CHRIS THOMAS, CEO OF TRANSPLANT AUSTRALIA: Hello everyone. My name is Chris Thomas. I'm the CEO of Transplant Australia and I am blown away by this. This is just amazing. How fantastic to see so many lovely people here at Cataract Gorge in beautiful Launceston. I would first of all like to acknowledge the palawa people of the lutruwita nation. I think it's really important when we actually talk about that, we talk about the inequities that Indigenous Australians face in organ and tissue donation and transplantation. So, I just want to pause for a moment and make sure that's just not, you know, an intro that everybody does, but it's inherent in our DNA in Transplant Australia that we correct some of those inequities in transplantation. That’s for all people, but especially for Indigenous Australians, for people diverse culture and people of rural and regional areas, which is one of the reasons why we're doing the games here in Launceston in Tasmania because we want to make sure that the message of organ and tissue donation and transplantation is actually promoted throughout Australia.
Now, can I please acknowledge some really important people that are here today. The Honourable Rebecca White. Thank you very much, the Assistant Minister for Health. Thank you for coming along today. Minister – the Events Minister of Tasmania, thank you very much for coming along, Jane Howlett, and for your state government’s support of what will be this fantastic event.
Mayor Garwood, Matthew Garwood, the Mayor of the City of Launceston, thank you very much for coming along.
Can I also acknowledge the Organ and Tissue Authority. Brianna Elms, you're here. Thank you very much for coming along today. The major sponsor of the Australian Transplant Games. Can I welcome Davin Hibberd, who works in the local DonateLife office in Tasmania and does excellent, excellent work.
Can I acknowledge Visit Northern Tasmania. Thank you very much to Tracy, Lisa, and Fiona, the team there. We're looking forward to partnering with you to deliver these games. And also our event director, Holly Tyrrell is here as well. And Holly will become a very familiar face to all of you as we deliver these games.
Now, a welcome to Ken Fletcher, our state chair. There he is. There's Ken Fletcher. Thank you very much for coming along, Ken. Ken got an applause. I'm sorry, ministers. Ken got an applause.
And really importantly, can I welcome any donor families that are here today. I know that Sarah's here and Michelle are here. I don't know if there are any other donor families, but if you are here, thank you very much. My message is Tasmania is actually leading the nation in family consent rates. Overall across Australia, the consent rates are around 53 per cent but in the last couple of years in Tasmania, the consent rates have been in excess of 70 per cent, and are leading the nation. And this is the main reason why we are holding the Australian Transplant Games here in Tasmania, is because these are the games where we say thank you. And we want to say thank you to every single donor family, to every single living donor, and to the doctors, the nurses, the paramedics, the police officers, the ambulance officers, all of the different people that actually make up what is a very sad and tragic moment, but give someone else hope.
And we've got people coming here. I have to mention Nigel. I always mention Nigel. We've got Nigel coming here 52 years this November, post kidney transplant. That's a lifetime. That's more than a lifetime. And you know, he has someone he never even met 52 years ago to thank.
And of course, I also want to acknowledge and welcome all of the transplant recipients that are here. Every time we've had a Transplant Games, guys, you've either had to fly northwards or you've had to get on the boat in Ken's caravan and head across to the mainland. This is your opportunity to shine. These are your games and we want to make sure that all the different transplant recipients across Tasmania feel welcome and participate in these games.
Can I also mention Kristen Finnigan who's here. Kristen's our local event coordination for these games. Kristen did a marvellous job at the World Transplant Games in Perth in 2023. And it's so wonderful to be getting the band back together again, Kristen. It's really wonderful to have you here.
I think I've mentioned everyone I needed to mention. So, can I now please ask the Honourable Rebecca White to come forward and address you. She's got a really important gig. We need to improve our rates of organ and tissue donation in Australia. We've got about 2000 people waiting for a transplant. But it's just so wonderful to have the Albanese Government so committed to organ donation and transplantation, and now it's in your backyard. So, please come forward, Minister White. Thank you very much.
REBECCA WHITE, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGEING: Thank you very much, Chris, and good morning everybody. It's an absolute thrill to be able to join with you today in Launceston, and we couldn't get a more picture perfect day to demonstrate why this is a wonderful place to host the Transplant Games in September this year. I too would like to acknowledge Minister Jane Howlett, Mayor Garwood, Rob Fairs, Ken, another round of applause for Ken. And everybody who's worked so incredibly tirelessly to make sure we can host these games in September here in Launceston.
