APY lands, Child Ear health

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:43): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation questions in relation to ear health of children on the APY lands.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Extensive research by the Flinders University over a period of nine years has found that 75 per cent of children on the APY lands fail hearing tests and that more than a third of children in the APY communities have a perforation in one or both of their eardrums. These levels of hearing loss are having a critically negative impact on the ability of Anangu children to learn and on their interest in going to school. I am advised that, in some other South Australian remote Aboriginal communities, children with serious hearing issues are referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist as a matter of course.

Last year, during the budget estimates committee process, the then minister for Aboriginal affairs and reconciliation spoke about the APY lands task force and the untied funding it receives each year to, in the minister's words, 'direct resources as required to the highest and most immediate service needs on the APY lands'.

Notwithstanding the minister's remarks, recent evidence to the Budget and Finance Committee by the Executive Director of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation strongly suggests that none of the task force's total allocation of $6.174 million for the 2013-14 financial year has been expended on addressing the poor ear health of Anangu children. My questions are:

1. Can the minister advise why APY children with serious hearing issues are not referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist as a matter of course? If not, will he undertake to obtain the reasoning?

2. Does the minister agree with his predecessor that addressing the poor ear health of Anangu children is one of the highest and most immediate service needs on the APY lands? If he does, will he direct the APY task force to expend some of its 2015-16 allocation on developing and supporting surgical pathways for children with eardrums that have been significantly damaged?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:45): I thank the honourable member for his important question. This exact matter has been raised with me in the last couple of days and, as I have told the people who have raised it with me, the direct responsibility for providing health services rests with Health. As I said when this was discussed with me only a couple of days ago, I will talk to my colleague the health minister and bring back a reply to this chamber in relation to the questions about ear health on the APY lands.