Ken Ticehurst (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—On behalf of the member for Macquarie, I move:

That the House:

(1)

recognises the pressures of an ageing population;

(2)

acknowledges the enormous contribution made by senior citizens throughout their working lives;

(3)

recognises the need to provide quality care for the frail aged in our community;

(4)

welcomes the progress made in this area in recent years; and

(5)

welcomes the Government’s recently announced package of further measures to help provide community-based and residential care for our frail aged.

Ageing and aged care are pressing issues not only for my electorate of Dobell but also for Australia and for countries around the world. We can see this easily when we look at the scale of demographic change that is now pressing upon us. We can expect Australia’s population to continue ageing for at least the next half a century, barring unforeseen changes in net migration or the fertility rate. At the same time, the proportion of young people is expected to fall and the percentage of over-65-year-olds will go up by around 15 per cent at mid-century. This illuminates the range of issues that will confront Australia in the decades ahead. It will not just be a matter of building more and better old people’s homes or providing better care. All that is important, of course, but an ageing society, and fewer young people, means a smaller intake of new employees for the workforce. It means an older workforce. There are important implications for productivity, national competitiveness, and managing pensions and retirement.

I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the enormous contribution made by senior citizens to our country. Over their working lives, senior Australians have contributed to continuing economic growth and helped make Australia one of the most prosperous and successful economies in the world. They are the custodians of our cultural heritage. The Howard government continue to recognise the enormous contributions made by senior Australians through the National Day for Older Australians.

In terms of the provision of quality aged care, the first point I would make is that tomorrow’s older Australians are the baby boomers. In comparison with some earlier periods, they have lived through a time of rapid social and political change. They are, I believe, more independent in outlook, more affluent and more demanding in their expectations. They will change the way we think about care and how we deliver care. For a start, the baby boomers will want to retain their independence as long as they are able. That means staying in their own homes while they can and having care delivered there.

We have heard that message loud and clear, and we have responded by increasing our support for community care in the government’s recently announced Securing the Future of Aged Care for Australians package. Some 7,200 additional community care places will be delivered over the next four years, at a cost of $411.7 million. These additional places will take Australia’s aged care ratio from the current target of 108 places per 1,000 people aged 70 and over to a record 113 places per 1,000 people aged 70 and over in 2011. This compares with around 93 places per 1,000 people when the government was elected in 1996. Where residential aged care is concerned, we believe these baby boomers will insist on better facilities, higher levels of comfort and amenity, and more flexibility in how they live and how they are cared for. Again, this change is happening now. When I attend or open a new home, an extension or a refurbishment on the Central Coast, I am always impressed by the fact that the provider has understood that it is catering for a future clientele whose expectations are of a different order.

The new package allocates $1 billion to increasing government payments for residents of aged-care homes. Additional care funding will be targeted to those with the highest care needs, while residents with moderate asset levels will also receive extra accommodation support. The $1.5 billion package of reforms will ensure that the aged-care industry can deliver quality, choice and affordability in care as Australia’s population ages. We have a come a long way in transforming Australia’s aged-care sector when you consider that only 10 years ago there was no accreditation system, no independent quality checking, fewer than 5,000 community care packages and 29,000 fewer residential places.

Today the Australian aged-care industry can rightly claim to have the highest standards of accommodation and care anywhere in the world, and older Australians and their families have a wider range of options to choose from when the time comes to access aged-care needs. This funding package is, of course, in addition to funding allocated in previous budgets, including $2.2 billion committed to aged care in the 2004-05 budget—the largest single investment in aged care by any Australian government. Alternatively, Labor has not been able to come up with an aged-care policy at all, despite promising one over two years ago. Labor’s ageing policy discussion paper shows a complete lack of understanding of current aged-care policy and programs. The Australian government is committed to addressing the challenges of an ageing population and will ensure that the increasing number of older Australians, now and in the future, have access to the right level of care. (Time expired)

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our population has been slowly ageing for the last 35 years. Since the 1970s, the number of people aged over 65 has increased by 143 per cent. In the four decades to 2045, the number of Australians aged 80 years and over—the bulk of aged-care residents—is projected to jump from 680,000 to 2.6 million. I know this is the reality in my electorate of Chisholm, where I have a significant aged population. The shift in the proportion of people aged over 80 in the next 35 years from 13.1 per cent to 24.8 per cent will be more marked than in the past due to the relatively lower growth of younger age groups.

In the immediate future, the rapid growth of the population aged 80 years and over will put enormous pressure on aged-care programs and facilities. Most of us see people come through the doors of our electorate offices facing this problem every day. So we know what the situation will be for the population in the immediate and long-term future. There are no surprises. The policy challenge is to prepare for these changes. The Treasurer released his great Intergenerational report some time ago, but we still have not seen great action on this front.

