Sue Boyce (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is directed to the Minister for Human Services, Senator Ellison. Senators will be aware that this is Hearing Awareness Week. I would like to ask the minister: would he outline to the Senate what the Australian government is doing to assist people with a hearing impairment to achieve a better quality of life?

Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is an important question, not only because it is Hearing Awareness Week but because Australian Hearing is celebrating its 60th anniversary. It is a Commonwealth agency which has operated since the last war to deliver benefits to those Australians who suffer hearing impairments. When they look across the community, not many people would realise that there are about 160,000 Australians who cannot work because of hearing disabilities. Importantly, the Australian Hearing agency has a community service obligation under which it delivers great benefits to the Indigenous community, young Australians, veterans and Australian pensioners. Funding by this government in last year’s budget and this year’s budget has seen increased services being made available to those sectors.

Importantly, in relation to Indigenous health I can tell the Senate that there are about 185 sites servicing the Indigenous sector on hearing disabilities. In fact, as a result of the increased funding Indigenous adults and children have experienced an increase of about 48 per cent on the previous year in the services delivered to them. Hearing is a very important part of Indigenous health. In addition to that, we have seen the fantastic innovation of 552 cochlear implant speech processors going to children under the cochlear implant speech processor upgrade program. This has changed the lives of young Australians who otherwise would have been severely hampered in relation to the hearing disability that they had. The ability to hear is one of the most important learning tools that we have. What this has done for these children is to open up a completely new world of learning which they otherwise would not have experienced.

In addition to that, we are servicing older members of the community. About half of the Australians who are over 60 have hearing disabilities. I would suggest that there are many senators here who would have a bit of a vested interest in this. The service delivery by Australian Hearing is quite exceptional. When you look at the way it grew from just one office at the Rocks in Sydney to over 90 service centres around Australia today, that is a testament to Australian Hearing and what it is delivering to people in Australia.

The Hearing Awareness Week that Senator Boyce mentioned is hosted by the Deafness Forum of Australia, and we acknowledge the great work that that forum has done in assisting people with hearing disabilities. It is important that we highlight the issue of hearing impairment. As a community service Australian Hearing is providing free testing during Hearing Awareness Week; 131797 is a number that is available to people if they want to be tested. Here in Parliament House, Australian Hearing is providing testing for members of parliament to demonstrate the great work that Australian Hearing has done.

It is important that the Australian government continue to resource Australian Hearing. We have been doing that with an increase of just under $70 million in the last two budgets. We will continue to resource Australian Hearing to do research which is at the cutting edge of hearing research throughout the world. Our National Acoustic Laboratories are a testament to that, because not only should we deliver those services to the people who need it but we should have the research available to provide people with the best technology, and we are doing that. (Time expired)

Sue Boyce (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. As the minister has pointed out, it is the 60th anniversary of Australian Hearing. Could the minister give us some more detail on the sorts of services that are now provided by Australian Hearing?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Carr interjecting—

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Carr! I will not call the minister until the chamber is quiet.

Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australian Hearing is an agency which, as I have indicated, has done a great deal of work in the Australian community and which enjoys the support of many of those opposite. It is interesting that some of them are interjecting now and querying the work that it does. I just wonder whether any member of the opposition would challenge the work that Australian Hearing is doing in its community service obligation. If they are interjecting, let them stand up and—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order. The minister made a cheap reflection on the opposition. No-one interjecting was casting doubt on the work of Australian Hearing. I regard the minister’s comment as an imputation on opposition members. I do not normally get sensitive, but it was particularly low. I ask that you require him to withdraw that assertion.

Alan Ferguson (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no point of order. Senator Ellison.

Chris Ellison (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian government will continue to resource Australian Hearing for the great job that it does, which is assisting the health of Indigenous people, Australian pensioners and young Australians and delivering research that will benefit those young Australians who have a hearing impairment so that they can have a better life.

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.