Susan Lamb (Longman, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The ABC's Four Corners show recently aired a much-publicised expose that revealed just how rife exploitation has become in Australia's aged-care sector. The reports were quite shocking, to say the least. They raised stories of retirement village organisations systematically exploiting vulnerable Australian seniors, employing complex and confusing contracts, and inflicting excessive exit fees upon those who tried to leave. The people who have been targeted helped build our nation. They are our parents and our grandparents. They supported us as we grew up and now, when they need support the most, this ABC report showed they were exploited.

As their parliamentary representatives, we must protect our parents, our grandparents and our seniors. We must develop the legislation that provides them with the necessary protections against this shocking exploitation. Any good government would have seen these reports and fast-tracked considered legislation through the parliament to protect these vulnerable Australians. Any good government would have done this right away. It worries me that the government are wasting their time throwing taxpayer money to big business instead. They are throwing taxpayer money at Rupert Murdoch's Foxtel and taxpayer money at a glorified opinion poll. A lot has been said in the last week or so about the strength of the current Prime Minister. He's held this position for over a year now. What we've seen is cuts to public services. That is what we have seen from a Prime Minister who is trying to tell us that he is strong.

Australian seniors need someone who will stand up for them and who will pass legislation to protect them from callous exploitation—legislation like a national approach for the regulation of retirement village facilities, with stronger consumer protections and consistency of contracts. In lieu of this much-needed national framework, fortunately, for us in Queensland and Queensland seniors, the state Palaszczuk government has stood up where the federal LNP government have not. In recognising the urgency of this issue, Premier Palaszczuk and her housing minister, Mick de Brenni, have fast developed considered and sensible legislation to protect the state's elderly.

Anyone would be confused by the deliberately complex contracts that must be signed upon entering a retirement village. Some of the contracts were 400-pages thick. Queensland Labor's legislation enforces simplified, standard contracts, with a minimum three-week evaluation before signing. To prevent exorbitant fees that will disallow residents the freedom to move from village to village—fees so high that they may actually cost a resident their entire life savings—the Queensland Labor government have legislated for fairer exit fees that must be reasonably declared up-front. To ensure the safety and security of these elderly residents, enforceable behaviour standards will be legislated for village operators.

Queensland Labor are taking huge steps forward in this space. When they recognise a problem, they urgently deliver the legislation that is needed to move our state forward. They are making life easier for Australian seniors. I can't say the same for our federal government, who we have heard quite a lot of times have made life harder for our seniors. There have been things like slashing the energy supplement, leaving pensioners $365 a year worse off. They should be assisting seniors and bringing back measures that help our seniors, people who have given so much in building our nation. Australia really needs a government who will fight for our society's most vulnerable. I call on this Australian government to commit to a national approach to this issue and protect our seniors.

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