Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to speak very briefly on this most important issue that the member for Franklin has raised, but I will not be supporting the motion, because the reality is that this government is delivering a record investment in aged care, supporting older Australians with more choice and delivering better access to quality care, particularly in my electorate of Robertson on the New South Wales Central Coast, where we have a growing ageing population and where aged care is absolutely a priority for this government. Our record on this issue speaks for itself. Since the election of the coalition government, aged-care spending has increased by an average of more than six per cent each year.

Our 2018-19 budget, which was handed down last month, outlined our plan for a stronger economy and it outlined our plan to ensure that older Australians are supported. For the more than 30,000 older Australians in my electorate of Robertson on the New South Wales Central Coast, we have outlined a strong plan to be able to deliver real support for the older Australians who have given so much to our community and to our nation and who have really helped over their lifetimes, individually and as a group, to help make the Central Coast the very best region in the very best country in the world. We outlined that we're delivering an additional 20,000 home care packages, 13,500 residential places and the largest ever single increase to mental health funding for older Australians. Under the coalition's comprehensive and fully-funded aged-care plan, the number of high-level home care packages will actually rise by 86 per cent to 74,000 over the next five years. Over the last couple of weeks I have been visiting a number of places around the Central Coast and speaking with senior Australians and aged-care service providers. I have heard very comprehensively how these increases, and what we are doing to help our senior Australians, are very much welcomed on the Central Coast. For the more than 30,000 older Australians in my electorate of Robertson on the New South Wales Central Coast, we have outlined our plan and we are delivering real support for them.

The member for Franklin spoke about the wait times for aged-care packages. But let's not forget that under Labor the waiting list was actually hidden from public view. Under Labor, we didn't even know how many older Australians were on the waiting list. In February 2017, it was actually this government that introduced measures to help make the list more transparent and totally visible for the first time. In relation to older Australians who are waiting in the queue, almost half are already receiving interim care, which is good; and a majority of older Australians on this list receive support services through our record investment in the Commonwealth Home Support Program, which includes vital services such as Meals on Wheels.

In closing, I wish to underline an important fact: this government is focused on guaranteeing the essential services for older Australians to ensure they have more choice—whether that be in aged care, in staying home longer or in having access to the support they need.

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