Labor will fight the privatisation of Australian Hearing and the potential impact on local services, Opposition Leader and Member for Maribyrnong Bill Shorten said today.

Mr Shorten raised his concerns about how the Abbott Government’s proposed privatisation of Australian Hearing would hurt local services in Moonee Ponds, St Albans and Keilor Downs.

“Australian Hearing provides affordable, accessible hearing care for local residents who simply can’t afford to access fully commercial services” Mr Shorten said.

“The Abbott Government has not been able to make a case for privatisation and simply refused to address concerns about how this will impact on those accessing the service.”

Mr Shorten said that he had seen the importance of the Australian Hearing service first hand, after meeting local residents at the opening of the Moonee Ponds facility in 2012.

“I met pensioners and families with young children who spoke about how the care they had received at Australian Hearing had profoundly changed their lives.”

“Labor will fight to ensure that people with hearing impairments in our community and across the country, get the support they need.”

ENDS