A meeting was held in Canberra last week with parliamentarians, NSW and Victorian representatives of Polio Australia, who also made a presentation to the Standing Com

mittee on Health and Ageing. Mr Hunt said he agreed to be part of the bipartisan group following representations over many years from Mornington Peninsula Post Polio Support Group members seeking informed medical help for their condition.

The peninsula group is considered the largest and most active polio support group in Victoria. Mr Hunt said "no government has properly addressed the plight of polio survivors for the past 25 years".

"It was a very emotional meeting," he said. "We agreed to develop a bipartisan package to get a better deal for polio survivors. It won't happen immediately."

Peninsula group president Dennis Lloyd of Mt Martha said: "Our most pressing need is for doctors who know something about post-polio support and not to be told 'it is all in our minds' or that we are 'getting old'.

"Ninety-nine per cent of the older polio survivors are high achievers who have been and still are a great benefit to Australia in helping our fellow members and partners of survivors. We also help educate doctors who are ill-informed about post-polio support."

A modest proposal by Polio Australia for a grant of $200,000 to run six retreats across Australia, as part of chronic disease self-management and lifestyle and risk modifications policy, was unsuccessful last month.

Victorian representative Mary-ann Liethof said it was imperative to get Polio Australia up and running so it could concentrate on projects like the wellness retreats, as well as lobbying at a national level.

Ballarat MP Catherine King (ALP) has lodged a notice of motion calling for parliament to recognise that polio survivors continue to be the single largest disability group in Australia, numbering in the tens of thousands, and calling for government support for Polio Australia.