Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Forde for his question. I commend him on the work he has done to ensure the M1 upgrade on the Gold Coast, along with his colleagues up on the Gold Coast, the trade minister here. And I congratulate the member for Fadden up here on his advocacy on that. Also, we're ensuring that those working in the Australian film industry, the gaffers and everyone else who is out there who has a job in the Australian film industry, will be supported by the increased support that is being provided by the Turnbull government to ensure there is a solid pipeline of work right across the Australian film industry. We'll see those big films coming to Australia, which, as the trade minister knows, also support tourism in this country very, very significantly.

A stronger economy guarantees the essential services that Australians rely on. The key essential services that were provided for in this budget are to ensure that we preserve and increase the choices, the dignity and the respect that Australians can have as they grow older. In this package, which we announced last night, there are an additional 14,000 places for in-home care in this country. They are high-level-needs care places. That's on top of the 6,000 we announced in December. That's 20,000 additional places, just this year, to address the significant choice that more and more Australians want to make, to be able to age in their own home, with their families. The member for Chisholm was reminding me today that for many families, particularly those from an ethnic background, it matters so much to them that they can be in their home with them as they are celebrating Christmas or Easter, or Greek Easter for that matter. It's so important that Australians have that choice, and this will mean that there will be an increase of over 80 per cent on the 2017-18 numbers over the forward estimates in the proportion of those high-level care places. This is something where older Australians should have that choice protected, and we've that done it in this budget. There will be 74,000 high-level home care places available, and that is an increase of 86 per cent on 2017-18. There is $83 million for increased support for mental health services and residential aged care facilities.

We are backing the choices of Australians like Lucky Steve, who I was talking about today at the Press Club, who is out there wanting to work and knows he needs to work. He is taking responsibility for his life, as he always has. He doesn't growl. He doesn't whinge. He just gets on with it. He provides for himself and his family. For him, we have ensured that we have an extension of the pension work bonus, an extension of the Pension Loans Scheme, the wage subsidy for older Australians, and particularly for self-employed older Australians, who now get that benefit of the pension work bonus of up to $7,800 a year. We're supporting older Australians, their choices, so they can age with dignity and with respect.

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