Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am proud of the action of the Prime Minister, the Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care and our government to launch the royal commission into aged care, particularly when I hear some of the things I've heard from a number of my constituents and when I see some of the things like we saw on the Four Corners report the other night. I know from my own family's experience with my nanna some of the many issues across both the retirement village sector and the aged-care sector. I wish she had the experience of some of the great places in my electorate, like the Village Baxter in Frankston, which under a very strong model and management has shown an ability to show true care to residents. There are many other positive examples in the aged-care sector.

I thank the minister as well for coming down to run an aged-care forum in my electorate to listen to concerns in my electorate and for also twice now visiting the Village Baxter to see the wonderful model they have. Having helped my own mother-in-law at nursing home visits in Sydney over a number of years when she visited many elderly residents who often did not have immediate family to visit them on a regular basis or at all, I know some of the issues and some of the loneliness experienced by many people in the aged-care sector.

I remember a particular lady, Elizabeth, who, from my recollection, was about 99 years old at the time and had no family at all—no kids, no grandkids, no great-grandkids. I remember my mother-in-law and I going to visit her. My mother-in-law would take her out to go shopping and everywhere else to get her out and about. She really appreciated that connection that was made, which she wouldn't have had, given that she didn't have family. I also remember her making little scarfs, one of which I was able to give to my little daughter when she was born. Unfortunately, Elizabeth has passed on now, but she's one example of the many people in our aged-care sector who experience not only loneliness but also, in the wider sector, the bad experiences people have had.

I've listened to those opposite, and I wish that they would take a bipartisan approach to this issue instead of running matters of public importance like this, referring to 'The government's five years of failure on aged care'. I remember hearing, when Labor was in government over a six-year period, these very same issues that we are hearing now, and they didn't launch a royal commission as we have done. But I know that, across all governments, we want the best for our parents, our grandparents and our great-grandparents. So let's not play politics over this important issue of aged care. Let's work together to continue not only to resolve the issues as we've been doing—and as, I'm sure, Labor were concentrating on doing when they were in government—but to look even further into the things we need to do in this sector, as we will do through this royal commission.

As the royal commission goes about its work, our rigorous reform program continues. We commissioned, for example, the Review of National Aged Care Quality Regulatory Processes because we know about these issues, as, I'm sure, Labor did when they were in government during the six years between 2007 and 2013. And we have been taking action while, at the same time, calling for a royal commission to dig even deeper into the issues facing the sector. For example, we've actioned the 10 recommendations, including quality audits and creating the new tough cop on the beat—the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. We have worked through the 2017 Legislated Review of Aged Care and responded in the 2018 budget with the More Choices for a Longer Life package, supporting active ageing and providing an extra $1.6 billion for home care. We have legislated for new aged-care quality standards—the first upgrade in 20 years. Just last week, we released Australia's first Aged Care Workforce Strategy to rapidly grow the professional care workforce, and we've greatly increased our home care packages. We stand with all Australians in supporting the overwhelming majority of the nation's more than 2,700 aged-care homes that provide quality care. There are many dedicated staff—over 360,000—who do a great job, but we need to tackle the issues facing the sector as we are doing through the royal commission, and I call for a bipartisan approach to the aged-care sector.

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