Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

A lack of care for older Australians and aged-care residents is endemic in this Morrison government. We have seen time and time again throughout the pandemic the sheer disregard for the lives and wellbeing of aged-care residents. The botched vaccine rollout for aged-care residents and staff and the ongoing lack of support for those in the aged-care sector send a clear message from the Morrison government that the needs of older Australians are not a priority.

Older Australians built this country. They worked hard, they paid their taxes and they raised their families. They are the people to whom we owe all the things that make our country what it is: a place of freedom and a place of opportunity. These people and their families who have worked and contributed to our country throughout their lives deserve so much better than the chaotic, unsafe system that has come about as a result of eight long years of this Liberal-National government's ignoring their needs.

Let there be no mistake: the aged-care system as it currently stands is broken. Aged care is an issue that impacts all of us. Australians and their families deserve compassion, safety and adequate care as they move through the later stages of their life. Labor supports the bill, as any changes with the capacity to even slightly improve the failing aged-care system are long overdue, but this bill falls well short of what is needed to achieve long-term, lasting change in an industry that is in so much need of reform.

The Morrison government has failed aged-care residents again and again and again. This bill is just their latest attempt to launder their image. It's not the broad, transformative reform necessary to ensure the safety and security of older Australians and those who are in the aged-care system. Over the eight long years this government has been in power, they have repeatedly neglected the needs of those within the aged-care system. It's a national disgrace, and it requires more than the half-baked policies put forward in this bill.

The Morrison government are responsible for the aged-care system. They are responsible for the funding cuts. They are responsible for the terrible and heartbreaking neglect that has been identified in the royal commission, a royal commission which they have literally thumbed their noses at. This is an issue of utmost national importance, particularly considering the horrific neglect which the government has continued to demonstrate towards aged-care homes, their residents and the workers, particularly, throughout the course of this pandemic. This is an industry that is in need of immense reform and oversight, and, in this task, the Morrison government is categorically failing.

The royal commission highlighted the tragic outcomes of the Morrison government's neglect, including the stories of maggots in the wounds of residents and the horrifying statistics about malnourishment that we saw. These failures—the neglect, the pain of those experiencing neglect within the aged-care system and the pain of their families—are the result of the government's past ongoing neglect of our older communities. I have seen it for myself, personally, when going through aged-care facilities during the pandemic. There were 170 cases. Twenty-two lives were lost, and there wasn't a peep from the government about how they could help and what they could do. The aged-care workers in these places busted their guts—day in, day out—in horrific conditions, trying to work through a pandemic. The government couldn't even respond to the most basic of needs—the most basic support they asked for assistance with. It is a true tragedy to see that happen. Twenty-two lives were lost. There were 170 cases, and staff were overworked to the hilt. The government sat by and literally did nothing. It's terrible. The government owes an apology to those people for leaving them out the way they did.

The royal commission concluded that almost one in three older people had experienced some form of substandard care while in residential facilities. It specifically heard about the excessive use of physical and chemical restraints in aged care, which rob older Australians of their dignity and autonomy as they go through the later stages of their lives. Older people with mental health issues, particularly those suffering from later stages of dementia, are often heavily medicated or physically restrained. For too many people, their experience in the aged-care system is uncaring, unkind and even inhumane. We need to respond to their needs.

The government has failed to listen to the stories and the experiences of Australians in aged care, their families and workers. They failed to listen to the 22 expert reports. Now, they are failing to listen to the responses of their own royal commission. The Morrison government wants to claim to have put forward a plan that reforms the aged-care sector, but, beyond the smoke and mirrors, the government's response to the royal commission and to the current crisis within the aged-care system doesn't just fall short; it fails completely. The government's proposed policies fail to deliver the enduring reforms and the improvements necessary to address the crises in the short, medium and long run.

Labor's criticism of the Morrison government's response is not politics. It's not political mudslinging. It is fact. It is an undisputable fact that the Morrison government has delayed or outright rejected many of the crucial recommendations of the royal commission and the necessary changes that can reform this industry. The Morrison government's plan includes none of the recommended workforce and workplace changes which the royal commission outlined as necessary aspects to addressing the growing crisis within the industry. There is absolutely nothing the government is doing to improve wages for the overstretched, undervalued aged-care workers in the aged-care industry.

