Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to quote Tia Walker: 'To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honours.' Indeed, the way that we care for the aged in our community is important to us as a nation. There is one thing that every single Australian has in common, and that is: every single Australian has had a parent. And so whether or not it is us here as policymakers, thinking about how we care for the aged and how we legislate for effective aged care, or whether it is people of, say, my generation, who are now looking at having to assist their parents, their parents-in-law, their neighbours, their aunties or their uncles into aged care, this is an issue that will impact, at some time, every single Australian. So when we are looking at reforming the aged-care system it is, I think, testament to the importance that the coalition has put on these sorts of reforms that so many of my colleagues on my side are also speaking on this.

In the interests of clarity, we can look first of all at what is meant by aged care in this country. It's a system of funding and regulation to ensure that Australians are cared for in their old age. Currently, there's no minimum age. Under the bill that's proposed, people will be eligible for aged-care funding if aged 65 or over, or 50 years or more for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. At the moment, Commonwealth subsidies plus individual means tested contributions provide funding for aged care in Australia. Under the bill as proposed, the Department of Health and Aged Care will oversee Commonwealth funded aged care, with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission and the complaints commissioner as the main regulatory bodies. Both the current and proposed aged-care systems differentiate between aged care provided in a person's own home or community setting and care provided in a residential aged-care facility, in terms of funding and regulatory processes.

Thankfully, the aged-care facilities of the 21st century and, indeed, of 2024 are significantly different to those of the past. I can still remember being a very young girl and going to see my great-grandmother in a nursing home. It was very institutional, and I still have the memory of shock when I walked in and it was eight beds to a room, with four women on each side. They had a bed, a tiny little set of drawers next to them, a curtain that could be put around them and one toilet and shower, to support eight elderly women. I think back to that model and say thank you to all of the former governments and the parliamentarians that have gone before me that have brought about significant change to this sector.

Just on that, I want to, first of all, mention the way that the coalition has attempted to work with the government in this space. The efforts of our shadow health minister, the honourable senator Anne Ruston cannot be understated. Senator Ruston has indeed brought a degree of intellectual rigour to this debate and has seen to it that there were some changes made to these reforms. So, in principle, the coalition supports broadly a much better aged-care system. We are disappointed that there was a lack of cooperation from those in Labor and those on the other side. There was a lack of willingness to work cooperatively and collaboratively with us. I think that that's disappointing because this should be above politics. This should have been a bipartisan approach. I think, quite frankly, it is a bit of a damning indictment on the Prime Minister and also the health and aged care minister that that opportunity was not available to us. We did provide a clear offer to work with the government on this. The reforms overall have come about in response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. We on this side have remained resolute in advocating for the dignity and certainty that older Australians deserve.

I don't think any older Australian wants to give up their independence and go into residential care. I know how devastating it was in my family when my maternal grandmother had a stroke. She was unable to stay at home, paralysed on one side of her body, and unable to use the toilet or feed herself. We had to make that very difficult decision to find a place for her. It is, I think, one of the most awful choices that you have to make. It is a terrible choice, and I think that you feel the lingering guilt even though you know that it is the right thing to do and there is actually no other choice. It is therefore very important for the Australians who are going into these facilities and for their families to know that they are going to be well looked after physically and in terms of mental health—that they will be adequately simulated, for example, and, if they are able, will be able to partake in social activities. Loneliness is one of the biggest issues affecting older Australians. We need to ensure that they have those social interactions and that they have activities available to them. That is why, again, this sector is so important and it is important that any reform is done well.

