Mark Baker (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House:

(1)

notes that 15-21 October is Carers’ Week;

(2)

notes that the theme of this year’s Carers’ Week is “Anyone, Anytime”, the objective of which is identifying carers and empowering them to access support services;

(3)

recognises that there are approximately 2.6 million carers in Australia who provide unpaid help and assistance to a relative or friend, who could not otherwise manage because of disability, mental illness, chronic condition or frailty;

(4)

notes that almost everyone will provide care at some time during their life;

(5)

notes that around 1.2 billion hours of informal care are currently provided by family carers (as recently found by Access Economics in its report Economic Value of Informal Care);

(6)

acknowledges the enormous contribution made by carers to Australian society, often at great personal cost; and

(7)

calls on all levels of government, businesses and schools to consider adopting carer-friendly work practices and learning environments.

This motion acknowledges a group of extraordinary Australians—a group of over 2.6 million people who come from all backgrounds, from all walks of life and all ages. It is a group that makes an enormous contribution to Australian society, often at significant personal cost, and one that you and I may one day belong to—any one of us, anytime. I am speaking, of course, of that wonderful group of people who provide unpaid help and assistance to a relative or friend who, because of disability, mental illness, a chronic condition or frailty, otherwise could not manage. This is the group we know collectively as ‘carers’.

Carers include parents caring for children with severe intellectual, psychiatric or behavioural difficulties, people of middle age caring for elderly parents and the 390,000 young Australians providing care to a relative who is frail, has a disability or chronic illness. As noted by Access Economics in its report Economic value of informal care, over 1.2 billion hours of informal care is being provided by family members. The Howard government is fully aware of not only the incredible work that carers do for the people they care for but also the vital social and economic contribution they make to our society. In return, the Howard government’s commitment to carers has been demonstrated by the many improvements and changes to carers legislation and policy over recent years.

The Australian government provides carers with direct payments of over $2 billion each year. Carer payments provide income support to people who, because of the demands of their caring role, are unable to support themselves through substantial workforce participation. In recognition of those 1.2 billion hours of family care provided, the Howard government has introduced changes to the carer allowance which make it easier for some to claim. New conditions have been added to the lists of recognised disabilities and some of the disability or medical condition eligibility descriptors have been modified. For example, diabetes mellitus type 1 will be added to the lists of recognised disabilities from the first of this month.

The Howard government’s 2006-07 budget provided, for the third consecutive year, a one-off bonus payment to eligible carers, costing some $358 million. For the first time, carers who receive the carer allowance and the wife pension or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs partner service pension have also received $1,000 in recognition of the care provided. In addition, eligibility for carer allowance has been extended to carers who provide substantial levels of care to a person with a disability or severe medical condition but who are not living in the same home.

Of course, caring is not just about dollars and cents. The government has introduced a range of other initiatives designed to make the lives of carers just that little bit easier both now and in the future. Sadly, some carers can become isolated and socially disconnected because of their role as a carer. The 2006-07 budget allocated $9 million over four years to fund new peer support groups specifically aimed at parents of young children with disabilities.

It is so important that we acknowledge these wonderful people in society who play such an important and pivotal role. This House acknowledges that the theme of this year’s Carers Week is ‘Anyone, Anytime’, the objective of which is identifying carers and empowering them to access support services. The list goes on. We must acknowledge the enormous contribution that carers make to Australian society, often at great personal cost, and the social and economic value of the carers to our community. We call on all levels of government, businesses and schools to consider adopting carer-friendly work practices and learning environments to continue to promote these wonderful people within our society.

Duncan Kerr (Denison, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Braddon for introducing this matter. Is the motion seconded?

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I join with members in this House in congratulating carers for the fine role that they play in Australia today. Members would be aware that one in eight Australians are actually caring for someone at this particular time; 2.6 million unpaid family members care for Australians throughout Australia. If the cost of this care was factored out in dollars and cents it would amount to about $30.5 billion annually. National Carers Week, which was held between 15 and 21 October, recognised carers and the role that they play in Australia. As I have already said, there are 2.6 million carers in Australia—13 per cent of Australia’s population—who are primary caregivers for around 500,000 Australians. Of those, 75.6 per cent of carers were in the working age group of 18 to 64 years. They are making a very significant contribution by staying at home and caring for their loved ones, be they a frail aged relative or a child who is in some way in need of care.

I have raised in this House on a number of occasions issues that affect carers and those that they care for. The feelings that carers have vary. All carers, at some time or another, feel that their wellbeing is being affected—they may have stress related illnesses, anger or resentment, worry or depression, be weary or lack energy—but, at the same time, they feel satisfied by the work that they are doing. Caring for somebody is a very hard job and I do not think that we as a nation fully recognise and pay tribute to those carers who are providing these services.

