Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members will be aware that I am a committed campaigner for the elderly in my electorate of Swan. I spend plenty of time in my electorate talking to older people and the organisations that represent them. One of the places that I visit regularly is the Bentley Park Retirement Village in the southern part of Swan. My latest visit was in February, when I held a Q&A session with the residents about the issues that concern them. One of the issues that concerned the residents the most was the plight of the aged-care industry. I have spoken at length on this issue in the past but will do so again today, because the problem has not gone away; in fact, it appears to be getting worse.

In the last aged-care approval round between 2008 and 2009, Western Australian aged-care providers sought only 536 of the available 1,208 aged-care places allocated by the government. The reason for this, which the government does not seem to accept, is that aged-care providers are effectively losing money on every additional government aged-care place. Costs in the industry sector have been rising much faster than government funding has risen. This has a significant impact on aged-care providers, such as the not-for-profit SwanCare, which runs Bentley Park. Sadly, the government and the Minister for Ageing seem to be in denial on this issue. Remarkably, the Minister for Ageing described the 2008-09 round as healthy and competitive. My message today is clear: this crisis must be resolved sooner rather than later or the industry will collapse.

I want to demonstrate the importance of having a financially secure aged-care sector by referring to a project which was designed and formulated during a period of greater financial security under the previous government. Next week it will be my pleasure to return to Bentley Park for the opening of the new Kingia facility. I have had an initial glimpse of the new building and I can confirm that it is impressive. The centre contains 82 beds. The design of the building is uplifting and there are good outdoor and indoor spaces. The entry wing includes a cafe, a hairdresser, a gift shop and a pharmacy outlet. The dining, lounge and sitting areas encourage residents to enjoy companionship and shared activities.

I understand that SwanCare wants to complete the project with the further addition of a 78-bed wing and a community day therapy centre to provide aged-care services to the wider community. What is particularly impressive about the building, however, is that it caters for both residents requiring low care and residents requiring high care. I know from talking to residents that they do not like constantly having to move as they advance through the aged-care system in this country—from their home to residential, from residential to low care and from low care to high care. At this stage in life it is uncomfortable and difficult to adjust to unfamiliar surroundings. This has unfortunately been the norm in the aged-care sector for quite some time. This new innovative complex will alleviate this pressure. The cost of the construction of this facility has been met entirely by SwanCare. However, the ability of SwanCare and other aged-care providers across the country to invest in facilities such as Kingia will be severely constrained by their poor financial position.

Until the Minister for Ageing solves this aged-care crisis the industry cannot progress. This crisis is here now and there is no point pretending that it is not. Forty per cent of aged-care providers in Western Australia are under enormous stress. This government seems to show no interest in the aged-care industry. I understand that the Prime Minister was invited to open the Kingia facility. The Prime Minister is a busy man and I understand why he was not able to attend. However, I believe that Bentley Park did not receive any direct communication from his office whatsoever. I would have thought this government would be interested in such an innovative and unique project. This, I think, reveals the government’s approach to the aged-care industry in Australia. I will continue to stand up for my constituents in this place until the aged-care crisis is understood and acted upon by the government and the minister. As this will be my last speech before the May budget, I would like to take the opportunity to remind the government of its obligation to address the need to raise pensions for the elderly and the disabled.