Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I stand here to remind people in this House of the complexity of the aged-care system. I don't know how many on the other side of the House have been to visit their local aged-care facilities, but I have been to visit almost all of mine in my electorate. I'm sure that those on the other side have as well, because they're very important facilities that as a member of parliament I feel very responsible for.

It is true that the federal government invests heavily in the aged-care sector. It's important also to recognise that, in the international context of the aged-care system, every developed country is dealing with an ageing population. It is something we understand on this side of the House because we know that our ageing population is ageing because our healthcare system is so good. We're ageing in a healthy way and we're living longer. But what this means is that we have a changing aged-care sector. This side of the House is investing very heavily in increasing services to the aged-care sector.

One of the most important things that we have done on this side of the House is invest in home-care packages. This is something that the public want. We've heard over and over again how people want to stay in their homes longer. They're healthier because of our healthcare system and our excellent preventive health, but they also want to stay home longer. This has been something that this government has done a lot on. In fact, we've had a tripling of places for home-care packages from 60,000 when we came to government to 185,000 now. This is something very welcomed by my constituents.

But the other side of the coin is that, with an ageing population, we are seeing a more rapidly ageing population in aged-care facilities because people are staying home longer. This is actually a good thing and something to be celebrated. But, as a result, the increased pressure to the aged-care facilities and sectors means that the aged-care sector is rapidly changing, and that is why it has been important for there to be a royal commission. In fact, virtually one of the first things Prime Minister Scott Morrison introduced was this royal commission into aged care. As the Minister for Health has just said, it's our commission and it's our passion. That is because we understand how important our senior citizens are to our community. They've worked hard to build our country and they deserve a good end of life as they grow older.

What I would say is I believe the other side has been very misleading with regard to the fatalities that have occurred during COVID. Each and every fatality is an enormous tragedy. I know that there are 653 families who are mourning the loss of a loved one from COVID in the aged-care facilities, but it is misleading to say that our response has been insufficient with regard to the COVID pandemic. Let me be very clear about this: there have been as many, if not more, healthcare workers infected with COVID as aged-care workers, and yet we do not hear people saying the healthcare sector is broken. The different between the two is that older Australian are the ones who are unfortunately at greater risk of fatality.

We know that it's when COVID gets to a very a high level of community transmission that it gets into these facilities, whether it's aged-care facilities or healthcare facilities. If you really look at the statistics, what's very interesting is that, per capita, Australia has one of the lowest fatality rates in the aged-care sector, compared to the UK, Italy and the US. We have a mortality rate 15 times lower that Italy's and 53 times lower than the UK's. That is because we had a very rapid response to the COVID crisis, with a national COVID plan, increased investment in PPE and huge amounts of resources being thrown at the problem to make sure that we could protect our vulnerable citizens. I'm very proud to be part of the Morrison government, which cares and supports our older citizens.

It is misleading to say that there hasn't been plan. There has been a plan. You can go on the website and have a look for yourself. And, as the Minister for Health has said, it has been revised many times throughout COVID. I have been on the phone to the CEOs of aged-care facilities in Higgins, and I know that many other members in this chamber have done the same in their own electorates. Australians understand that we care about our aged-care citizens and our aged-care facilities, and I welcome the fact that the royal commission has been looking into this issue. It's more complex than the opposition would like to present.

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