Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

They laugh because, to them, it's all just a game. For the Labor members, it's all just a political game. But we are about making sure that our aged Australians are getting the care that they need. Improving aged care and ensuring senior Australians are cared for with dignity and respect is what this side of the chamber is all about. One of the first decisions of the Prime Minister was to establish the royal commission into aged care. He knew that we would be confronted by some very difficult stories, but, without having a full and complete understanding of the issues, we would have run the risk that previous governments have run, where they offer only a bandaid fix and not the significant change that this government is undertaking. Off the back of the royal commission, we have continued to make improvements in relation to aged care, including a new independent Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, and we have implemented new consumer focused quality standards and introduced a new single Charter of Aged Care Rights.

On this issue of the ACAT assessments, Labor and their union mates have deliberately sought to misrepresent the facts of this matter. I wish I were surprised. Unfortunately it is the case over and over again with Labor members. The government have never stated that we are privatising aged-care assessments. This is a total falsehood. The facts are that the government supports the recommendations from various independent reviews to create a single integrated ACAT and RAS assessment workforce in aged care. This will mean a single assessment workforce that will assess eligibility for access to all aged-care services. It will remove duplication, meaning older Australians can get more timely, consistent and high-quality assessments.

On this side of the House, we are about finding genuine solutions for our aged-care sector that improve the lives of older Australians. We are delivering a record investment across the aged-care system, from $13.3 billion in 2012-13, growing to $21.4 billion in 2019-20, up to an estimated $25.4 billion in 2022-23. That is a costed real investment that will improve the lives of older Australians.

We know that senior Australians want to live in their own homes for longer. We have listened, and we are supporting them to do so. In the 2018-19 budget, the government has invested in providing 44,000 new home-care packages, at a cost of $2.7 billion. Again, we are not posturing; it is not the debating club that the Labor members opposite are trying to foster; it is real outcomes for Australians on the ground. We are delivering a record investment in aged care, more home-care packages, new aged-care quality standards and a more streamlined assessment process, creating a better overall experience.

The hypocrisy of Labor in suggesting that this government is failing older Australians is absolutely baffling. It was only prior to the last election that Labor had no additional funding for home-care places, zero—not a single home-care place did Labor go to the election to fund. Labor standing here criticising this government, which is delivering more home-care places for older Australians, just goes to show that the hypocrisy of those opposite simply knows no bounds. The Labor Party went to the last election committing to no additional funding to improve aged-care quality. Instead, they wanted to slug older Australians with $387 billion worth of new taxes, including the famous retiree tax. They were happy to reach into the pockets of older Australians who had already made investment decisions for their retirement but weren't willing to reinvest it in the home care of our older Australians. Sadly, this is what we expect from the Labor members opposite. That's why this government is committed to making sure we have better outcomes for our ageing Australians.

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