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Last month, Queensland optometrist Naomi Shannon met with her local MP’s office to ensure children’s eye health is front and centre in the upcoming state election.
Supported by Optometry Queensland Northern Territory’s (OQNT) pre-election platform, Naomi met with local advisors in Gladstone, discussing the expansion of childhood eye screening and public awareness campaigns for childhood myopia. Through the use of Optometry Australia’s One Click Politics tool, she was able to easily connect with key decision makers in Glenn Butcher MP’s office.
‘We spend all our working lives advocating for our patients. Advocating for childhood myopia is important in educating parents who can’t know what they don’t know, and kids who often don’t realise when they’re not seeing well,’ Naomi said.
‘This is a space where optometrists can have a really positive impact on a child’s future and that is really exciting.’
In her next meeting, Naomi was joined online by fellow optometrist and childhood myopia advocate, Kat Liu, to chat virtually to Amanda Medew, Senior Policy Advisor to the health minister. According to Naomi, all the meetings were positive, and she is now waiting on a response from the health minister’s office.
Highlighting the ease of arranging the meeting using Optometry Australia’s online advocacy tool, Naomi spoke of the support provided to her by the OA team in preparing for the meetings.
‘Optometry Australia is an association of members and can only be as effective as its individual members’ engagement,’ she said.
‘The meeting came about through using the One Click Politics tool. Optometry Australia had all the resources I needed, and they were available for me over the phone.’
Encouraging other members to get involved, Naomi said, ‘As optometrists, we spend all day chatting to individual patients. Involvement in advocating for government policy is exactly the same skillset but with a broader audience and can extend our influence for the public good. It also ensures children’s eye health remains a priority in the upcoming state election.’
OQNT’s pre-election platform
As the Queensland 2024 state election draws near, OQNT is urging key decision makers to invest in policy changes that will tackle the prevalence of childhood myopia. As part of its pre-election platform, OQNT is calling on the government to:
- Expand childhood eye screening: Extend the successful Queensland Health Primary School Health Nurse Readiness Program by introducing a second phase to screen children before high school entry, enabling identification of children at risk of myopia.
- Myopia awareness: Encourage the Queensland Labor Party to commit $100,000 to match OQNT’s contribution in Queensland, to launch a statewide public awareness campaign on childhood myopia.
To find out more about OQNT’s pre-election platform, or to get involved, please reach out to Optometry Australia’s team at policy@optometry.org.au.