The patenting of genes is not the highest profile political issue today, but Professor Ian Frazer, the inventor of the cervical cancer vaccine, believes there is no more important public health issue before the Parliament.

And so it was refreshing to see that at least for one evening a few weeks ago a rare bipartisanship seemed to be within our grasp.

Inspired by the advocacy of Dr Luigi Palombi, Melissa Parke, the Labor MP for Fremantle, moved a private member's motion calling for an end to the patenting of genes. Coalition MPs, including Dr Mal Washer, John Forrest and me, supported her motion.

Genes are the sequences of DNA that constitute the blueprint for all living organisms. Many diseases are the consequence of gene mutations, such as the BRCA1 and 2 genes, the possession of which will give a woman a much greater disposition to breast and ovarian cancer.

As we continue to understand the millions of genes that make us who we are, medicine becomes more targeted, testing for and, where possible, treating those genes that make us more susceptible to disease.