Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to be able to rise and speak on this important motion moved by my colleague the member for Hindmarsh this morning, because waiting lists around home care packages have become one of the critical issues in my electorate of Newcastle. My electorate of Newcastle is not unique in this regard; I know this is an experience shared around the country.

I thank the minister for his contribution. I was horrified when I walked into this chamber and saw that not a single government member was listed to speak on this motion. Fortunately, the minister was on duty and so happened to be in the chamber, saw the opportunity and took it. I thank you for that, because you are the only member on your side—the government—who thought it worthy enough to invest their time and speak on this motion this morning. That is shocking.

I note at this point that the very reason we are able to have this debate today is the result of Labor reforms that were put in place before we lost government. The fact that we have waiting lists now is because of action taken by a former Labor government. Whilst I acknowledge the minister's genuine efforts, I am sure, around seeking bipartisan support when it comes to aged care reforms in Australia, we are not joining him on a race to the bottom on this one. We can't sit and wait any longer. Tomorrow is in fact the 12-month anniversary of the waiting list being known to the Australian government, so the minister has, as has all his colleagues, had access to this information for 12 months now. That is why Labor have brought this motion to the table today. We are not prepared to wait any longer, in the same way that older Australians should not have to wait any longer.

If there is anything that demonstrates the Turnbull government's total disregard for vulnerable Australians, it is this very issue—the lack of action on addressing what is a looming crisis in aged care in Australia. There are now 100,000 Australians waiting to access packages—packages which they have been assessed as being eligible for but maybe can't get the right level or maybe can't get any package whatsoever in their area. Eighty thousand of those people have high care needs, including dementia. The government has had data on these people for 12 months and has failed, failed, failed to do anything. They are the people we are talking about here. This isn't some kind of esoteric group of Australians who are somehow not known to us.

Recently, the government announced an additional 6,000 packages—but that is clearly woeful. There are 100,000 Australians who need these packages and 80,000 of them have complex needs like dementia, and we have on the table an offer from the government of 6,000 additional packages. Not good enough. This is a competition that no-one wants to win. New South Wales, which tops the list, has close to 35,000 Australians who are unable to access packages. The terrible shameful truth about aged care in Australia is that people will literally die as a result of waiting for these packages. As I said, these are packages for which people have already been approved as being eligible.

In my electorate of Newcastle, too many constituents are reaching out to me in desperation after waiting fruitlessly for support packages to become available. One gentleman who contacted my office was totally at his wits end after waiting close to a year for a high-level package for his 90-year-old mother to be approved. This package would have allowed her to maintain her independence by providing in-home support for things like cleaning and personal care. My constituent said that, in the time he had been battling to get an outcome for his mother, he had logged more than 300 hours on the phone to My Aged Care and Centrelink to no avail. The only satisfaction he got was when my office became involved and was eventually able to resolve this for his mother. Why should people like him and his mother continue to suffer as a result of a government that is floundering? It is so busy with its own problems that it can't resolve issues for older Australians.

See this speech in context