I'd also like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on where we're meeting today, the palawa people of lutruwita and pay my respects to elders past and present and acknowledge any First Nations people who are joining us for this event today. I'm really very privileged to have responsibilities as the Minister for Organ and Tissue Donation in the Albanese Labor Government. It is work that's been underway for decades, but of course here in Tasmania, we have a pretty special and proud story to tell. As Chris mentioned, our rates of families agreeing to transplants and donations is extremely high at about 70 per cent compared to the national average around 53 per cent. But the other remarkable thing here about Tasmanians is the number of people who are signing up. The rate of people registering to become an organ donor in Tasmania is about 49 per cent compared to about 36 per cent across the rest of the country.
So, we should be really proud of the fact that we're not only having conversation about how we can register, but also having conversation with our families about what a donation might look like if it comes to that. And I just want to share that message because I think that's really important. We know about four out of five Australians say that if they were asked, they would agree to an organ transplant or a donation occurring. But that doesn't mean we've got four out of five Australians registered. And so, I want to take this opportunity today just to remind people to register. You can easily do that online at DonateLife. You can do it through your myGov account. It takes a few moments. And also have a conversation with your family, because the conversation you have with your family is the most important one. It's also why we've seen such successful rates of transplant occurring in Tasmania because our medical professionals and our hospitals are very good at having conversations with families and supporting them to make a decision about donation, and I too would like to recognise the families who are joining us here today.
This is a celebration of life and hope. The hosting of the Transplant Games here in Tasmania is not only recognition of the extraordinary efforts of Tasmanians who are registering and participating in donations and saying yes, but also an opportunity for us to celebrate the families and the lives of those who've passed away and to celebrate the opportunity for people to come together, about a thousand people here in Launceston, to activate our city in September and to participate in a range of sports and activities. The Minister might elaborate on that but I had a look at some of the sports and it's a variety of things from basketball to cycling to board games. So it really does cater for everybody and I think that's one of the other lovely messages. That is incredibly impressive. This is about everybody. It's a message of growth and it's an opportunity for us to come together this year.
So, thank you very much to Chris and his team and everybody who's worked so hard with the Tasmanian Government to make sure we can host here in Launceston’s Transplant Games in September. Thank you very much.
THOMAS: The Assistant Minister actually works with Mark Butler who's the Health Minister and he actually opened the world transplant games on the Gold Coast in 2009. And as a small memento, we gave him a set of glass coasters. I don’t think he had to put it on the interests register.
Fast forward to 2022, like, 13 years later, and we had a meeting with him in his office to introduce him to some of the transplant recipients who were participating at the World Transplant Games in Perth, and he said: one moment. And he raced out and he got his set of coasters out, and he said: I’ve still got my coasters. I thought, now that’s a man who's committed. Imagine how many times he’s moved office, you know? But he's really committed to this space.
And I know that we've got lots of people waiting for a transplant. But the creation of the Organ and Tissue Authority in 2009 is a success story – one of the most successful test cases of the Commonwealth coming together with states in a cooperative fashion to actually federalise, if you like, a system which needed a more national approach. And I know Brianna Elms is here from the Organ and Tissue Authority, and just want to make sure that we send that message back to every DonateLife staff member, to the Organ and Tissue Authority, to everybody who works so hard, their work is appreciated.
And that's one of the things that the Transplant Games can actually achieve. We can actually send that mass message back into the hospital system and thank people who dedicate their lives to saving others.
So the Transplant Games spans health, as Minister White has said, it spans tourism and it also spans sport. We can't do it without the state governments, and Minister Howlett and Events Tasmania has done a marvellous job in coming on board as a major sponsor, and I'd like to ask Minister Howlett to come forward now. Thank you very much, Minister.
JANE HOWLETT, TASMANIAN MINISTER FOR TOURISM, HOSPITALITY AND EVENTS: Thank you so much, Chris. And look, the Tasmanian Government is so proud to support this event. We've provided $300,000 for the event to be held for a week in September. And of course, I remember when the event was cancelled due to COVID, and then it was rescheduled and cancelled again. So today is truly a celebration that we're going ahead in September.
This event is about people who have lost loved ones and also recipients, and it's a great way to create awareness about organ donation. And as Tasmania, we are leading the way, and we do that so exceptionally well. And we look forward to showing Australia what we can do and give them a challenge to also lead the way and increase and promote organ donation.
Having an event like this in Northern Tasmania is so important. We know that we're going to have almost a thousand people arrive in our beautiful Northern Tasmania. They'll get to experience the wonderful hospitality and tourism offerings that we have as a state. And of course, we know that once people come here once, we know that they will return with their loved ones as well.
