Anika Wells (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

I'm talking about the urgent need for reform in aged care asked of us by the royal commission due to the actions and neglect of those opposite. They might accuse us of rushing reform in aged care; we certainly could not accuse them of rushing anything in aged care, because it is very hard to rush neglect—you really have to let it wither on the vine.

They could not commit to 24/7 nurses, they could not commit to basic standards of care minutes for our older Australians and they could not commit to a pay rise for aged-care workers. But they remain steadfastly committed to neglecting the duty of care and the standard required in aged care. This government will not apologise for being ambitious for aged care. We will keep working and we will keep fighting, even though the reform required is complex and difficult. We remain committed to the task and we remain committed to older Australians.

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