Whilst I support this motion in recognising the fine work of carers and the role that they play in our communities, I feel that the government really needs to look at the way some of its policies are affecting carers. On occasions in this parliament I have raised issues relating to carers and how they are being discriminated against because of the Howard government’s policies. There is a woman who lives in the electorate of Shortland who is 61 years of age, just short of pensionable age. Before the Welfare to Work laws kicked in, she was able to be paid a special benefit. She cared for her mother 24 hours a day; the mother suffered from dementia and needed around-the-clock care. Her mother sold her cottage in an area that had recently taken off from the point of view of real estate prices and the money that she received for that cottage was with the New South Wales Protective Commissioner. The woman who was caring for her mother had no access to that money whatsoever. She was denied a special payment because it no longer existed and was told the only payment she could receive was Newstart and that she had to meet the work test or go and do some voluntary work. When we are giving credence to the role that carers play in our society, I think we need to have laws in place that will support them financially.

Another constituent of mine was crossing the road with her husband near the Lakehaven shops when she was hit by a car. As a result, she is a paraplegic—T11-T12. Her husband, unfortunately, died. Her daughter gave up her job and decided to stay at home and look after her mother. She pays $50,000 a year in nursing fees. What has happened because of this government’s policies is that the daughter has had her Centrelink payment cancelled. The mother receives some compensation for ending up a paraplegic but now the daughter receives no money.

If we are truly recognising the role that carers play in our society, we should not be putting them in a situation where they have to live in poverty. The government is beholden to ensure that carers payments are paid to those people who need them so that they can provide the care for their loved ones that they have made the commitment to. I think the government stands condemned in this particular area.

Duncan Kerr (Denison, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Shortland and I call the member for Fisher.

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do not know why you would want to thank the honourable member for Shortland for the outrageous comment that she just made. I think that it is very important in a compassionate society that carers, who do a wonderful job and who are very compassionate towards family members, are assisted as part of the safety net by the general community as much as is humanly possible, but it would be entirely wrong to take the view that the government of the day has the responsibility to look after people from the cradle to the grave. Historically, people have been largely responsible for looking after family members and one ought not to accept as a matter of right that the community ought to take over what has traditionally been the role of the family.

However, I want to commend the member for Braddon for this motion on Carers Week, and I want to thank the member for Shortland for contributing to it—and the member for Throsby will no doubt be making a contribution as well. I think all of us would probably agree that we really want to give honour to those carers in our community who make significant personal sacrifices of their time and energy to care for those who for various reasons, whether they happen to be disabled, suffering illness, frail or elderly, simply are unable to continue to care for themselves.

Mr Deputy Speaker, you might be surprised to know that there are upwards of 2.5 million of these dedicated people in Australia today. That is a significant proportion of our total population of approximately 20 million. About half of those carers are primary support providers. It is the effort of carers that helps to deliver an improved quality to the life of those suffering various debilitating conditions, and it is generally the case that the carers receive little acknowledgment or thanks from the wider community for the work they do behind closed doors in their homes or in the homes of their loved ones. That is not to say that the community ought to have the primary responsibility for reimbursing those carers for the work that they do for their loved ones or family members.

Depending on the severity of the conditions suffered by the loved one, it is also understandable that a number of carers may not receive any recognisable acknowledgement or thanks from the person they care for either, so it is important to remember to recognise the invaluable work of these people. It is a job that must be done and the carers are, in the majority of cases, the only ones able to do it. They may have no choice; the alternative would be to walk away from those loved ones and their needs, which would be unthinkable to anyone with a common sense of humanity, compassion, dedication and family values. It also means the carers are shouldering a heavy workload, one with significant personal cost, so carers should be honoured and held in the highest regard. It is important that the work of carers is recognised by Australian residents generally, by all levels of government, by business operators and by educational institutions such as universities and schools. Just as recognition continues to grow for the disabled and the positive contribution they are able to continue to make to our Australian society, similar recognition and support must go to carers.

Australia recently held Carers Week. I reckon that is a great week, because we are able to hold these people up as role models. This week took place from 15 October until 21 October, with the theme ‘Anyone, Anytime’. This tag line highlights the fact that carers are often placed into such roles suddenly, unexpectedly and with little choice. They are confronted with a loved one who requires significant assistance in his or her daily life and often the carer is the only person able and willing to meet that need. As a result, it is not uncommon for carers to feel a bit alienated from the outside world. Some of them have admitted to feeling guilty if they go out and enjoy an activity without the person they are caring for. Loneliness and depression can eventuate. These are issues that are out of sight and out mind to the general broader community. Carers Week each year also aims to highlight the fact that there is support that is available and to advise carers and their loved ones of this support.

