Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As a country, we are facing some of the most challenging weeks of the pandemic since it began in 2020, and it's our seniors who are amongst the most vulnerable. The standard of support and care that they are provided during this time cannot afford to be compromised. That is why we want to take this opportunity to thank the carers, the nurses, the cleaners, the cooks and the doctors who do such amazing work making sure our senior Australians are treated with respect, care and dignity.

I rise today to speak on Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, which recognises the inspiring effort of our nurses and carers. It also brings the challenges of aged-care services across the country into clear focus. The Morrison government is committed to transforming aged care, and the royal commission's monumental report, with 148 recommendations, delivers a challenging but achievable road to reform. It recognises the obstacles facing aged-care providers in rural and remote areas and the need to strengthen and support the aged -care workforce in these communities.

In response to the final report from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety the Australian government will deliver a $17.7 billion package, a package that is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change aged care for the future. In response to recommendation 54 from the royal commission, we are investing over $630 million to make sure the aged-care system is more accessible for senior Australians living in rural and remote locations.

The Morrison government is also strengthening its capacity to understand the service gaps in these rural and remote areas. It is making sure our seniors can continue residing in the parts of the country that they not only call home but feel most at home at. This package is critical in making sure that they can continue to have this freedom, and it ensures their desire to be independent does not have to diminish with age.

The opposition has noted it has been more than three months since our government announced the $630 million investment. I want to paint the full picture to reinforce that we are only three months into a five-year plan which has been mapped out clearly. It is an ambitious plan, one the Prime Minister has acknowledged will take considerable time given the scale of change we want and need to achieve. But it is a plan that is achievable, and it responds to the individual needs of senior Australians. It gives them the opportunity to be involved in their own care and fosters a sense of purpose which cannot be taken for granted. The plan is aligned with five key pillars: home care, residential aged-care services and sustainability, improving access to and quality of residential care, workforce, and new legislation and stronger governance.

Just last month Minister Colbeck announced the allocation of $150 million in capital grants—the single largest investment in residential aged-care infrastructure in Australia's history, 97 per cent of which was allocated to services located in regional and remote Australia. We're not wasting time getting underway, with a total of 72 projects that have been funded and are expected to be completed over the next six to 36 months. It will see a reduction in shared rooms, better amenities, more dementia friendly environments, more sustainable services and improved access to quality care in areas of need.

Senior Australians shouldn't feel like they are waiting out their lives. Those of us with parents or grandparents in the system know they deserve the best possible quality of life at the bare minimum. With 32 aged-care homes and over 22,000 locals aged over 65 in my electorate of Bonner, the news of this package has been applauded by our local aged-care facilities. I'm regularly visiting these facilities as it is an opportunity for me to personally thank the staff, learn about what's happening on the ground and learn about where the support is needed. I've been able to hear the thanks of the staff at some of these local facilities for our government's commitment to restoring trust in the system. They always make me feel at home, as do the residents that I get to spend time with, and just recently I had the pleasure of hosting morning teas for the residents at Aveo aged care in Manly and those at Wishart Christian Village. We must continue to make sure our senior Australians know how valued they are as part of our community.

I'm proud to represent the Morrison government, who recognise the importance of aged care now and into the future. We have to take considerate, responsible and thorough actions to provide critical funding, resources and training to the sector. What an accomplishment it is to be rolling out this in every corner of the country.

See this speech in context