy.
Professor Trisha Dunning
Trisha Dunning recently lost a long battle with cancer. One of the foremost figures in diabetes research and care in Australia, Trisha was also a strong supporter of the first Global Forum of PDGN in Melbourne in 2013 and was quick to recognise how much could be achieved for diabetes by skilful Parliamentary advocacy.
Trisha was a staunch supporter of Diabetes Australia, served on the Board of the International Diabetes Federation from 2009-2015, and authored the IDF Clinical Guidelines on the Care of Older People with Diabetes. She was a prolific author of books and papers on diabetes clinical care.
Global Advocacy Diabetes is the newsletter for members and friends of PDGN, the Parliamentarians for Diabetes Global Network. Our primary objective is to enable lawmakers to help prevent diabetes, encourage early diagnosis of diabetes and improve the treatment of diabetes in every part of the world. We exist to help advocates for diabetes and its comorbidities wherever they are.