REBECCA WHITE, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING: I'm joined here today by Helen Hall, who's a Speech Pathologist at the Hobart Communication Clinic, to talk about an investment the Federal Labor Government’s made to expand access for speech pathology for children and young people. In last year's budget we made a commitment of $74.9 million that began on 1 March this year, expanding access for children and adults up to the age of 25 to get much greater support through Medicare for speech pathology.
We know that communication is really essential for everybody, no matter what age you are. And when you don't have the tools and the ability to be able to communicate clearly through your speech, it can be really detrimental, particularly for children at school. This investment is going to open up more opportunities for more children in particular to be able to access a speech pathologist to get the support they need and, hopefully, to get that early. Because we know if children can speak in class, if they can properly understand what's being said around them, they're more likely to be able to engage in school and to thrive in life.
HELEN HALL, SPEECH PATHOLOGIST: We are super excited for Medicare funding to be increased for some of the conditions that speech pathologists treat. It makes a big difference for some of the kids that we see to be able to access services that they otherwise wouldn't be able to access. And, as Rebecca said, communication is really so vital for kids and also for adults. And when children aren't able to access speech pathology services that they need, we know that there can be significant ongoing impacts for them. And when they are, then they're able to really thrive as they learn to communicate.
JOURNALIST: So would you think this means that kids you're already seeing are getting more appointments? Were they not able to go to as many before or is it more like also the kids who can't get in and now are able to afford it?
HALL: Yes. I think a combination that some children who weren't able to access services at all before may be able to now access services. But also, perhaps some families who could only manage to access some of the services might have some increased access. I think there's still a bit of a way to go because there's still some vulnerable families who won't be able to afford a gap payment, and there's still more services that we would like to offer. But it's an amazing step in the right direction.
JOURNALIST: What are the current services you offer?
HALL: So, speech pathologists treat five main areas. So, we help people with speech sound disorders, people with voice disorders, people who have language disorders, stuttering and feeding and swallowing concerns. So, we see paediatric clients, so children with concerns in all those five different areas. We also work with kids with literacy difficulties because if you have speech and language disorder you're much more at risk to have difficulties learning to read and write. And there's a big crossover between language and speech and learning skills needed for literacy as well.
JOURNALIST: I guess making it more affordable makes it more accessible, but is the other part of the problem that we just don't have enough speech pathologists?
HALL: Yes. There is a big workforce shortage of speech pathologists, particularly in Tassie, but across the whole country. And so, there's still a barrier of waiting lists, unfortunately.
JOURNALIST: How many people have accessed this service since the funding came into effect?
HALL: So, it was fairly recent. It was the 1st of March, I think, that it started. I actually don't have all of the numbers on that. But we have had families who have access here at the clinic. Obviously across Tasmania and Australia, there would be a lot more children accessing it than just here.
But I think it’s estimated that about 385,000 children and young people would have greater access to services based on the changes to Medicare.
JOURNALIST: You mentioned there’s a big correlation between literacy and speech pathology. I guess we know that Tassie is lagging the nation when it comes to literacy. Will this go some lengths to help bring those numbers back up to scratch, or?
HALL: The dyslexia or literacy difficulties isn't one of the conditions that's mentioned or that's included in the new Medicare item. So we won't directly be working with literacy challenges under this Medicare item. However, if we make big changes to children's speech or language earlier on, then they're less likely to have those complications later, so perhaps indirectly.
WHITE: Anything else you want to add? You did a great job, by the way.
HALL: Thank you. I just think that’s it’s great to have the recognition of speech pathology as an important part of primary health care, and to hear Rebecca speak about the importance of communication and how vital that is for children and young people and how vital it is for their development and for their long-term health and wellbeing. And so having some recognition of the importance of that is really exciting and I'm really excited to see perhaps in the future where further increased access might go, and increased recognition of the importance of speech pathology across all funding streams and health sectors. So it would be great to see increased access to government funded speech pathology, it would be great to see further increases to Medicare access and it would be great to see improved sustainability of NDIS as well.
JOURNALIST: Awesome, thanks. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: I've just got one on Nyrstar. There's a proposed package on the table. I guess, how much is the Federal Government proposing to chip in?
WHITE: So negotiations are still underway between the Tasmanian, the South Australian, and the Federal Governments and the company. Those negotiations, I'm advised, are commercial in confidence. I'm confident that if a resolution is reached, there will be discussion and transparency with the public about that because, of course, it does involve taxpayer money, but at the moment negotiations are still underway.
JOURNALIST: I think that the Tasmanian government's only put forward $7.5 million and seems to say that's all it will put forward. I mean, is there any tension there or is that fine, that one third is only putting forward that much?
WHITE: I'm not involved in the discussions, but I know that Minister Ayres has been working with his counterparts both here in Tasmania and in South Australia. The facilities are really vital. I mean, you think about what Nyrstar brings to Hobart, the number of jobs that it provides, but also the sovereign capability that it offers to Australia when you understand its contribution to our resources sector. We are serious about making sure that we keep these jobs here in Australia, and Minister Ayres is working with his counterparts on that as an outcome.
JOURNALIST: We keep seeing this happening with different facilities across the state. Is there a world in which the Federal Government just chips in entirely?
WHITE: Well it's about making sure that we maintain both the employment but also understanding the strategic benefit this offers for our economy. There's a lot of change happening across the broader economy at the moment and that's not to mention what's happening internationally and the impact that is happening both on commodity prices but also supply chains. So we're very serious about making sure, through our Made in Australia investments, that we're standing up the capability that we need both for today and the future. Obviously it's not always easy and there are discussions ongoing, not just with the smelter here, but also other production facilities across the country.
JOURNALIST: Sorry, just to clarify, because when you said that negotiations are ongoing, it was our understanding Nyrstar has a package in front of it and is looking at that. Is that also your understanding?
WHITE: Yes, that's right.
JOURNALIST: I've just got one on school lunches, the school lunch program. Would the Federal Government chip in at all, or is it fair that parents have to pay for this?
WHITE: Well, this is a successful Tasmanian program, and I know at the last state election there was a commitment to support its expansion even further, which is something that Tasmanian Labor has been keen to see roll out, because we know that if children have got access to healthy, nutritious food at school, attendance rates increase, participation, engagement in school improves and the health benefits also realise. So, I’m pleased to see the government continue to roll out this program, I’m not aware of any request that’s come to the Federal Government to support.