PM: Today I want to announce a new $136 million national plan to boost organ donation and save lives.
This $134 million plan is new money from the Commonwealth Government. And therefore, it's important that we make sure this is in place in our cooperative arrangements with the states to make it work in hospitals like this which do such a fine job in this area of organ transplantation.
Our approach is this: rather than blame the states, let's work with the states to help hospitals boost organ donation and save lives. That's the simple principle here and it's an important one.
Why are we doing this?
Around the country today, there are something in the order of 2,000 people on the transplant waiting list, and many more waiting to get on to transplant waiting lists.
It's very important that we act on this.
What will this money be spent on?
This $136 million will be divided in the following way:
$67 million to fund dedicated organ donation specialist doctors and other staff in public and private hospitals.
$46 million to establish a new independent national authority to coordinate national organ donation initiatives.
Thirdly, a $17 million contribution in new funding for hospitals to meet additional staffing, bed and infrastructure costs explicitly associated with organ donation.
Furthermore, $13.4 million to continue a national public awareness campaign and public education.
And finally, $1.9 million for counselling for potential donor families.
This is an important national initiative. My view is, there has been too much stuffing around on this question for too long. One level of Government blaming someone else - just hasn't worked. It's time we actually got on with it to try and make it work.
It's proposed that this new national authority to coordinate organ donation initiatives be in place by 1 January 2009.
In formulating this new national plan, I'd like to acknowledge the contribution of the following associations. We've taken advice from the Transplantation Society of Australia and New Zealand, the Cognate Committee on Organ and Tissue Donation and Share Life.
I'd like to acknowledge also the contribution from the Chief Medical Officer, John Horvath, as well as Jane Halton, the Secretary of the Department of Health. As well as the Minister for Health and the Parliamentary Secretary Jan McLucas.
This has been very much a team effort in pulling together a national response to a national problem. And we need it.
Recently, I convened in Canberra a summit, a 2020 Summit, and there has been, out of that Summit we had calls for the establishment of a seamless national economy, calls for a fundamental review of the nation's taxation system. We've acted on both of those. We have programmes of work now underway across the nation.
One of the other initiatives called for from the 2020 Summit was to fix this problem that we have in this country in terms of an undersupply of organs given the huge demand which exists.
What we have done since the Summit is accelerate our work within the Commonwealth Government, and our consultation with professional and clinical bodies to bring forth this new national plan.
And could I say this in conclusion, the challenge for us is to make sure this works on the ground. This new national plan, this new $136 million national plan for organ donation is aimed, very simply at saving lives.
We will be working with the states and territories to make sure this is incorporated within the hospital system of the country. We want to help hospitals do their job, we want to help the clinicians do their job.
And if I could finally say this to anyone who is concerned about this critical need out there in Australia today, if you're not now on the organ donor list around Australia, please think about it and get your name onto it. You can do it through your local Medicare office.
The second thing is, please talk to your families, please talk to your families. Because they make critical choices at the end of the day when that time comes.
Happy to take your questions.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible)
PM: You're right to say that one the challenges that we faced is that all of our public hospitals are out there doing a fantastic job, doing what they normally do. And often this literally falls off the edge because everyone's busy, they're doing other things. Therefore, you need a dedicated capacity within hospitals with specifically allocated medical staff and nursing staff with appropriate counselling support to make sure this happens.
And so rather than just buck-pass this between the two levels of Government, we just said, ‘enough is enough', here is the calculation of what is needed, and we've done this in close consultation with professional bodies. Here is the funding for the staff that is necessary over this period of time. And we intend to get on with it.
JOURNALIST: Is the biggest problem, Mr Rudd, encouraging the public to consent to donating organs?
PM: My understanding is this, we have a high level of public support for organ donation. The problem occurs at the point at which people arrive in hospital. Often there are problems in terms of appropriate arrangements for family consent at that point. Often there are real problems of the type we have just addressed of having dedicated medical, nursing and other counselling staff to make it happen.
There are other countries around the world which have got this better done than we have. And so we have got to learn from the international experience and that is why I believe and I might ask the CMO to comment on this, what we have come up with is what we believe to be worlds best practice in this new national plan to boost organ donation, and to therefore save more lives.
CMO would you wish to add?
HORVATH: Thank you Prime Minister. As the PM said, we looked at international best practice and saw where countries were doing it better than were, and how we can adopt their practices to fit the practices in the Australian healthcare system.
And as the PM said, we talked to all the relevant people who have the skills and knowledge in this area and built up a package which will reflect that.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible) What would you be hoping to see those rates increase to with this package (inaudible) announced today.
ROXON: What we know is, what we know is there are nearly 2,000 people currently on the list waiting for transplants and where know there is a larger number of people who are not on the list, that are going to be in need of these transplants.
We of course want this to have a huge impact, make a dent in that list. But we are not going to try to set a figure on it when we are actually now setting up a new system which I think will really be able to fundamentally change the way that we work in this country.
Brad asked a question about public support. There is huge public support for this. What this package though will do is turn that public support into reality by providing some really dedicated staffers in hospitals.
We know that it is difficult for hospital staff to talk to families about organ donation when their primary job is to try to save lives. We need dedicated separate professional staff who can approach the families in a sensitive way with proper training, and this package will allow for all of those things to happen.
So we would like to see the rates improve dramatically. If we had anywhere near the same response in terms of the actual donation rates being in any proportion to sort of public support, in terms of putting yourself on the register, we would be doing ten or twenty times better than we are already.
PM: If I could just add to this and then take the next question. I wish I could say that as a result of this package, that everyone of those 2,000 people currently on the list could be helped straight away. It won't be like that.