So, it's a very important event for us to sponsor and we look forward to September and meeting all the participants involved in the games. And we know as Chris and Ken mentioned, we've got people traveling from overseas, interstate, and of course around 100 people participating right here from Tasmania. So we look forward to getting out and cheering them on.
And there's over 30-odd sports here, and people don't have to be like Ken in the past and get in a camper van and jump on the boat and travel elsewhere to experience the wonderful sports that will be on offering here. We'll have everything as Rebecca said, from boardroom games, from backgammon to basketball to badminton to cycling to swimming. So there's something here for everyone, and we are so proud as a government to be here launching the event today, and we look forward to seeing you all here for a week in September.
MATTHEW GARWOOD, MAYOR OF LAUNCESTON: Thanks Chris, and thank you everybody for your attendance today. We're just so pleased but also privileged to be able to host the Transplant Games here in Launceston in the north. And we've just come out of the Christmas period, the new year period, the Foo Fighters. We've got Festivale setting up this week. We've got Party in the Paddock the week after that. We've got Supercars – like, these incredible opportunities for people to come and enjoy Launceston in Tasmania.
And again, this is just another really great example of governments working together from local government to the state government, the Federal Government. It's the same as what we've seen more recently with the Foo Fighters, just that really collaborative approach to investing into Launceston, investing into Tasmania, creating opportunities and offerings. And I think that's one of the most exciting things about having events in the north and in Tasmania itself.
And this event in particular is a really great event, not only for people to come and participate in and to spectate, but also the message that it sends, that message of hope. This is literally a life-changing opportunity for people to have that conversation. And I think that's one of the most exciting things about it is yes, it's going to be fun and it's going to be energetic. It's going to bring a lot of people into the city, but it's also an opportunity to really start that conversation. And we love the work that we do with the city, with the Transplant Games. We love working with DonateLife as well. We've got some incredible examples of how that has influenced and how that has literally saved and changed lives.
So from the city of Launceston, we are really, really privileged and really proud to be able to host these here, and we look forward to seeing the people coming in and experiencing that, that City of Gastronomy right down the valley from Georgetown through to West Tamar and into Launceston. And it's just a really great, again, opportunity for us to really showcase what we do well here, and yeah, furthering that opportunity to work with governments and to really bring opportunities and offerings, but also that really important conversation piece.
THOMAS: Thanks very much, Matt. Now, I'd like to bring three really important people forward. Bella Dyer, Michelle Polley and Ken Fletcher.
BELLA DYER: Hi, I’m Bella. I received a liver transplant when I was just five years old, which I'm extremely grateful for, to be given a second chance of life. I've lived an amazing, amazing life since then, and I've been to two games. I've been to the Melbourne games and the Sydney games, and I think they are so amazing. They're very eye opening and a great way for everyone to come together and share their stories and feel understood.
KEN FLETCHER: My journey started in 2014 caravanning in Cairns. I became unwell up there. Long story, ended up in the Cairns-based hospital, unconscious after a day in the hospital in ICU. They fought hard and saved my life there. I was on breathing machine and I was in hospital for about three months in the ICU there. They managed to stabilise me well enough to fly to Melbourne, where unfortunately I fell over in the hospital and broke my hip, put me back into ICU again while I was doing the work up to go on the transplant list.
After 12 days in the surgeon's assistant came in and said, we've got a set of lungs for you, we'll put them in this afternoon. They kept me going for two years. Unfortunately, it turned out that they weren't the best fit for me. And they didn't reject, I'm told, but something happened and they failed.
2016, I got a second set and here I am today. It's given me an opportunity to see weddings of my family, my grandchildren grow up or be born and growing up. And it has enabled me to travel a lot. I've been overseas, I've travelled around Australia, and yeah, I regularly travel around Tasmania with the caravan
MICHELLE POLLEY: It is very heart warming to see the recipients and their families enjoy a healthy pursuit of being able to play a sport that they may not have been able to play because of their illness with whatever organ it was that was not functioning to its fullest. It feels good to know that Aaron donated, and not that any of his recipients have been in games, but to know that there are four people that are living because of his gift, yeah.
So in 2003, Aaron was involved in a car accident which incurred a brain injury. And after a couple of days in ICU, we were told that he had a brain death. And because of this, had we considered organ donation. And funnily, strangely however, the universe provides, we had had that discussion some two years prior after seeing something on TV about organ donation. And we as a family sat around the dinner table, what would we do? And we all said, yes, we would. But Aaron said, well, what good are my organs when I'm dead and in the ground? Of course I would donate.