The government has conducted numerous reviews into aged care, but we still have not seen a great deal happen over the last 10 years. While I welcome the government’s announcement of $1.5 billion in funding for aged care over five years, and this motion before the House today, we have waited 10 years or until the sector is at crisis point—beyond crisis point—for it to happen. It has taken the government far too long to act, and it is a burden for the community and for those aged people who are sitting in acute care hospital beds and for the families who are trying to care for them. I spent last week moving my father from hospital into respite care and I can speak from firsthand experience about the traumas of trying to achieve this end.

In 10 years the Howard government has presided over a serious decline in the number of aged-care beds available. When Labor left government in 1996 there were 92 beds for every 1,000 people aged 70 years and over compared with only 85.6 now. In 1996 there was a surplus of 800 beds compared with a shortage of nearly 5,000 now. For the last 10 years the aged-care industry has been waiting for a decision to be made by the government on funding arrangements. Since 1997 there has been deep concern in the sector about whether they will be able to continue to provide aged-care services with government funding arrangements that they have been receiving. Three years ago Professor Warren Hogan, in his review of pricing arrangements in residential aged care, said that funding increases had to happen. The government has only acted now. The Howard government has created this aged-care funding mess. Bronwyn Bishop, who was minister for the portfolio at the time in 1997, planned to introduce bonds for all aged-care residents. But faced with a backlash from voters, who did not want to sell the family home for this purpose, the government retreated. Since that time we have had review after review but no action. As a result, no action has been taken to fix the problem. We have ended up with a patchwork funding system that does not work. And we are still waiting for a response to the Hogan review in respect of pricing.

While I welcome additional community aged care, because most people want to stay in their home and services in homes are greatly needed, the truth is that when people need a residential aged-care bed they need it straightaway and generally cannot wait. The government has consistently failed to provide sufficient residential aged care for frail and elderly Australians, and this continues with the latest measures announced by the government. While government members can wax lyrical about the progress that has been made in this area over the last few years, I can safely say that it has been too long coming and it is not good enough. There are still huge problems in the sector.

The 2005-06 Productivity Commission report on government services released in January shows that waiting times to get into a residential aged-care bed have increased significantly over time. Over 28 per cent of people who have been assessed as requiring a bed wait three months or more to actually receive one compared with 15 per cent in 2000. So, even though the Howard government continually claim that they have provided more aged-care places, they have failed to keep residential beds in proportion to the increased number of frail elderly in Australia. Many government reports have indicated that there is a crisis and a shortfall in places.

We have also seen the lack of provision of funding and skills within the area. We have seen numerous reports of exploitation of care workers who have been brought from overseas to work in nursing homes, because we simply have not provided enough aged-care nurses within the sector. And nor is there pay parity for those individuals. Attracting and retaining staff in aged care is one of the biggest issues facing aged-care providers. Under the Howard government, aged-care workforce planning is nonexistent and aged care is being compromised by the lack of trained aged-care workers. We should be providing the greatest benefit to our elderly Australians, who have looked after us in our greatest times of crisis. The elderly within my community are Australia’s great backbone, and we should be respecting them. (Time expired)

Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion by my colleagues the member for Macquarie and the member for Dobell because this motion seeks to address an issue of particular concern to me in my electorate of Gilmore. Gilmore is a coastal electorate along the South Coast of New South Wales and the towns along our coastline are an attractive destination for persons contemplating retirement. This is not something new; it has been the case for a number of decades. The consequence is that the drift of retirees to the South Coast has given us an above average demographic of aged persons. It has been estimated that the population of the Shoalhaven grows by about 2,000 people each year, and aged persons or those approaching retirement figure significantly. This has placed tremendous pressure on existing infrastructure such as health services, aged-care accommodation and indeed the ability of the families of aged members to meet on a regular basis. Add to this the recognition that the population of Australia generally is ageing and it is clear that the way we provide social support needs to reflect the times we live in—and indeed the times we are moving into.

In 1998 the Australian Society for Medical Research said:

The ageing of the Australian population will bring important social and demographic changes to our country. With average life expectancies of both men and women steadily increasing, the burden of illness is now being dramatically shifted to the aged. The ASMR is especially pleased the Minister recognises that the time frame of the impact of a National Strategy for an Ageing Australia stretches from the present and over the next twenty to fifty years.

Since that statement was made, this government not only has developed a comprehensive policy in its approach to addressing the issue of ageing but has also put its money where its mouth is—and rightly so. It is time to give back to senior citizens, who have worked all their lives to make this country what it is today. And if it is quality care that is needed then we are obliged to deliver the best care that this country can afford.

