Gladys Liu (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome any opportunity to rise and speak about this government's record of delivering for senior Australians. Improving aged care for all senior Australians has been and will continue to be one of the government's key priorities. This is why one of Prime Minister Morrison's first acts as Prime Minister was to call the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. This government's ongoing commitment to older Australians is exactly why we are delivering record investment across the aged-care system from $13.3 billion in 2012-13 growing to $21.4 billion in 2019-20 and up to an estimated $25.4 billion in 2022-23.

As a government, we want to see senior Australians living in their own homes longer. The coalition government will provide the necessary support to make this happen. We will increase home care packages from $60,308 under Labor in 2012-13 to $158,030 in 2022-23. This is an increase of over 160 per cent. Unlike Labor, the coalition government knows how to manage the economy, and we all know that without strong economic management none of these funding increases would be possible. The government continues to make key reforms as the royal commission progresses, as we said we would, including establishing a new independent Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, and a new single charter of aged care rights is now in place.

Senior Australians know that, when it comes to aged care, Labor cannot be trusted. Labor went to the last election promising $387 billion in new taxes. This included the retiree tax, designed to hurt senior Australians. What is worse is that, with all these new taxes, Labor provided no additional funding in their costings for home-care places or indeed any additional funding for aged-care quality or for the workforce of mainstream residential aged care. This just shows the hypocrisy of Labor when it comes to aged care. The only time Labor cares about our older Australians is when they are trying to reach into their wallets and slug them with new taxes.

Labor have some serious questions to answer because as a party they have failed. They have failed to provide a single aged-care policy alternative. Labor's policy on aged care is missing. They keep telling us they will release something later. Senior Australians are an afterthought to the Australian Labor Party. The coalition is interested in making a difference, while our opponents want to play cheap political games.

The coalition government has much to be proud of when it comes to looking after senior Australians. This government announced a funding package of $537 million, which it began rolling out December last year. This package includes $496.3 million for an additional 10,000 home-care packages for those with the highest needs. This government's actions will reduce wait times and connect people to care sooner. The Morrison government is committed to creating a better experience for senior Australians entering aged care. That is our focus. We will deliver on streamlining assessments to make sure senior Australians get the care they need. It is the coalition government that looks after senior Australians, not Labor.

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