What blew us away was when asked the question in the hospital and we had said, yes, we would donate because we knew that was Aaron's wishes, it was also what we would want to do. But what was quite incredible that an 18year-old went into, as it was in those days, on your license to Service Tas, and signed up. He didn't say anything to anyone. He didn't tell us. No trumpets blown. It just showed his integrity and belief. So that was also comforting to know that he felt that strongly that we could say yes knowing that, but also because we'd had that conversation.
So as an ambassador for DonateLife, I highly encourage families to talk about their decisions with their loved ones.
JOURNALIST: I guess initially, how special is it to finally have the first games in Tasmania?
THOMAS: It's just so brilliant to be bringing a thousand people from across Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia here to Tasmania for the first time for the Australian Transplant Games. It's a games of hope, it's a games of gratitude and it's a games where everybody just gets to celebrate their second chance at life.
JOURNALIST: I'm sure signups are still kind of happening, but do we know how many people from Tasmania will be participating?
THOMAS: We open the registration system in March, and we're hoping that about 300 to 400 people from around Tasmania will take the opportunity to participate in these games in their own backyard.
JOURNALIST: And can you reiterate, I guess, the range of activities that will be on offer?
THOMAS: The Transplant Games is all about a celebration. It's a sporting event and so there’ll be all different types of sports from athletics, and swimming, cycling, different racket sports, but down to chess and backgammon. It really is a games of participation. You don't have to be an elite athlete. We want to see lots of children participating.
One of the most important things that we do at the Transplant Games is encourage donor families - supporters, siblings, you know, the brothers and sisters of transplant recipients to come and participate so they can be part of the transplant community
JOURNALIST: And you said Tasmania punches above its weight in terms of, I guess you know, sign ups of people giving organs. Why do you think that is?
THOMAS: I think Tasmania is a really generous state. I think the DonateLife team are doing a marvellous job here promoting the message of organ and tissue donation. There are many stories in Tasmania of people who are living their life to the fullest through transplantation. And so the family consent rates are in excess of 70 per cent, that's you about 20 per cent higher than the national average. And that's why the games is all about saying thank you. Thank you to the donor families. Thank you to the Tasmanian community for their generosity.
JOURNALIST: Is that part of the reason why you selected Launceston for this year's game?
THOMAS: We selected Launceston because it's such a beautiful city. It's on the doorstep of some amazing tourism adventures like, you know, Cradle Mountain and all the way down to Freycinet, to Hobart, all through the Tamar Valley. It's a great size for our event as well, so we can make a really big splash in a smaller city. And we know that they will open their arms to every single transplant recipient that's coming here in September.
JOURNALIST: And I know it's not all about medals but, you know, what can people win?
THOMAS: Oh, yeah. It's, well, there are gold medals on offer and, you know, there are some really fierce competitive sports. Some of the guys turn up with their $5,000 bicycles, going out to the Symmons Plains racetrack, which will be a superb venue. There's some really brilliant venues across Launceston. And then of course, we've got some great social events at places like Cataract Gorge where we are today, City Park. It's just going to be a marvellous event.
JOURNALIST: How long have the events been running for now in total?
THOMAS: So, the games have got a 40 year history. They're held every two years across Australia. And of course, we were going to hold the games here in 2020, but the pandemic got in the way and the games had to be postponed twice. That's why we're really thankful to Events Tasmania, the City of Launceston, and the Federal Government through the Organ and Tissue Authority for their support for these games.
JOURNALIST: More broadly, have you seen perspectives on transplants kind of grow and change over the years? Are people more open to them now than they were, you know, two decades ago?
THOMAS: I think we are normalising organ donation and transplantation in Australia. You don't have to scratch the surface, you know, very far to find someone who's been impacted by becoming a donor family, or someone who's received an organ transplant. And so it is really important that we normalise that conversation and that the expectation is that, if I do die I've got the opportunity to become a donor, that we will actually achieve that. And that's how we will best reduce the transplant waiting lists and give everyone that second chance at life.
JOURNALIST: Just two on this, Minister. Firstly, how special is it to have the Transplant Games in your home state?
WHITE: It's very exciting to be able to host these games here in Tasmania. It's both the recognition of the extraordinary effort of many Tasmanians who both registered on the transplant list, but also the very strong family support that we've seen to make sure that we've got a very high donation rate compared to the national average. But also an opportunity to celebrate those families who are recipients or donor families, and those individuals who might be participating in the games here in Tasmania.
So, it is really fantastic that in September we’ll have about a thousand people in Northern Tasmania coming together to celebrate as a community, to be able to share stories, to be able to activate some of our northern economy in some of those great places. But at the same time just be happy about the fact that they've got a second chance and to be able to [indistinct], and also have an opportunity to put this issue on the table for Tasmanians to start a conversation.
