Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Hansard source

Dr Alex Harrison is an exceptional veterinarian who practises in my electorate. He also happens to be Australia's first and only profoundly deaf vet. He is one of many deaf and hard of hearing Australians who rely on the caption assisted phone, CapTel. The service allows Dr Harrison to do his job in an efficient and timely manner. As you can imagine, he has to contact pet owners urgently.

Dr Harrison got in touch with me about the Morrison government's decision to cut funding for CapTel handsets. He raised the negative impact it will have on his quality of life. I share Dr Harrison's concerns. The government is underestimating the important role that CapTel plays in enabling deaf and hard of hearing Australians to carry out their day-to-day lives, both personally and professionally. Dr Harrison told me he feels the new program is not as efficient as CapTel and will make performing his duties as a well-respected community veterinarian more difficult for him.

I believe that deaf Australians deserve more. The government has a responsibility to ensure there is a plan for a smooth transition to a new service—a service that will work and fit the needs of deaf and hard of hearing people in communities right across Australia. The message from Dr Harrison, and many other people, is that currently this is not happening. It's time for the Morrison government to listen carefully and act to help those in the community.

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