Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week the coalition government finally responded to the dementia care crisis it created when it axed the dementia and severe behaviours supplement. It took the government eight months to make a decision and follow calls for action from the Labor opposition, the aged-care sector and thousands of ordinary Australians. So, while I welcome the announcement of restored funding, it is with some reservations.

My first reservation is that funding is no longer going directly to aged-care providers on the ground, as the original supplement did. The funding is going to be used for severe behaviour response teams, which some call flying squads and others call dementia SWAT teams. Whatever the name, the government's response was inadequate and long overdue. This is a government that has been preoccupied with giving knighthoods to royalty, backflipping on empty promises and having internal debates on the future of the Prime Minister rather than focusing on the challenges facing Australia's future.

Another reservation is that this funding is capped. I am concerned that many older people suffering from severe behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia are going to miss out on the care they desperately need. Those opposite need to appreciate that, when it comes to dementia care, demand is greater than supply.

A further reservation is that the SWAT teams are unproven. I am concerned with this government's move away from a preferred model of case management to an unproven quick fix. The flying squads are unlikely to be able to provide adequate support to residential aged-care providers. There are many questions which remain unanswered about the SWAT teams. Will they be available on a 24/7 basis? Will they be deployed on an ad hoc basis or a needs basis? Will the teams be large enough to service remote, rural and regional communities?

Aged care and dementia are very real issues facing older Australians and they need a responsive approach with genuine planning and investment. The oversubscription of the original dementia and severe behaviours supplement highlights the extent of the dementia crisis in Australia at this present time. This is not a future issue; it is the present reality.

Those living with dementia, their families, our communities and the aged-care sector deserve an adequate response to this complex issue. I am concerned that the severe behaviour response teams will deal only with behaviours and symptoms rather than individuals. While those with dementia may experience loss of their memories, changes to their personalities and a reduction in their normal faculties and functions it does not change the fact that these are symptoms of a terrible disease of the brain. The individual remains. Their sole and spirit remain. We cannot treat those living with dementia as simply a collection of symptoms or issues to be managed. They are individual people who deserve to be treated with dignity, care and respect.

At the same time their loved ones, friends and communities need to be well supported, informed and appropriately skilled. Those with very severe behaviours make up a relatively small percentage of those with dementia. Their behaviours need to be managed appropriately while maintaining dignity and respect for the individual.

One of the biggest challenges in aged care is ensuring we have the workforce required to face the mounting challenges and in particular ensuring we have appropriately skilled professionals to deal with the challenges of dementia. This government dismantled Labor's aged-care workforce supplement and has yet to detail any strategies to deal with the workforce needs we presently face and will face in the future. Combined with the axing of the dementia and severe behaviours supplement the government has made it more difficult for aged-care providers to meet the challenges of dementia and other severe behaviours. These teams are unlikely to contribute to skilling and preparing the current workforce to meet the day-to-day needs of those living with dementia.

Aged care needs to be at the forefront of the government's thinking. Currently it is buried within the Department of Social Services and overseen by an assistant minister. Aging is more than aged care. The ageing of the population impacts many different portfolio areas. It needs to be considered within a wider context in order to focus the government's and the public's view of 'age'. Labor has a strong record in aged care. It was Labor that did the heavy lifting in reforming the aged-care system and setting it up to be fairer and more sustainable.

The government's aged-care legacy will be the axing of the dementia and severe behaviours supplement, cutting the $652.7 million aged-care payroll tax supplement, cutting pensions, demolishing the $1.1 billion aged-care workforce supplement and abolishing Health Workforce Australia. It is time for the Abbott government to stop ripping money out of the aged-care sector and make the necessary investments for a dementia friendly future. (Time expired)