The government ignored seven of the recommendations that were put forth to address standards of care within residential facilities. The government ignored the recommendations to require a nurse to be on 24/7 duty within residential aged-care facilities. They just glossed over the recommendations regarding staff-to-patient ratios, something the industry knows must be done. You would think a government would take the time to listen to aged-care workers but it is pretty clear that, like its approach to a lot of people in this country, the government just does not care. It is very, very sad. They shirked their primary increase to mandatory care minutes for residents in aged care. Their proposals do not meet the recommendations made by the royal commission, and they include cleaning and admin work as part of the care minutes. Again, you've got to look at what this Prime Minister says. Everything is about the headline—but never with the delivery. This needs to be done and needs to be mandated. It is just not good enough that we see these things happening.

Staffing levels are central to many of the quality of care problems in residential aged care, and these reforms are crucial to increasing standards of care and ensuring that the horrific stories of neglect which we heard throughout the course of the royal commission do not continue into the future. The Morrison government have fallen short on their responsibility to address this issue. And if all of that wasn't enough, the Morrison government have failed to clear the home care package wait list for over 100,000 people, ignoring the wishes of Australians who want to age at home and giving them little option other than to go to the overworked, understaffed facilities which the government refuses to reform.

Despite allocating $3.2 billion to providers, the government are demanding no assurances that this money goes towards actual care, increased staff and better food. The commitment of this money to supplement the basic daily fee by $10 per resident per day was recommended by the royal commission and they laid out strict reporting requirements to ensure that these funds went to addressing the malnourishment crisis and on better care. The government didn't follow the recommendations for the reporting requirements. Instead, they are providing a $3.2 billion cheque to providers with no assurances on how it is to be spent. The government don't care if the money goes towards management bonuses or new staff offices, as long as they say it is fixing the crisis.

We have seen the issue in Victoria in aged-care facilities, where people were starving and treated poorly, but the owners of the aged-care facility were out there on their superyachts and driving their European sports cars. That is why you need to have the checks and balances in place. The people who pay their taxes here in Australia want to see better aged-care facilities. We have respect for our elderly people and we want to see them get good care. No-one needs to see Instagram photos of aged-care providers running around on superyachts and driving sports cars. That is not what it is about. The money should be there for all Australians and for people in aged care.

The lack of transparency and accountability which defines the eight years of this Liberal-National government is present throughout the entirety of this bill. It really concerns us that $17.7 billion will be spent on aged care without transparency and accountability measures in place. As far as Labor is concerned, every dollar spent on aged care should be going to care, not to provider profits. We know that there are many aged-care providers who do amazing work and are dedicated to the health and wellbeing of those in their care, but we also know that there are far too many who aren't.

Australia's aged-care system is currently in a state of crisis. That is not an opinion; that is a fact—an actual fact. No person in our country should be subject to mistreatment or should experience malnourishment or be forced to suffer without adequate medical care; least of all, older Australians, who built this country and to whom we owe so much. We welcome any changes which have the capacity to improve the aged-care system. But let there be no mistake: the bill proposed by the Morrison government does not do enough to reform the fundamentally broken system which has been created under their watch. Changes to staffing regulations and conditions and real accountability with regards to where funding on aged care is actually being spent are necessary in order to increase the standard of care in residential aged-care facilities and to prevent mistreatment. Neither of these were included to any substantial degree in the government's bill.

So, while we're not going to stop the passage of this bill, we strongly urge the Morrison government to consider implementing all of the recommendations put forth by the royal commission, to stop the arrogance and to work with Labor to implement the standards and the regulations necessary to reform this broken system. Older Australians deserve respect, compassion and care—and, once again, the Morrison government, with this bill, is failing to provide it to them. It has really never been more clear that Australia needs an Albanese Labor government, someone who is on their side, someone who is going to help those Australians who have built this country and made it the great place that it is.

(Quorum formed)

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