I recently had the pleasure of announcing Australian government funding of $239,536 for Suncare Community Services—an organisation in my electorate dedicated to providing respite to carers on the Sunshine Coast. These funds were allocated from the Working Carers Lifestyle Options Regional Program for a project designed to provide extended respite services to employed carers. Right across the country we have enormous government support for carers. At times maybe the support could be more, but I think this government, more than any other, recognises the wonderful role of carers. In this parliament, this forum, I want to thank carers for the wonderful work they do.

Jennie George (Throsby, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to be able to speak in support of this motion. Caring for people with disabilities, with chronic conditions, with mental illness or with frailty is one of the most essential, but regrettably inadequately recognised and unrewarded, tasks conducted by many of our fellow citizens. The physical and emotional support provided by carers across the nation is priceless. This year’s Carers Week was organised around the theme ‘Anyone, Anytime’, and I think that theme picks up the realities associated with caring: almost everyone will provide care at some time during their life.

In terms of those in need of care, almost four million Australians have a disability, a chronic condition, a mental illness or are frail aged. The majority are cared for at home by informal or unpaid carers, rather than being cared for in assisted accommodation or residential aged care facilities. Because of this informal care provided by so many, many Australians, they have a reduced capacity for workforce participation. Official data from a recent ABS survey indicated the following: there are today about 2.6 million carers in Australia who provide informal care to a relative or a friend; that nearly half a million of these are primary carers and, not surprisingly, 75 per cent of them are women; that most primary carers are under 65 years and are of workforce age; and, perhaps more surprisingly, that 60 per cent of carers aged 15 and over have cared for five years or more, one-third have cared for over 10 years and some carers have been in this position for as long as 30 years.

In 2005, Access Economics investigated the economic value of informal care and estimated that in 2005 informal carers provided 1.2 billion hours of care. If this informal care was no longer available, the replacement value to all levels of government would be at least $30.5 billion annually. Providing informal care comes at a cost to carers in terms of their wellbeing, quality of life, financial security and opportunity to be in paid work. We all know of tales of carers who have often had to leave work or reduce their hours of workforce participation because of caring responsibilities that often come in very unexpected ways. The majority of carers who are of workforce age report great difficulties in balancing their caring responsibilities with workforce participation.

The national association Carers Australia, who advocate on behalf of carers, have argued for more flexible workplace options, more affordable quality alternative care arrangements and improved transition to work programs for carers. One-third of primary carers have household incomes which place them in the poorest one-fifth of households in Australia and, for 55 per cent of primary carers, their main source of income is a government pension. There are strong economic arguments for enabling Australians caring for the elderly and people with a disability to increase their levels of participation at work by a more effective subsidisation of their care costs. A recent report by the Taskforce on Care Costs has argued for extending the current childcare tax rebate to elder and disability care and increasing the rebate to a 50 per cent cost reimbursement—and I think that makes for good economic sense. The contribution carers make is not only to the people they love and care for but also to the community and the economy more broadly.

For caring to be sustainable, carers must have ready and affordable access to quality support services. Services such as these are often not there and not readily available. By that I mean flexible respite care, counselling and in-home services delivered on a regular basis, together with an expansion of residential care, particularly to care for the frail aged and those with dementia. We need to better appreciate the pressure carers are under, adapt workplace practices to make them more carer friendly, provide greater institutional support and consider how our tax and welfare payments system can be better targeted to assist all carers.

Michael Johnson (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As the federal member for Ryan, I am pleased to support this motion by my colleague the member for Braddon and to pay tribute to all the carers in Australia—in particular, to all the carers who live in the Ryan electorate. This is an important motion and it acknowledges the very great contribution, the very great dedication and the very great compassion of the 2.6 million carers who live in our country. The 2.6 million people who work tirelessly to assist those with disabilities often care for friends, relatives or neighbours who would otherwise have no choice but to enter full-time care facilities. Australian carers are unpaid. They make enormous sacrifices in order to assist their fellow Australians, who, as I just touched on, are usually friends, relatives or neighbours. There are some 535,000 carers in my home state of Queensland, which equates to some 14 per cent of the population, or one in every eight people.

According to Centrelink information, some 1,265 carers in Ryan receive support from the Commonwealth government, and no doubt there are many more part-time carers who do not fall within the profile of the Centrelink information and do not receive government assistance. These individuals are the unsung heroes of our community. Their tireless work and self-sacrifice benefits all of us as an Australian society. If the care provided by these carers were to be replaced by formal services, the value that has been placed on their contribution to the Australian economy would be some $30.5 billion, which is, of course, an enormous amount of money. Therefore, it is highly appropriate and highly desirable that the government and all members of the parliament formally acknowledge the place of carers in our society.

