**The claim that the Coalition "privatised Australian Hearing" is FACTUALLY INCORRECT.**
The Coalition government **proposed** privatising Australian Hearing in 2015 but ultimately **abandoned the plan** and retained full government ownership.
* * * *
In September 2015, the Senate Select Committee on Health published a report titled "Australian Hearing: too important to privatise" which recommended against privatisation [1].
Following this recommendation and community concerns, the government announced in 2017 that it would retain full ownership and control of the entity [2][3].
Parliamentary records clearly document that the Senate committee received extensive submissions from stakeholders including parents of deaf children, advocacy groups, and medical professionals opposing the privatisation [1].
該聲 gāi shēng 稱 chēng 遺漏 yí lòu 了 le 幾個 jǐ gè 關鍵 guān jiàn 事實 shì shí : :
The claim omits several critical facts:
1. **The privatisation NEVER HAPPENED.** While the Coalition government explored privatisation in 2015, they ultimately decided against it following parliamentary scrutiny and community opposition [2][3].
2. **Strong parliamentary opposition.** The Senate Select Committee (which included crossbench senators) unanimously recommended against privatisation, finding that "Australian Hearing should not be privatised" [1].
3. **Community campaign success.** Advocacy groups, parents of deaf children, and aged pensioners successfully campaigned against the privatisation, leading to the government's reversal [4].
4. **Timing of the decision.** The decision to retain ownership was announced in the 2017 Budget, buried deep in the documents, but was nevertheless a clear reversal of the privatisation plan [4].
**Original Source 1: Herald Sun article (April 2015)**
This article from News Corp's Herald Sun reported on legitimate community concerns about the *proposed* privatisation.
However, the claim uses this source to imply the privatisation actually occurred, which is misleading.
**Original Source 2: ABC News article (October 2015)**
This ABC News article reported on concerns that privatisation would exacerbate problems in what was described as a "cowboy industry" in the hearing services sector.
Like the Herald Sun article, this source discusses the *proposal* and community concerns, not an actual completed privatisation.
**Assessment:** Both original sources report on concerns about a *proposed* privatisation in 2015.
**Did Labor do something similar?**
Search conducted: "Labor government Australian Hearing privatisation opposition"
The Labor Party, along with crossbench senators, strongly opposed the Coalition's privatisation proposal through the Senate Select Committee process [1].
* * * *
Labor has historically supported public ownership of essential health services, including Australian Hearing.
搜尋查詢 sōu xún chá xún : : 「 「 Labor Labor government government Australian Australian Hearing Hearing privatisation privatisation opposition opposition 」 」
The Australian experience shows that privatisation of government services has had bipartisan support at various times (such as the 1990s under the Keating Labor government with Qantas, Commonwealth Bank, and CSL privatisation) [5], but Australian Hearing specifically became a point of contention where community opposition successfully prevented privatisation under the Coalition.
While the Coalition government did explore privatising Australian Hearing in 2015, the full story is that:
1. **The proposal was abandoned.** After considering the evidence and concerns from stakeholders, the government decided in 2017 to retain full ownership and control [2][3].
2. **The rationale for privatisation.** The original proposal was linked to the transition of hearing services to the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme), with arguments that a private entity might be better positioned to operate in a competitive market environment [1].
3. **Democratic process worked.** The Senate committee process allowed extensive community consultation, and the government ultimately responded to the concerns raised by retaining public ownership [1][4].
4. **Not unique to Coalition.** Both major parties have pursued privatisation of various government assets over decades.
What distinguishes the Australian Hearing case is that community opposition and parliamentary scrutiny successfully prevented the privatisation from proceeding.
**Key context:** This claim is **false** - the Coalition considered privatising Australian Hearing but ultimately retained public ownership after parliamentary and community opposition.
2 2 . . * * * * 私有化 sī yǒu huà 的 de 理由 lǐ yóu 。 。
The claim misrepresents a *proposal* as a *completed action*.
The Coalition government considered privatisation in 2015 but abandoned the plan in 2017 following a Senate inquiry that recommended against it, extensive community opposition from deaf advocacy groups and parents, and parliamentary scrutiny.
The Coalition government considered privatisation in 2015 but abandoned the plan in 2017 following a Senate inquiry that recommended against it, extensive community opposition from deaf advocacy groups and parents, and parliamentary scrutiny.