 THE political foes Kevin Rudd and Brendan Nelson have dropped their differences to press for the introduction of hearing tests for all newborns.
The Prime Minister's announcement yesterday of the introduction of universal screening from 2011 flows from suggestions Dr Nelson first put to Mr Rudd in an informal chat the day after he lost the Liberal leadership last September. Yesterday at the Shepherd Centre in Sydney, political rivalry took second place to bonhomie as the two thanked and acknowledged each other's contribution to the cause. "Well done, Brendan," Mr Rudd responded after Dr Nelson thanked Mr Rudd for the "significant initiative", which he said would transform the lives of 500 Australian children born each year with moderate to profound hearing impairment. Dr Nelson later told the Herald that when Mr Rudd had invited him for a cup of tea after his leadership loss he had urged the Prime Minister to act on the screening measure, which his predecessor, John Howard, had planned before his defeat. The former opposition leader's drive to introduce universal screening resulted from his friendship with Bruce Shepherd, his political patron, who played a pivotal role in Dr Nelson's rise to president of the Australian Medical Association in the early 1990s. After his two children were born with profound hearing impairment, Dr Shepherd established the Shepherd Centre to teach deaf children to listen and to speak using their residual hearing and hearing aids. Thousands of people were able to lead full lives because of this early intervention, Dr Nelson said. Was he worried that Liberals might be irked at his friendly appearance with Mr Rudd? "As far as I am concerned I don't care what anybody thinks other than this is right. The ultimate beneficiaries will be children yet to be born who will be born profoundly deaf. "I won't be voting for Kevin Rudd, but some things transcend the partisan differences between parties." Mr Rudd said that only 75 per cent of newborns were screened in NSW for hearing problems. In other states this varied from more than 95 per cent to less than 40 per cent. "Our children deserve better than this," he said. Early detection and treatment of a hearing impairment were vitally important in developing a child's language skills and in their later education and employment prospects. Children whose hearing impairment is detected early can be fitted with a hearing device from as early as three months. (by theage.com.au)
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