The Howard government is committed to ensuring that carers in our society are duly recognised. Each year the government provides carers with government payments of $2 billion in the form of carer payments and carer allowances. The carer payment provides income support to people who, because of the demands of their caring role, are unable to support themselves through substantial participation in the workforce. This is a huge amount of money. It is real money. This is all the more reason why it is so important that the Australian economy remain strong, dynamic and prosperous. Without a prosperous economy, the capacity of the federal government to continue to make these payments would be severely compromised. This $2 billion makes a huge difference in the lives of carers across the country.

The carer allowance is an income supplement available to people who provide daily care and attention in a private home to a person with a disability or severe medical condition or a person who is frail or aged. The carer payment was provided to approximately 95,500 carers in the 2004-05 year and the carer allowance was provided to approximately 340,000 carers in the same time frame. As part of the 2006-07 budget, the Howard government announced a number of new initiatives to continue its support of carers. In particular, this included for the third consecutive year a one-off bonus payment for eligible carers worth approximately $358 million. Recipients of the carer’s payment will receive a bonus of $1,000 and recipients of the carer’s allowance will receive a bonus of $600. Some $9 million will be provided over four years to continue to fund peer support groups for parents of young children with disabilities—an important focus—and some $3.4 million will be provided over four years for the inclusion of diabetes type 1 on the carer allowance list of recognised disabilities.

I want to add my very strong commendation of all those in our society in the role of carers. We all know that carers do not stand out when you look at them. They can be anyone in our society—our family members, parents, partners, children, brothers, sisters, relatives, friends or neighbours. Carers are found all across our community and across all age groups, from the very young to our senior citizens. It is appropriate that this parliament acknowledges carers. They are humble Australians dedicated to the welfare of our nation.

Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too am very pleased to speak in support of this motion concerning carers. As we know, the week 15 to 21 October had the theme ‘Anyone, Anytime’. The substance of this theme lies in empowering carers to access services in support of one of the most demanding roles in the Australian community. In all walks of life we find carers. We find carers who look after their partners, we find carers who care for elderly parents, we find carers who look after disabled children and, alarmingly, we find children who care for their parents.

I support the motion and would like to bring the role of grandparents caring for their grandchildren into the debate. The number of people affected by this area of public policy is not insubstantial. Estimates vary of the number of households in which grandparents are primary caregivers, but it is in the vicinity of 22,500. The number of children affected is around 31,000—2,500 within South Australia. This area, children in the care of their grandparents, has attracted media attention resulting from grandparents who are primary carers of their grandchildren being subjected to the new welfare-to-work rules that require such grandparents to seek work of 30 hours per fortnight, irrespective of the resulting limitation on care provided to their grandchildren. I am glad to hear that the guidelines have duly been amended, enabling exemptions to the work test for grandparents who gain custody of their grandchildren through the Family Court.

It is distressing that this section of the population is increasingly being called on to provide high levels of care for family members. I suspect that as governments we do not pay them the respect or give them the attention that they deserve. While the work test issue has, hopefully, been addressed, it is only one of the many obstacles faced by grandparents with primary care giving roles for their grandchildren. We have seen and heard of the many challenges that these carers face and the obstacles they face in being recognised as primary carers and accessing information and the wide-ranging set of community services that other carers take for granted. The Council of Australian Governments agreed unanimously in July this year to cut the red tape that has prevented grandparent carers accessing financial and other aid. As a result of the COAG arrangements, the federal government was charged with coming up with a legal description for grandparents performing this role, from which point the broader application of state, territory and federal criteria could be amended and services opened to this portion of the population. That was three months ago.

I hope that Carers Week reminds the federal government and all state and territory governments of their obligations to this section of the Australian population and of their commitments to provide these carers with access to the financial assistance, services and rights required by primary caregivers for the responsible upbringing of many of our newest generation. Medicare access, medical information access, child-care assistance, educational rights and responsibilities and financial support must be addressed. The federal government has had the opportunity to address the work test issue. I would like to believe that the federal government will take the opportunity created at July’s COAG meeting and be seen to be leading by example. They need to do what they have agreed to do, as soon as they are able, and then take the outcomes back to COAG. I am sure many thousands of senior and junior Australians are watching all governments’ actions intently—and understandably so, because we have a somewhat unusual set of circumstances where all governments appear to be in agreement with what needs to be done in supporting grandparents who are primary carers for their grandchildren.

There have been few occasions in which the governments of Australia have had such an opportunity to make sound changes for the good of multiple generations in one policy package. I have spoken in support of grandparents and carers in this place before, and I certainly appreciate the good work of the ministers who have responsibility for the multiple areas that are affected by such a policy shift being encouraged and supported by all of us in this place. As was mentioned earlier, there are 2.6 million carers in Australia who provide unpaid help and assistance to relatives and friends who cannot manage because of disabilities, chronic illnesses and conditions or frailness. All governments, state and federal, should be doing all they can to recognise and support carers and make their lives a bit easier.

Duncan Kerr (Denison, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

(Quorum formed)