Seeing Our True Potential

The RANZO Eye Foundation Dinner
Art Gallery of NSW
12 October 2004

I'm delighted to be here this evening to officially launch the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists Foundation (RANZCO).

After six weeks focused on campaigning it is something of a relief to be here tonight-in more ways than one-to pay tribute to all of you who have worked so hard to bring the Foundation to fruition.

Truly we can say that what is often referred to as 'the vision thing' means different things to different people.

I have been thinking about the connections between the broader directives of the Foundation and my past and current portfolios which I think can be summed up as-'Seeing Our True Potential'.

And while I am sure you all feel that six weeks of intense politicking in Australia was a few weeks too many-I do want to dwell briefly on the significance of Saturday night's result.

For many reasons a fourth term for the Howard Government is an historic win.

Shortly, John Howard will become the second longest serving Prime Minister behind only Sir Robert Menzies; a Coalition Government won a fourth term with an increased majority-an achievement for any incumbent Government; and we are on the verge of gaining something of a rarity-a mandate in both houses of Parliament.

But I want to alert you to a little known feature of the election, which is perhaps the most significant for this gathering, and that is an Ophthalmologist has been elected to Parliament!!

So while he may be a loss to the profession, Dr Andrew Laming, subject to the final count, will become the inaugural member for Bowman-a newly created Queensland seat.

If you'll forgive me for saying so, he will bring with him unique vision and an insight that I am sure can only come from years spent as an Ophthalmologist.

But most significantly of all, a fourth term allows the Government to continue to build our economy and keep up the momentum for reform.

A strong economy enables us to paint on a big canvas and create a stronger, prouder, more productive and prosperous nation.

But I hasten to say that we do not live in an economy alone.

When I was first elected in 1996, which after four elections seems like an eternity, I said in my first speech that the most compelling challenge I saw for us a nation was to balance fiscal responsibility with an adequate safety net for the genuinely needy, while keeping pace with rapid technological and social change.

To borrow from the words of US economist Arthur M. Okun from his essay 'Equality and Efficiency - The Big Trade-off' the dilemma then and now is how:

"to put some rationality into equality and some humanity into efficiency".

Perhaps at no time in Australia's history has the need to balance these competing notions been so compelling and the opportunity so within our grasp.

No Government can successfully pursue its economic priorities in isolation from its social policy.

There is a clear interdependence between the two.

A nation's economic progress depends ultimately on the condition of its society - its stability, its cohesiveness, its fairness and its avenues for individual self-fulfilment and equality of opportunity.

In turn, the strength of any society depends critically on the capacity of its economy to provide growth, incentives and jobs, and to support those in need.

Economic growth is a necessary but not sufficient condition for a strong society. That is why the Government takes careful account of the social impact of economic policy making and the economic impact of social policy initiatives.

But Governments cannot do this alone.

Our approach recognises and welcomes the essential support of social functions and institutions particularly families, community groups, religious organisations, carers, volunteers and welfare organisations and, topically for tonight's gathering, - charitable organisations.

The work of the Foundation is the perfect example of that partnership - of how we can give scientific research a human face and enable it to reach out to those in need.

You may be interested to know that Australian taxpayers give on average $200 each in tax deductible donations a year-about half of the United States level.

This doesn't necessarily mean that we are mean spirited but it does highlight the need for us to facilitate giving by making it easy, tax effective and efficient.

Despite its unpopularity, the taxation system is the economic underpinning of every Government action-whether it's our national security, encouraging business or providing a safety net for those that slip through the cracks in this otherwise prosperous nation.

And there are several specific Government measures that are targeted at supporting philanthropy and the charitable sector that I developed in my previous role as Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer.

The Government makes a generous contribution to the philanthropic sector by, for example, allowing taxpayers to claim a deduction for qualifying donations of $2 or more to deductible gift recipients.

This contribution by the Government is uncapped and has been steadily growing from $230 million in 1998-99 to $330 million in 2001-02 and will continue to grow as community generosity grows.

Somewhat fortuitously I expect that some areas of responsibility in my current Communications portfolio will continue to have an impact on the work of the Foundation.

I am referring here to the fast paced and ever changing nature of information technology.

Technology as an enabler

Even in my short time in the portfolio I have been exposed to some of the truly mind-blowing innovations that are simply transforming the way we live and work.

