Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Skills) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion put forward by the member for Newcastle. I thank her for drawing attention to this issue. We have heard the same tired old speaking notes from those on the other side of the room forever, and they must be getting so embarrassed having to repeat them over and over again. Why don't they use this one: how good is ruining the one part of the aged-care system that is working well? How good is it? The decision to privatise the Aged Care Assessment Team is a decision no-one asked for and no-one wants. And it is actually open to the private sector. The member for Franklin just showed me a direct quote from the minister himself.

The government's obsession with privatisation means they are blinded by the effect this will have on the health system. Experts argue that no private providers can offer the expertise to adequately assess the complex needs of hundreds of thousands of elderly Australians. In an article published in The Saturday Paper on 2 November 2019, a senior member of ACAT said they have 'no confidence a lesser skilled privatised workforce will deliver the quality in assessments required'. Does the government expect us to believe that for-profit companies won't prioritise profit over quality assessments? They won't result in poorly trained assessors who inadequately assess complex needs?

The state-employed ACAT workers are exactly the right people to be doing clinical assessments. This government does not care that their move to privatise may see 1,000 dedicated ACAT workers lose their jobs. Labor will always back our nurses, doctors and social workers. The same cannot be said for those who sit opposite.

I also want to give a big shout-out to the Health Services Union, the United Workers Union and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation for their continued advocacy on behalf of working people in health care across Australia, particularly in the aged-care sector.

As the shadow assistant minister for aged care, I hear many stories of how broken our aged-care system is, and the shadow minister for ageing and seniors has told us time and time again that ACAT is the only part of the aged-care system that is not broken. In fact, ACAT has been demonstrably successful. The first interaction the elderly have with the aged-care system is through an aged-care assessment team, an ACAT. The assessment takes place following a decline in health due to ageing. A well-qualified and well-trained, employed workforce of nurses, allied health workers and geriatricians provides an assessment and ensures the appropriate level of support. It's the first step to getting a home care package or entering a residential aged-care facility. Each year more than 170,000 older Australians and their families access the care they need, and most report it to be a professional process that provides guidance and care during a very hard time.

So why is the Morrison government hell-bent on privatising a good service? It's certainly not because the royal commission suggested it. In fact, like his boss, who is loose with the truth, the aged-care minister, Senator Colbeck, falsely claimed that the aged care royal commission supported the privatisation of aged-care assessment services. The royal commission had to issue a firm rebuke, noting the commission's interim report did not endorse the government's stated position. Is it because the states thought that ACAT might work better if it were privatised; is that why he's doing it? Absolutely not. Embarrassingly for the Morrison government, the Liberal health minister in New South Wales has come out and said:

NSW has major concerns … It seems pre-emptive and unreasonable to be effectively privatising health aged-care services while the royal commission into aged care is still under way.

So why is the Morrison government doing this? There are some clues in Rick Morton's article in The Saturday Paper, which suggests that by privatising the assessment process the government can manipulate waiting lists for aged-care services and reduce the level of care offered to people in their homes. The article says:

A senior doctor and member of a current ACAT service told The Saturday Paper the new arrangements are likely to be an "accounting trick" that can "magic the numbers". The doctor believed the government would put fewer people in the high-care category …

It is one of the most sinister things I have ever seen a government do. We know this government has a huge problem with waiting lists for home care packages, with 110,000 people waiting. But, rather than funding more packages, they're going to change the eligibility for aged-care support to put downward pressure on their waiting lists. More people will go without care; it's just that they won't be counted on a list. It's sinister. It's dodgy. It's so typical of this government, which thinks it can spin its way out of everything. I'm truly gobsmacked at how awful they are. Let me say to those who sit opposite: any gloss and sheen you had from the election has worn off. Australians are seeing you for what you really are: sneaky, mean and arrogant.

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