Jason Falinski (Mackellar, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to start by thanking all those people involved in caring for our elderly. It is done in very difficult circumstances by a lot of people across all parts of Australia, and it has been done for many years. I'm talking about everyone from the providers, the back office workers like the member for Lilley—who I'm sure did a very good job—to the people on the floor who make it happen and who deal with very difficult circumstances, where there are people with dementia, people who are often trying to escape, people who think they're in a different country. We are not talking about your average workplace. We are talking about exceptionally difficult circumstances for a lot of people. As some of you have been bored to death by me in previous speeches—

Thank you, Member for Fenner. A little less enthusiasm next time, thank you!

I started a company in 2004. It was called CareWell Health. It was a manufacturer, designer and supplier of healthcare equipment and furniture, primarily for the aged-care sector. I remember the first time I walked into a nursing home. It was Uniting Care at Drummoyne. As the doors opened, it was like a giant blast of ammonia was coming out, and I was physically revulsed by the smell. That's not to pick on Uniting Care; although, over time, I noticed there were better providers than others. But it was to say that that was how we looked after our tribal elders at that time, in 2004.

I have to say that what I observed over the next 12 years was a revolution in aged care. We allowed private sector investment into the aged-care system. That investment replaced what could only be described as some very basic aged-care facilities with what now resemble five-star resorts. I'm talking about companies like Signature Care, Bupa, RCare and Regis. If you were to go into some of their facilities, you would be wondering when you could move in—they are literally that good.

I noticed on the weekend that Peter van Onselen revealed that his mother owned aged-care facilities, I assume in Perth, and that she never wanted to end up in one. As I read that, I felt like saying, 'I can imagine that was the case 15 years ago.' But 15 years later, the truth is that many of these facilities are state of the art. They are some of the best places to be. While this government has more than tripled the number of home-care packages, I have to say that I worry about home-care packages. I think they're more service than they are care. You find a lot of our elderly stuck in very large homes in the suburbs of Australia, and many doctors now believe that social isolation kills more people than cancer in Australia. These programs have the impact of isolating people.

We have gone through a very difficult stage during this pandemic. The elderly were our most vulnerable. As the minister for immigration and minister for health pointed out, our results in Australia leave the rest of the world in our dust. We have had some of the lowest death rates and the lowest infection rates in aged care of any nation in the world. It didn't just happen; it happened through good management. Most of what those opposite are speaking about regarding the lack of workers at the moment is coming down to the fact that a large number of people who work in aged care have come from places like the Philippines, Tibet, Burma, India, and we have not had our borders open over last two years for that workforce to come in. That is now going to change. And I'm sure that they are some of the best carers that you will ever see. (Time expired)

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