Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the commencement of my contribution to this debate on aged care, I would like to recognise the outstanding contribution of senior citizens throughout Australia. They make an enormous contribution to voluntary groups. Senior citizens are overly represented in the Shortland awards that I give each year. The Lake Macquarie Citizen of the Year, Bert Reay, is a sprightly 70-odd-year-old man who is involved with Sailability. The Central Coast Australian of the Year Australia Day Award recipient is also a senior citizen.

It amazes me that any member of the Howard government would have the audacity to come into this House and praise the Howard government’s record in aged care. The Howard government has turned an 800 aged-care bed surplus into a 4,613-bed shortage. And it is saying that it is doing a great job. In actual fact, the Howard government should hang its head in shame. Australia has an ageing population. People are living longer and having fewer children.

The Shortland electorate, which I represent in this parliament, is the 10th oldest electorate in Australia. Dobell is the 29th oldest—and the member for Dobell has spoken in this debate. Robertson, which is also on the Central Coast, the area that I come from, is the fifth oldest. Charlton is the 50th oldest. Newcastle is the 16th oldest, and I think Paterson is the 13th. I come from a very old area and I am very interested in ensuring that my community and my constituents have access to aged-care beds.

In the Hunter there is a 390-bed shortage and on the Central Coast there is 596-bed shortage, whilst in Bennelong—the electorate of the Prime Minister—there is a surplus of 1,119 beds. I think that this is a disgrace. The Productivity Commission’s Report on government services 2006 released in January this year showed some very interesting things. It showed that the government’s announcement in May 2005 that it would provide 88 aged-care beds for every 1,000 people over 70 years of age still has not been achieved. In July 2005 it was 85.2 beds and in June 2006 it was 85.6 beds. When the government came to office, there were 92 beds for every 1,000 people over the age of 70 years. That is hardly something to be proud of.

The government keeps claiming it is providing more aged-care places when, in actual fact, it just fudges the figures. It is claiming that the number of places that have been allocated is the actual number of beds. In actual fact, the number of operational beds in residential care facilities is far fewer than the number that has been allocated. The latest figures I have seen in my area have shown that on the Central Coast one out of six beds was a phantom bed or a non-operational bed or a bed that exists only on paper. In the Hunter it was one out of 10 beds and I think on the North Coast of New South Wales, in those particular figures, it was one in five beds.

In 10 years the Howard government has failed in the area of aged care. This report also showed that the waiting time to get into residential care facilities has increased drastically: 28 per cent of people are now waiting over three months, whereas in 2000 it was 15 per cent. I think that the government really needs to be honest with the Australian people. The $1.5 billion that it announced earlier this year— (Time expired)

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