But we are determined to turn this around. And having the funding right, having a national strategy right and the proposal for a new national authority for national independent leadership on this, we think is what is necessary.
Because I am concerned that in a years time, two years time, three years time, it won't be any better unless we take action now.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
ROXON: Look it is a really good question because it goes to the core of the sort specialist staff you need to have in our hospitals. We need to have people properly trained in being able to provide that support to families.
It is a very, it is always a very difficult situation for families and I think that the staff that are currently in hospitals doing a great job, will be relieved and assisted to know that there are more resources to have some dedicated staff who can provide that counselling support, will be properly trained.
For many families it is a source of some relief in a difficult time, that the organs of their loved ones might be able to save someone else's life. That's the discussion we want people to have with their families, it is a very difficult one. But putting these resources in and having a national strategy to drive it, can make a difference to those very difficult circumstances that people find themselves in.
PM: I think that is really important. I think if you are to try and understand how the, this flow works, it is one boosting public awareness, public information, that is part of the strategy. Secondly, providing counselling services at the critical and sensitive times that you have just described. Thirdly making sure you have got appropriate clinical and nursing staff to deal with the practical situation which then confronts them.
And unless you are dealing with all those things at the same time, then you are not serious. That is why we have said, let's stop stuffing around on this. Let's have a go. And that is what it is all about.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Well my expectation is that the Member for Robertson would honour her commitment to the Australian Parliament to cooperate fully with this police investigation. I have said already that there are serious consequences which flow from anyone who has broken the law. And furthermore, I've said already that no-one is guaranteed of a future in politics.
I also have noted that a statement from the police yesterday, that they will soon hand a brief to both the Commonwealth and to the State DPPs.
JOURNALIST: Will you be telephoning Ms Neal as (inaudible) or Mr Della Bosca her husband, to direct her to co-operate fully with police?
PM: The statement I have made clearly about my expectation about co-operation is clear cut and absolute.
Which is in the process of being communicated or has been communicated through the Party Whip.
JOURNALIST: If she doesn't cooperate with police with you be expelling her from caucus?
PM: I think on that question, it's important to say this. At the conclusion of these legal processes I'll be making a determination as to what course of action is warranted in terms of the undertakings which the Member for Robertson gave to the Parliament about full co-operation with this police investigation.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible)
PM: Well actually to correct your point there, there was a statement by the police I think late yesterday on this matter. Within about an hour or so I issued a statement which indicated quite clearly, that was my expectation. And my expectation is directly consistent, directly consistent, with the undertaking which the Member for Roberson gave to the Parliament some two weeks ago.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible)
PM: That is a matter being handled between the Member for Robertson and the Chief Government Whip as would be appropriate in these circumstances.
JOURNALIST: Are you aware that she has started such counselling?
PM: That is a matter being handled between the Chief Government Whip and the individual Member.
JOURNALIST: It must be annoying for you though, Prime Minister Rudd, (inaudible) concerned with matters like this (inaudible) you're trying to do important things like organ donation (inaudible) questions about Belinda Neal?
PM: That's kind of life isn't it. You know if you get on with the serious stuff and you hop into it. But other things come up, it's important to deal with things.
Look if you're going out there to the Australian community today and asking them this question, what they want in terms of the future of national organ donation to save lives. I got to say, I add something personal to this, I'm the beneficiary in terms of tissue donation.
I have an aortic valve transplant, I had one years ago. So I'm a beneficiary. I can't sit around and just say, ‘well, you know, don't care about the rest of you'. My response particularly when this matter was raised in this 2020 Summit is let's get on with it. And having visited some of these kidney transplant patients today, and having spoken with the doctors, the good doctors and nurses who work here about those who are in the queue, I mean, we have a huge problem on our hands.
In New South Wales alone the doctors advised me before that in terms of kidney transplants, about 120 a year, is that right, in the wider Sydney area, is that right? And on the waiting list side something like 500 to 600. Let's try and turn this around. I think that's a really important step forward, I actually got to zip.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible) what do you put that down to and what can you do about it?
PM: Well on the question of consumer confidence for example, if you were to look around the world today because of the global financial crisis and also because of global oil prices, we have significant impacts around the world in terms of various measures of consumer confidence.
Across all OECD countries at the moment consumer confidence is at the lowest level in nearly a decade. In the United States it is the lowest in more than 16 years.
By another measure in the United States it's the lowest in 28 years. In the United Kingdom it's the lowest it's been in 13 years. In New Zealand the lowest its been in 17 years. We have a global phenomenon here and it's about the global financial crisis which has been unfolding since August of last year.
We have this year the greatest global oil shock in 30 years, and in Australia's case, you also have the cumulative effect of 12 interest rates rises in a row, ten before we assumed office. All this washes through.
The response is an absolute determination to pursue responsible economic management which is why we brought down a $22 billion surplus. Because on the inflation front and the interest rate front the irresponsible course of action is to add fuel to the fire. The responsible course of action through strong economic leadership is to say we will ensure that the Budget surplus contributes to dealing with the inflation problem and the interest rate problem, rather than making those problems worse.
Fighting that fight against inflation is core to dealing with Australia's overall economic circumstances. But on top of that, from 1 July assisting working families, working Australians, pensioners and carers with a combination of tax cuts, child care tax rebates as well as education tax refund, teen dental plan as well as other initiatives flowing through from the Budget to assist people on the way through.
These are tough circumstances. The Government remains committed to a course of strong, responsible economic management but doing as we have done through the Budget, delivering assistance to working Australians on the way through.
I've really got to go. See you folks.