One of the main issues for this sector—and it's disappointing that the reforms don't really address this—are the chronic workforce shortages within aged care. I know that I've been out to many aged-care facilities within the electorate of Hughes during the campaign. I originally went out to HammondCare, which is at Hammondville and provides significant support for elderly Australians, particularly those with dementia. HammondCare is probably a national leader, if not a world leader, in the way that they care for their residents with dementia. When I spoke to their CEO at the time, I said, 'What is your biggest challenge?' And he said to me, 'It is the workforce.' A lot of the workforce is casualised. An example of one of the issues is that, because of the low rates of pay, aged-care workers cannot afford to live close to where they work. They do shift work, so often they have to do significant travel on public transport across Sydney at midnight or one o'clock in the morning. Clearly, that's a safety issue, particularly for the many women who work in aged care.

The workforce shortages have not been addressed in this reform, and I think that is a real concern. If we do not have the requisite number of Australians who are able or willing to work in aged care, we need to look at how to do better within this sector to ensure, for example, that we have housing for aged-care workers close to where they work. We also need to ensure that our immigration system is properly set up so that we are targeting that sector and bringing those skills in from overseas aged-care workers. That is, again, where we are seeing a failing on the part of the Albanese Labor government in the immigration sector in dealing with our skills shortage and in dealing with aged care.

I started by saying that how we look after our older and most vulnerable Australians is a matter of national interest. I particularly note that I recently met with two different Probus groups in my electorate: Bangor Probus and Sutherland combined Probus. These people would certainly not call themselves elderly! They are very active and engaged, but they have all said to me that they are looking at downsizing and moving into residential care at some stage in the next five to 15 years, and they are very worried at the moment. They have no clear understanding of what the reforms will mean in terms of how much they will pay, what they will be paying for and what level of care will be provided by the Commonwealth. As they move into aged care, of course they will need the medical assistance. But they also want to continue to live the sorts of lives that they have lived independently. And they should be able to. If the women who are moving into these facilities want to have their hair and nails done every week, that should be available to them, but they need clarity as to whether that's being paid for by them or by the Commonwealth.

The people who I met with are not necessarily saying they expect the federal government to pay for this, because most people who are in Probus are self-funded retirees. They are the backbone of Australia and they have done everything we've asked them to do: work hard and pay your taxes but save and provide for yourself into the future. This group of Australians, particularly, need to be respected for the way in which they have saved for themselves and have aimed to look after themselves. So, particularly for that group of Australians, what is happening in aged-care reform, particularly with financial implications, is very important.

I have met recently with not just HammondCare but a number of aged-care facilities in my electorate. I want to give a shout-out to them because they are absolutely outstanding organisations. They provide high levels of care and great, fun events. I've played Olympic bollards. I've been to a hat parade and a Mad Hatter's tea party. I've been at open days. We've had a great deal of fun in the Hughes electorate with a lot of the aged-care facilities, so I just want to quickly make reference to them. There is the BaptistCare Warena Centre at Sutherland, where I presented a nuclear test medal to Mr Rayner. Mr Rayner had been involved in working on the nuclear testing in the Pacific region in the 1950s. The federal government now provides a medal to those people as recognition of their service to their country when they were working at those facilities, often without any protective clothing.

There is also Bupa Sutherland, where I met many of the workers for Aged Care Employee Day. It was great. We had a big, beautiful cake; I certainly remember the cake. Anglicare Donald Robinson Village at Kirrawee needed new Australian flags, and they were presented with that. I also went to BaptistCare Warena at Bangor, where the District Singers performed. This is a great bunch of local residents who have joined together and go around and perform at various places, including some of the aged-care facilities. I've also been to 3Bridges at Menai. It is not an aged-care facility, but from Monday to Friday there is a different seniors group there. On Wednesdays, for example, they have a special event for people with dementia who are living independently but need some extra support and extra socialisation.

I've also been out and met with the Moorebank Happy Seniors group, and they were extremely happy. We had coffee and cake, again, and a really good chat about the things that are affecting them. I've also been out to St Vincent's aged-care services at Heathcote a number of times to provide chocolates, flowers or a plant to residents there who have made the 100-year birthday mark. That is also a fantastic service. To conclude, broadly these reforms are supported, but this could have been done better and we must ensure that aged-care reform is done well for our country going forward.

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