The lines everywhere are blurring-a car is now more computer than family sedan, our traditional copper wire phone network now carries more data than voice and virtual surgery over broadband is now a practical and effective option for many procedures.

But the technology, as fascinating as it is, is not an end in itself.

What matters is how our community can pick it up, adapt it, and use it to improve their lives.

For instance, a high speed data network is an impressive piece of technology, but when that network is used to beam an ultrasound from a pregnant woman in outback Queensland to her specialist in Brisbane, we can begin to see the potential for technology to address some of the tyrannies of distance in health delivery.

In my portfolio we are committed to the rollout of broadband, not just because it is a good technology, but because it simply has the potential to change the way we live and work and even in some cases, to save lives.

I'll use an example of an incident that occurred recently in regional Victoria where technology provided an immediate benefit in cutting delays in treating and transferring a patient.

Malcolm Bennett from a small Victorian town had the unfortunate circumstance of driving a stick one inch into his eyelid after colliding with a tree whilst riding his motorbike.

He was immediately taken to the local health clinic which is serviced by a sole nurse.

Via a broadband connection the nurse contacted the emergency ward of Melbourne Royal's Eye and Ear Hospital and was able to have an eye specialist assess Mr Bennett's injury and recommend that he be transferred immediately to Melbourne, rather than waste the hour-long trip to the nearest hospital in Warnambool.

The same system was also used to save a man who had just suffered a severe heart attack-where again the registered nurse on duty was guided as to the emergency care required by a cardiac specialist in Melbourne.

This network is part of the award-winning South West Alliance of Regional Health network that connects 50 small health centres via a broadband network and clearly demonstrates the potential for broadband to improve essential healthcare-especially in rural and remote areas.

Similar networks are being rolled out across Australia with the support of the Coalition Government's $50 million National Communications Fund and the $24 million Coordinated Communications Infrastructure Fund.

Satellite communications is also improving to the point where it will be the same portable satellite terminals that allow journalists to file stories from remote parts of the world that can also be used by emergency aid workers dispatched to disaster areas or war zones to seek specialist advice via a video conference.

The possibility to improve both the immediacy and quality of care in those vital early stages is a wonderful applications that demonstrates the true benefits of improved communications technologies.

The delivery of services to rural and regional Australia can simply be transformed by technology. It can address some of the concerns of doctors and nurses going to work in the bush and dealing with emergencies on the front line on their own-a frightening prospect for young health workers.

And it can cut costs.

Just as an example the New England Area Health Service covering scattered populations in an area one and a half times the size of Tasmania has estimated a cut in call costs by between 800,000 and $1 million, not to mention savings on fleet costs and travelling time, because of access to high speed video, voice and data links.

It doesn't take much to imagine the possibilities for Australia's IT industry to sell its value proposition to the world in advanced IP services such as e-health. This is all about playing to our strengths; identifying what we are good at and becoming world's best.

I believe we have a real opportunity to lead the world in e-health applications due to our world-leading health system and innovative solutions dictated by the challenges of our geography and scattered populations.

A major project on the agenda is the roll out of Health Connect.

This is an ambitious project that will set up a national health information network to store and exchange consumer health records in a secure environment.

Privacy concerns aside, the benefits to be had from being able to access relevant health information about an accident victim irrespective of where in Australia they may be.

I recently announced the Government's intention to play a leadership role with ICT priority setting for Australia's IT sector so that our best and brightest and our good ideas are supported and developed and exported to the world.

I am quite sure that technology and innovation will play a role in the planned and future research of RANZCO.

Your mission to reduce avoidable blindness and visual impairment by funding eye research and aid projects as well as increasing community awareness of eye health and eye care in Australasia is timely.

I commend all of you who have made the Foundation possible.

I would like to congratulate the Foundation Board led by Chair Peter Keel, Vice Chair Associate Professor Frank Martin AM and board members Nancy Milne, Anne Fulwood, Associate Professor Justin O'Day, Dr Mark Loane and Mark Bayliss.

I wish you well in your future endeavours and I will watch this splendid initiative with a great deal of interest and admiration.

To use an unattributed but oft used quote:

"research is the art of seeing what everyone has seen, and doing what no-one else has done".

In RANZCO's case it is seeing what everyone has seen and doing what no-one else has done, so somebody else may see.

Thank you.