Mr President, my question is to the Minister for Human Services, Senator Payne. I refer to the celebration of national Hearing Awareness Week. Is the minister aware of criticism to the government's proposed privatisation of Australian Hearing—including from the Deafness Forum of Australia—on the grounds that it will reduce service levels, access, equity, quality and expertise for clients, particularly those from low-income households? Is the Deafness Forum of Australia correct?

She didn't go this morning.

It is worth noting that, unfortunately, I had leave yesterday afternoon because I was ill and I was unable to attend the breakfast this morning. So, if you would like to withdraw that, Senator Cameron, be my guest.

Senator Ketter, thank you very much for your question. It is also worth noting that, in the 11 months since the parliament resumed last year, in over 12 sitting weeks, 46 Senate question times and 193 Labor Senate questions without notice, I still have not been asked a question by the shadow minister for human services, so it is a great pleasure to receive a question from Senator Ketter today.

A government senator: Who is it?

You might well ask. What did I say? One hundred and ninety-three questions were asked by Labor; not one asked by the shadow minister for human services.

Mr President, I rise on a point of order on direct relevance. We are now into 1.8 of this answer. The question was about the Deafness Forum of Australia and the privatisation of Australian Hearing. I do not believe we have got anywhere near that yet.

The minister has more than half the time left to answer the question.

It is worth noting that the slogan for Hearing Awareness Week is: 'How loud is too loud?' The Department of Finance has commenced—

Not loud enough for you!

I think I may have got the answer. The Department of Finance has commenced a scoping study into the future ownership options for Australian Hearing. That is correct. We, as a government, are committed to ensuring that all eligible Australians, particularly the most vulnerable, have access to funded hearing services. What the government has announced at this time is a scoping study. No decision has been made by the government on the future ownership of Australian Hearing. As anyone who observed the provisions of the budget for 2014-15 would have seen, the Department of Finance was funded in that budget to undertake the scoping study.

Mr President, I rise on a point of order on direct relevance in terms of the particular question, which was about the response to Deafness Forum. We now only have 14 seconds.

The minister has become directly relevant to the question. Minister, I remind you that you have 14 seconds left to answer the question.

What the scoping study will assess is capability and competition in the market, which of course has diversified significantly in recent years, with advisers providing independent advice and recommendations about possible future ownership options. (Time expired)

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Is the minister aware of comments by the President of Deaf Children Australia, Leonie Jackson:

It is naive to believe that a private provider could deliver this diverse level of service to Australian children with hearing loss, given Australian Hearing’s buying power, and the high cost and low returns of providing these services especially in regional and remote locations.

Is Ms Jackson correct?

I thank Senator Ketter for his supplementary question. A number of issues have been raised with me—and I am sure with the Assistant Minister for Health, Senator Nash, who of course has the Office of Hearing Services in her portfolio responsibilities—by various stakeholders in the portfolio area. As the scoping study itself continues, I am sure that those stakeholders will make those concerns known to the advisers in this area, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Herbert Smith Freehills, and they will also continue to make them known to both myself and the assistant minister in the appropriate ways. I was able to hear from a number of organisations at the breakfast which was held in this building on Tuesday morning and they reflected some of those issues also raised by Senator Ketter. We will continue to receive those views from the stakeholders as the scoping study progresses.

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Won't the privatisation of Australian Hearing make life harder for children, aged pensioners, ex-service personnel and Indigenous Australians with complex hearing needs?

Let me make it very clear that the government has not made a decision in relation to the privatisation or otherwise of Australian Hearing. What we are pursuing at the moment is a scoping study in terms of the future ownership of Australian Hearing, but we have not made a decision. I think it is irresponsible and unfair of those opposite to engage in their usual scaremongering when it is clearly the case that the government has not made a decision.