The red coats are coming to Parliament House next week, but it has nothing to do with the 250th anniversary of US independence.
MS Australia will join the Parliamentary Friends of Multiple Sclerosis Group to do three important things.
First, we will be announcing the outcomes of the annual MSA research grant rounds, continuing our deep and abiding commitment to fund the best possible research to treat, prevent and ultimately cure MS. This continued investment is only made possible by the generosity of our many donors, our hard-working MS Member Organisations, our corporate sponsors, and all those who participate in critically important fundraising events such as the forthcoming May 50K.
Second, we will be celebrating the contribution that MS researchers make to the global quest to propel us faster and further down the pathways to cures, wearing red lab coats to make a visible statement about the importance of their work.
Third, we will be highlighting the need for continued government investment in health and medical research, particularly through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF). In particular, MSA is calling for a ten-year Neurological Research Mission to be funded through the MRFF. The robust case for a Research Mission has been set out in both the MSA and Neurological Alliance Australia’s Federal Budget submissions.
Our speakers in Canberra will include two deeply committed parliamentarians, the long-serving Co-Chairs of the Parliamentary Friends of MS Group, Senators Deborah O’Neill and Wendy Askew.
We will also hear from Renee Coffey MP, who lives with MS and was elected to represent the people of Griffith in Brisbane at the last election.
And a paediatric neurologist, Dr Monique Ryan, the Member for Kooyong, will speak about her support for the campaign to release full funding for medical research from the MRFF.
We are looking forward to a big day in Canberra next Wednesday when the red coats come to town.
