John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this motion. I am grateful to the member for Wakefield for again raising the important issues around hearing and hearing loss in this place and for giving me the opportunity to highlight the Abbott government's proud track record in this area, together with the local connection to my electorate of Bennelong. Hearing loss affects one in six Australians and is expected to rise to one in four by 2050, as a result of Australia's ageing population. The Abbott government is committed to reducing the avoidable incidents and consequences of hearing loss in our community and will continue to provide eligible Australians with access to high-quality hearing services.

The Hearing Services Program provides access to quality hearing services under the voucher program and community service obligation component. In 2014-15 around 270 hearing providers, including Australian Hearing, delivered services nationally to almost 670,000 voucher clients with an average age of 80 years and at a cost of around $384 million. During this period Australian Hearing was provided with $62.693 million in funding for community service obligation services. Australian Hearing delivered services to 58,034 CSO clients, including 33,150 children and young adults. The federal government also provides the National Acoustic Laboratories, the research arm of Australian Hearing, with approximately $4 million annually to support research into hearing health, rehabilitation and prevention. Over the past year the government has consulted with key hearing stakeholders on the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and how it will affect the delivery of hearing services in Australia. A report back to government on the outcome of the stakeholders sessions is being prepared.

In the 2013-14 budget the former Labor government decided that funding for services delivered under a range of Commonwealth health programs, including the community service obligation program, were to transition to the NDIS. This will change how services are provided, irrespective of Australian Hearing's future ownership. The Hearing Services Program is only one of 16 programs transitioning in whole or in part to the NDIS. As a result, the scoping study into the privatisation of Australian Hearing has been deferred in order to allow the stakeholders consultation process to be undertaken. The consideration of future ownership options for Australian Hearing will not impact on the eligibility for, or the funding of, the community service obligation, whose services will continue to be available to those eligible. Consulting further with the deaf community will help the Australian government manage the transition of certain clients of the Hearing Services Program to the NDIS as well as inform the government's consideration of the scoping study into Australian Hearing.

The electorate of Bennelong has often been described as the innovation capital of Australia. In the hearing space alone we are most fortunate to boast Cochlear, the Australian Hearing Hub, National Acoustics Laboratories and, of course, the amazing research experts from Macquarie University. Next week we will be celebrating Australian Hearing Awareness Week with a range of activities in Bennelong. On Saturday 22 August the Australian Hearing Hub will have an open house—a free family-friendly event that will include hearing tests, research activities, demonstrations and a tour of the amazing anechoic chamber. I encourage all my colleagues to come to Bennelong and make the most of these great opportunities, but if you are not lucky enough to be able to visit you can also participate in the Big Aussie Hearing Check 2015. Australian Hearing is rallying the country to come together in one special day in the name of hearing loss prevention. Volunteers will be popping up at famous landmarks, community halls, RSLs, pharmacies and health centres around the country to offer free hearing checks throughout the week. Australian Hearing will also be attempting to set a Guinness world record for the most number of checks performed in a day.

Research shows most Australians are reluctant to get their hearing checked. Like with most health concerns, prevention is always better than cure. Hearing is a vital sense, with loss having the potential of a myriad of repercussions, and I encourage all Bennelong residents to celebrate Australian Hearing Awareness Week and get their hearing checked.

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