Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks very much, Mr Speaker. I'm asked a question about nurses in nursing homes, and what those opposite are saying is that it's not relevant, the consequences of not having a nurse in a nursing home 24/7. That's what they are saying. We had a very clear plan about nurses in nursing homes. We had a very clear plan about 215 minutes of care. We had a very clear plan about more accountability for the operators of nursing homes. We had a very clear plan about better nutrition in nursing homes for aged-care residents, because we know that, according to the royal commission, over half of aged-care residents were not getting the nutrition that they need. They're literally starving. This is the issue before Australians.

I say to the opposition: think seriously about the impact on those people watching this at home who have mum or dad or grandpa or grandma or their sister or brother in an aged-care home, worried about the impact which is there, worried about the deficiencies that have been identified by the aged-care royal commission. And you know what they're saying around the country? They're saying, 'We want a nurse in a nursing home.' They're saying, 'We want 215 minutes of care.' They're saying, 'We want better nutrition.' They're saying they want better accountability. Those opposite just show, with this line of questioning, just how completely out of touch they are.

See this speech in context