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

LS (—) (): I thank the member for Hasluck for her question, and I know the member is passionate about aged care and about ensuring that older people in her electorate receive a higher standard of care thanks to the historic reforms that the Albanese Labor government is making. I'm pleased to say that this Labor budget delivers $36 billion worth of funding for the aged-care sector—a historic injection of funds into a much-needed sector—and we will give $11.3 billion to aged-care workers to increase their pay 15 per cent above the award from 1 July. This money will change lives. It will ease cost-of-living pressures for staff, it will improve the care that some of our most vulnerable Australians receive and, because we are fully funding this pay rise, including the on-costs, it will help providers continue on the road of financial improvement after nine years of being left to rot by the coalition.

On top of the $11.3 billion worth of wages, we are delivering a total funding uplift, including indexation, of $14.1 billion in residential care. This package includes the new AN-ACC price of $243.10 plus $10.80 hotelling supplement per resident per day, up from $216. This represents a more than 17 per cent increase to annual funding. Compare that to the coalition's 1.7 per cent increase to annual funding, which is what they left the sector with. They left the sector with a 1.7 per cent indexation increase and then spent 12 months feigning great concern—a thin, recently applied veneer of concern—about the viability of the sector when it was the opposition who left it with a 1.7 per cent indexation increase. That was so pitiful that we have had to add a correction in this budget to atone for their sins. We are putting a 17 per cent indexation increase in this budget to clean up their mess. Talk about the arsonist complaining about the price of water. They left the industry with 1.7 per cent and spent 12 months feigning concern about the viability of the sector. Now we're sweeping in with a 17 per cent increase, and they can't even lift their heads to listen to the good news.

In the 18 months after the royal commission handed down their final report into the neglect in the sector, the opposition addressed only nine of 148 recommendations. We're three weeks out from our one-year anniversary, and in our one year in government we will have addressed 69 of 148 recommendations. That is reforming aged care. That is taking care seriously. This side of the House is returning optimism to aged care. This side of the House is returning viability and confidence to the sector. (Time expired)

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