I think that's the key message that I'd like people to take away from today, use this as a chance to have a conversation with your family. Discuss when you can become an organ donor and register. It's so simple to do that, go to DonateLife.gov.au and register. It's no longer just as simple as electing on your driver's license to become an organ donor, and we need people to actually go and actively register. And there's a fantastic team here in Tasmania to support people with any questions they have.
JOURNALIST: And on that data that Tassie punches above its weight, I guess in your personal opinion, why do you think that is? Is it because Tasmanians are close or they know their neighbours?
WHITE: There's a great team here who are working really hard to make sure it's front of mind for people to go and have a conversation about registering to become an organ donor. And we know in Tasmania that about 49 per cent of people are registered, compared to the national average of about 36.
But the other really important point is that we've got great teams in our hospitals who are working with families in some of the most difficult times they may ever encounter, to have a conversation about becoming a donor. And we are seeing consent rates of about 70 per cent compared to the national average around 53 per cent. So, I want to pay tribute to the staff and nurses and doctors and health teams and other hospitals who are having conversations and supporting families in some of their hardest moments, and that's why we've seen Tasmania outrank the rest of the country when it comes to consent for organ donations.
JOURNALIST: How is the hospital funding deal going between the Federal Government and states and territories?
WHITE: So, there's further discussions happening in this week through National Cabinet, but of course, there have been ongoing negotiations occurring from heads of agencies since December last year when we had to transition responding to the Bondi attack. I know all Australians understand that all resources were devoted to support the community through that time. So coming back to the table this year and having an opportunity at National Cabinet to sit down and talk through the details,and hopefully arriving at an agreement.
We want an agreement. We want Australian states and territories to have support through a negotiated outcome to make sure patients get the healthcare that they need. That's why we put an extra $23 billion on the table as a part of this negotiation to better support hospital funding across the country.
JOURNALIST: And how urgent is that agreement? The Federal Government wanted it sorted out last year, and I think South Australia is soon going into caretaker. What will happen if a deal can't be struck?
WHITE: So, I remain hopeful that a deal will be negotiated. We are determined that will be the outcome. We've made provision in recent budgets handed down to support hospitals with their activity-based funding as is necessary until such time as a deal can be made. There's always commitment from us to prioritise healthcare, and I think we've seen that demonstrated by successive Labor Governments now. And I remain hopeful that across the country we’ll come to an agreement to make sure that patients and staff can be confident that the healthcare they need to receive in a hospital can be provided.
JOURNALIST: Well, the states have said that the offer on the table isn't good enough. Is the Federal Government flexible in that?
WHITE: Through this negotiation process, we've already seen the Federal Government increase its offer. It was originally at $20 billion. It's now $23 billion. So, we are serious about coming to an agreement with states and territories about hospital funding.
We want all Australians to be able to access the best healthcare they need, and that's why we've also strengthened Medicare. Because we understand one of the other roles we can play is to take pressure off our busy emergency departments. It's why we've invested in Medicare Urgent Care Clinics. It's why we've strengthened aged care. We understand all of these things work together as a public health system, and that's why we're playing our part where it's our responsibility.
JOURNALIST: Tasmania does have a sicker and older population. Is it realistic to ask states like Tassie to reign in public hospital spending as part of the deal?
WHITE: Those are negotiations that are happening at the table. I'm not going to pre-empt outcomes or specifics through the media. But what I will say is the Federal Government has been very serious about this investment in healthcare in Tasmania. We've invested in more Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, bringing the total number to eight right across the state. We've made significant investments in strengthening Medicare. And here in Tasmania, we've seen the greatest increase in bulk billing rates compared to anywhere else in the country. And that, again, is helping people access healthcare without worrying about where they're going to find the money for that. We're investing in aged care reform, investing in significant infrastructure upgrades to a number of aged care facilities right around Tasmania.
These are all things the Federal Government is doing at the same time as we are negotiating with the states around hospital funding. And these are, I think, illustrations of our dedication to make sure Tasmanians can access the healthcare they need right here in their home state.
JOURNALIST: On the public hospitals though, can Tasmanian hospitals afford cuts?
WHITE: Well, at the end of the day, the State Government is the hospital operator. They manage the state's hospitals, and they need to make decisions too, as they are contemplating their budget about how they provision for the funding of essential services. We are not proposing to make cuts. We are putting $23 million on the table to increase funding across the country for hospitalisations. We're negotiating with states and territories to make sure we can deliver on that. Here in Tasmania, I would expect the Tasmanian Government to be better off as a result of coming into the agreement.