In Gilmore, we have been very fortunate in the support we have received from the federal government. For example, since July 1995 and up until June last year, Gilmore received in excess of $300 million worth of aged-care places. I will add here that prior to us coming into government in 1996 Gilmore was not even recognised in aged care, let alone as a location where it was required. This represents a 101 per cent increase in places and a massive 165 per cent increase in funding. Among the more significant contributions since 1995 include: almost $18 million going to the Blue Haven Nursing Home in Kiama; the Illawarra Retirement Trust and its many facilities in Gilmore receiving almost an extra $100 million over these last 11 years; Osborne Nursing Home in Nowra being the beneficiary of over $30 million and the Shoalhaven Nursing Home being the beneficiary of over $35 million; Chesalon, also in Nowra, receiving over $23 million; and the whole region benefiting from smaller but significant amounts. And it continues to do so. What better example of what this government is doing for aged care than Gilmore?

There has been support in the form of more aged-care places and aged-care services across Australia, with an increase of almost 8,000 new places following the announcement on 19 December 2006 by the Minister for Ageing, representing an annual recurrent investment by this government of almost $206 million. An additional $38.6 million has also been allocated in capital grants to assist aged-care service providers to build or maintain quality residential facilities for older Australians. Recurrent expenditure for residential aged care is expected to rise from $2.5 billion in 1995-96 to $5.6 billion in 2006-07.

To enable more older Australians to receive aged-care services, the coalition government has increased the aged-care provision ratio from 100 to 108 operational places for every 1,000 people aged 70 or over, which is to be achieved in 2007. In 1996 flexible care was provided through 400 multipurpose service places and Extended Aged Care at Home packages. Now flexible care is available through over 5,560 places. I repeat: that is an increase from 400 places to 5,560 places. We have made additional provisions for those that care for the aged and frail in our communities. This government has been able to dramatically increase services to the aged through many avenues mainly because the economic affordability arrived at through sound economic management since 1996.

In closing, let me reiterate that the aged-care package of $411.7 million recently announced by the Prime Minister will provide more and better community care and many other extended services as well. If this is not a strong affirmation of our commitment to aged care in Australia then I don’t know what is. However, I am yet to hear from the Labor Party what their policy is for aged care. (Time expired)

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

At the commencement of my contribution to this debate on aged care, I would like to recognise the outstanding contribution of senior citizens throughout Australia. They make an enormous contribution to voluntary groups. Senior citizens are overly represented in the Shortland awards that I give each year. The Lake Macquarie Citizen of the Year, Bert Reay, is a sprightly 70-odd-year-old man who is involved with Sailability. The Central Coast Australian of the Year Australia Day Award recipient is also a senior citizen.

It amazes me that any member of the Howard government would have the audacity to come into this House and praise the Howard government’s record in aged care. The Howard government has turned an 800 aged-care bed surplus into a 4,613-bed shortage. And it is saying that it is doing a great job. In actual fact, the Howard government should hang its head in shame. Australia has an ageing population. People are living longer and having fewer children.

The Shortland electorate, which I represent in this parliament, is the 10th oldest electorate in Australia. Dobell is the 29th oldest—and the member for Dobell has spoken in this debate. Robertson, which is also on the Central Coast, the area that I come from, is the fifth oldest. Charlton is the 50th oldest. Newcastle is the 16th oldest, and I think Paterson is the 13th. I come from a very old area and I am very interested in ensuring that my community and my constituents have access to aged-care beds.

In the Hunter there is a 390-bed shortage and on the Central Coast there is 596-bed shortage, whilst in Bennelong—the electorate of the Prime Minister—there is a surplus of 1,119 beds. I think that this is a disgrace. The Productivity Commission’s Report on government services 2006 released in January this year showed some very interesting things. It showed that the government’s announcement in May 2005 that it would provide 88 aged-care beds for every 1,000 people over 70 years of age still has not been achieved. In July 2005 it was 85.2 beds and in June 2006 it was 85.6 beds. When the government came to office, there were 92 beds for every 1,000 people over the age of 70 years. That is hardly something to be proud of.

The government keeps claiming it is providing more aged-care places when, in actual fact, it just fudges the figures. It is claiming that the number of places that have been allocated is the actual number of beds. In actual fact, the number of operational beds in residential care facilities is far fewer than the number that has been allocated. The latest figures I have seen in my area have shown that on the Central Coast one out of six beds was a phantom bed or a non-operational bed or a bed that exists only on paper. In the Hunter it was one out of 10 beds and I think on the North Coast of New South Wales, in those particular figures, it was one in five beds.

In 10 years the Howard government has failed in the area of aged care. This report also showed that the waiting time to get into residential care facilities has increased drastically: 28 per cent of people are now waiting over three months, whereas in 2000 it was 15 per cent. I think that the government really needs to be honest with the Australian people. The $1.5 billion that it announced earlier this year— (Time expired)

Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) 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.