This week the South Australian Supreme Court awarded approximately $35 million in damages to SAHMRI after the equipment supplier ProTom International failed to defend legal proceedings linked to the Adelaide proton therapy facility that never opened.
So let’s be clear: This wasn’t a failure of proton therapy. It was a failure of the supplier.
And while the legal system has dealt with the past, Australian governments are still refusing to deal with the future.
Australia still has no proton therapy centre for children or adults. Patients are still being sent overseas for treatment that is considered standard care in many comparable countries.
Even worse: the solution is already written.
In 2023, the Commonwealth Government endorsed Cancer Australia’s “Strategy for Proton Beam Therapy for Cancer Patients in Australia.” It estimates demand of 231 patients in 2021, rising to 372 by 2025 — 65.8% children, adolescents and young adults, and 34.2% adults. It sets out options for a staged rollout of centres and calls for a networked national approach to referrals, planning, data collection and trials.
Governments already know:
- the need exists
- the numbers are growing
- the strategy exists
- the decision is theirs
So why are they still shying away?
This is a call to arms.
We are calling on both Federal and State governments (with bipartisan support) to make the next decision and commit to a clear way forward. Not another review. Not another “we’re considering options.” Not more years of delay while Australians travel overseas for cancer treatment.
What we need now:
- Public confirmation of the national pathway (delivery model + locations)
- Funding commitments and intergovernmental agreement
- A timeline that starts now — not “sometime later”
The Court ruling is significant. But it is not the headline.
The headline is that governments have the power to fix this — and they are choosing not to.
Australians deserve better. Cancer patients deserve better. If you agree, please share this petition and keep the pressure on.