Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Forgive me, but can I just say what a completely Pavlovian display I have heard from those opposite. They are spouting things they don't understand and know nothing about, as was seen with their 'hands up' display in question time today and now with their responses to the MPI.

Australia is witnessing an aged-care crisis brought on by this government's five years of failures in aged care. This isn't a crisis that occurred overnight or an issue that has only recently come to light with some investigative journalism. We on this side of the chamber have been identifying issues in the system for years. It has been apparent to all of us on this side that the sector is in crisis and has been in dire need of attention from the government for years and years. Time and time again, though, our concerns have fallen on deaf ears. It now appear that the Prime Minister, Mr Morrison, and his coalition government will only begin to pay the sector some attention because not to do so would be politically unpopular and denying the undeniable.

For years now, the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison coalition circus has been putting aged care in the too-hard basket. Forgive me if I don't applaud the government on their recent epiphany. It's come far too late. It is somewhat ironic that I was recently rereading the book of Awakenings by the great British neurologist Oliver Sacks about giving L-DOPA to those suffering from encephalitis lethargica after the influenza epidemic at the turn of the 20th century. If anything, the government's sudden awakening proves that it is those opposite who have been playing politics with aged care. They've denied all responsibility for this for five years and are now trying to appear proactive at a time politically convenient in their electoral cycle.

I am certainly not the most political person in the building. I've had my career and I'm not blinded by ambition. I am simply here to stick up for the families of Macarthur—indeed, for families around the country—and to try to secure better outcomes for our community. I'm not here to take cheap shots, but this coalition government is a completely shambles, particularly when it comes to aged care. They've had some five years to do good work in the aged-care field and they've failed at every opportunity. The bloke they've appointed their lord and saviour in this government's dying days is the one who is responsible for this predicament. The present Prime Minister, as I've already stated, was the architect of some truly horrendous cuts to aged care when he was the Treasurer. Older Australians deserve much better than a Prime Minister who does not understand aged care and then lies to them about it.

I have heard truly harrowing stories from constituents in my electorate and from electorates around the country—including the electorates of Dobell, Macquarie and Herbert. The waiting list for high-level aged-care packages continues to increase and all the government can do is try to hide the data. Again, we've been saying this for some time. Hardworking local members, senators and local candidates have been receiving this feedback on the ground right across the country. We've tried time and time again to get information from the government on this state of affairs and each time to no avail.

It is time the Liberals and the Nationals started doing better in this critical area of policy. Far too many older Australians living across the country are waiting for a package and the care they need, and some will die without getting it. All the while, the government continue to prove they are inept. I must stress that after five years in government every one of those opposite must accept some responsibility for what is happening today in the aged-care system. I've heard so much evidence, from every part of the aged-care system and from every part of the country that I've visited, about the need for improvements in staffing levels, pain management, dementia care, wound care, nutrition, staff training, medication control, employment of registered nurses and access, in particular, to general practitioners. I want to stress that I believe our aged-care nurses and workers provide excellent care, but they are underresourced and underpaid.

My only concern is that the royal commission may delay urgently needed reforms. Many people in aged care are extremely vulnerable. They often have very short life expectancies and deserve to be kept as comfortable as they possibly can be. We have heard horrific stories of what has happened in a poorly resourced aged-care system. In particular, we've seen people dying at home without getting the care they so desperately need. We should not delay urgently needed reforms and we must act now to protect our most vulnerable. (Time expired)

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