Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the significant contribution of the previous Labor Government's Living Longer Living Better reforms that were designed to deliver:

(a) more support and care at home;

(b) additional home and residential care places;

(c) a focus on greater consumer choice and control; and

(d) greater recognition of diversity and support to carers;

(2) notes:

(a) the growing number of:

(i) older Australians who would like to remain living in their own home for as long as possible; and

(ii) carers who work hard to ensure their loved one is able to remain at home for as long as possible;

(b) that older Australians need adequate, flexible and responsive care options to ensure that they remain safe and healthy; and

(c) that many older Australians are experiencing long delays in accessing the necessary care they need, and are having to make do with lower levels of care than they were assessed for; and

(3) calls on the Government to:

(a) ensure that older Australians receive home care assistance when they need it and at a level they need in order to allow them to remain living in their own home safely and independently for as long as possible; and

(b) release the number of people waiting for each level of the package.

As I've already raised in this place and as we've heard on multiple occasions, constituents of mine and others around the country are waiting up to 12 months and more for home-care packages. These are elderly people that require assistance to remain in their homes. When I visit many people in my electorate of Hindmarsh or when they come to see me in Adelaide's west, I hear directly from people waiting for packages for their loved ones or for themselves in order to be able to stay at home and receive the care that they require. I hear complaints from constituents and their families about waiting periods for these packages.

As my electorate has one of the oldest constituencies in the country, I've made this an absolute priority issue for me. The uncertainty around this clearly isn't good enough. This is all about priorities. It's about prioritising, as governments, what is important to the nation. I certainly feel that, for people who have worked all their lives and who have paid their taxes—some have fought in wars—this is an absolute priority for us to ensure that those people live out the remainder of their lives with dignity. Unfortunately, due to this government's lack of action in allocating more packages, some of these people are waiting far too long to access a package. I'm often asked, by people who have been waiting, 'How do we get action on this?' After countless letters, speeches in this place and media awareness about the government's shortcomings from this side of the House, the elderly and their families are coming to the same conclusion—that the only way to get this fixed is under a Labor government.

We on this side are still waiting to hear from this government about how many people, according to the government, are waiting for packages across the country. If the government doesn't have those lists and if it doesn't know how many people are waiting for packages, how can it plan and prepare for the future or know what is around the corner in terms of care that's required for these elderly people? We saw the date for the announcement of how many people are waiting for packages pushed forward to August at one stage, and here we are now in September, still without any figures. So we need the minister and the government to come out with these figures; otherwise people are just going to assume that they're hiding something.

The hardest thing for aged-care advocates to swallow is that this is a crisis that has been wholly manufactured by the government. If adequate resources were made available to the sector, the problem wouldn't exist. Despite protests from this side of the chamber, the waiting list keeps on getting longer, we suspect. Consumers are not able to tell how long their wait will be or where they are in a queue. It is really important to know exactly where you stand in the queue and how long you're going to be waiting for, to make adequate adjustments and arrangements. It's unacceptable that many older Australians are being forced to wait many months to access any support after they have been approved for care. This is why, as the member for Hindmarsh, I will not stop fighting for my constituents, as well as for others around the country. The pressure will remain on this government to improve the allocation of packages and reduce those waiting times for people who have been waiting for ages to get the care that's required.

Through this motion, I want to highlight that a growing number of older Australians would like to remain in their homes. We know that they wish to remain in their homes. A growing number of carers work hard to ensure that their loved ones are able to remain in their homes for as long as possible. We know that that is the best outcome for someone. We also know that carers need adequate, flexible and responsive care options to ensure that they remain safe and healthy in a good environment.

We need to highlight, also, that many Australians are experiencing long delays—far too long—in accessing the necessary care they need, and are having to make do with lower levels of care. We know that people who have been listed for level 4 packages are receiving, perhaps, level 2 packages and being told there are no level 4 packages for them. The level 2 package is a start, but it's not good enough if they require level 4 packages. I call on the government to ensure that older Australians are receiving home care assistance when they need it, and in an adequate and timely manner that ensures their dignity and allows them to remain safely independent for as long as possible. We know that, when people have the care that's required, they can stay in their own environment, which gives them a better lifestyle and ensures they're closer to their community. I call on the government to do these things.

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