Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have received a letter from the honourable member for Franklin proposing a matter of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion, namely:

The government's failure to address the crisis in home care for older Australians.

I call upon those members who approve of the proposed discussion to rise in their places.

More than the number of members required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing and Mental Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In homes right across Australia, there is a crisis. There is crisis of older Australians who are waiting for this government to provide the care that they so desperately need. Over 100,000 Australians, older Australians, many of them frail, many of them with dementia, are at home waiting for the care that they need. What we have heard from the government's own figures that were released late last year is that over 100,000 older Australians are on a waiting list for home care packages. Now, some of those people may be getting interim services at a lower level, but some of them are receiving no services at all. And, indeed, 78,000 of the over 100,000 are waiting for high-care packages—that is, older people who need a lot of support to stay at home and who want to make a decision to stay at home for their care are not able to receive the care that they need.

The figures for the September quarter were released, ironically, just after the parliament finished sitting in December. What's really concerning is that we haven't yet seen the figures for the December quarter, which should be released in the next week or so. It's concerning because, in the last three months of data release, the waitlist grew by 10,000. The government did try and do something about it—I'll give the minister a little bit of credit here because he did try and find 6,000 extra packages—but, if the list is growing at 10,000 every quarter and the government releases just an additional 6,000 home care packages, it's clearly not going to be enough for these people who are waiting. We're really concerned, as are the people that are caring for these older Australians in their homes, that this will continue to increase and the waitlist will continue to grow.

To allow members in this place to get a bit of an understanding of how serious this situation is, I want to talk about some of the people that have written to me in the last few days. One of the people on the waiting list for a home care package is 89. She's very frail. She lives alone. She's been approved for a level 4 package, but she's yet to receive any service at all. She was approved for a home care package back in October 2016. She is still at home. She has no intention of leaving her home, because she has made a choice to age in her home, in her community, but she is unable to do that long term without that package. Her family members are the ones who are coming in and providing that care. This is obviously having an impact on the wider community, because you've got all these families who are taking time off work, time out of the workforce or time away from their own children or grandchildren to go and care for elderly parents.

Here's another example. Somebody wrote to me and said: 'My father has Alzheimer's. My mother is slowly dying of motor neurone disease. They are both in their 80s. They've been assessed as eligible for a level 4 package. They've now been waiting over a year for services.' Again, it is the family and friends who are waiting for care. There are so many examples of people writing to me, but one that really raised the issue with me was one who wrote to me about their elderly parents, who are 94 and 95. They've each been approved for home care packages and they've been told they need to wait more than a year. Their 70-year-old children spend most of the week caring for them. One of those children, an in-law, also has illnesses but is going there every day, administering daily care and general medication, because they need somebody to look after them and there is nobody else.

I know the minister over there cares deeply about this and wants to do something about it, but it's not about this minister; it's about the government. The Prime Minister needs to understand how desperate this is. There are families waiting for these packages, and the government needs to do something about it. It's simply not good enough. When the minister was asked, in the ABC article, about home care packages and the change to having national waitlist, he said:

We had no line of sight of the number of people who had been listed and were waiting for places …

That means the government did no modelling on the unmet need and had no idea how many people were out there waiting for a home care package. That is just incomprehensible. I'm sure that cannot be the case. The minister then went on to say:

But the reality is we have a budgetary process, and that fiscal constraint has to be considered.

Of course it does. But caring for these people in their own homes is cheaper and easier, and the outcomes for people are better, than the alternative. The alternative is ending up in an accident and emergency room or going into residential care, both of which are more expensive than a home care package. It just does not make any sense.

We've also got advocacy groups and peak bodies saying that the government needs to address this urgently. Indeed, we had the head of COTA, Ian Yates, say in September last year, 'It's absolutely clear the government will have to bite the bullet and put extra resources into home care.' Clearly something needs to be done. This cannot go on. It cannot go on all the way through to the budget. The government has said, 'We're going to respond to various reviews and reports into aged care in May, in the budget.' But people on this waitlist cannot wait that long. As I have said, some of them have been waiting far, far too long already. The minister himself has admitted that there were people on that list that have waited for more than two years. I am terrified of what the next lot of data is going to say in terms of how many people have been added to that waitlist and how many people have been waiting for more than 12 months. Exactly when and how is the government going to respond to this? People need to know, and they need to know today, Minister. They do not need for you to stand up in here, look at your notes and blame Labor. I'm sure that that's what's going to happen. But it actually doesn't matter whose fault it is at the moment, because these people are in their homes and they need the services, and they need them now. You're in government. You need to respond to this.

Labor's Living Longer Living Better reforms were bipartisan. They were adopted in 2013. We were halfway through 10 years of reform, and you have been in government for five years of that reform. You need to take responsibility for this. And people need those services. It is simply not good enough to say, 'We're going to wait.' You had an opportunity in MYEFO to do something about it. There were plenty of opportunities along the way. There have been reports, as I said, with recommendations for the government to respond to. You should have responded to these. This is getting urgent. Every day my office and my colleagues' offices, as they are all telling me, are being contacted about people who need a package. They need a package for themselves but also for their family members, who are getting stressed, who are taking time off work, who are taking time away from their other family members to deal with this situation, because they care about their family. It is not good enough to continue to say they must wait. They cannot wait, they should not wait and it is not good enough that this government continues to make them wait. It is not good enough at all.

In relation to these reports, the government has said that it's going to listen and it's going to respond. David Tune made some very serious recommendations about in-home care. One of them was that we need a level 5 package, so it will be interesting to see whether the government does anything about a level 5 package. As I said, we already have 100,000 people on the waitlist. We have people who are very frail, and with high-care needs, and having a level 5 package may go some way to addressing keeping those people in their homes longer. This government needs to be very clear with people about how long they are going to need to wait, not simply say, 'You're going to have to wait till May for more packages.' Then there will still be people on the waitlist, which continues to grow. Some of the people on the waitlist are just being told, 'about 12 months'. They are getting no indication—is that 10 months, 15 months, 18 months, two years? Exactly when are they going to get their packages? Families need to plan. They need to know what services they are going to be able to get. They need to understand the systems better. They need to know what the options are. They need to be able to manage their lives and the lives of their loved ones.

We cannot continue like this. People are lurching from crisis to crisis. They are not able to cope with dealing with all of this without the support that they are entitled to, without the support that they need, without those government services, without that home care package. Many of these people have saved all their lives, they have contributed to our economy, they have paid their taxes, and all they're asking for is some services to stay at home, in their own home, rather than go into a residential facility or go and live with another family member. They want to remain in their communities with their family, with their friends, with their neighbours, with their loved ones, and they should be able to do it. The government needs to do much, much better.

Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Franklin for her interest in this area. The current challenges we face in home care are yet another landmine left for Australians by the disastrous years of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd Labor governments. Under Labor, it was not possible for governments to ascertain the real demand for home care packages. The information was only available at aged-care provider level. I am aware of many families who, in the past, would put their names down with up to 15 providers, depending on where they lived. Then they would wait for a phone call, and they would ring providers frequently to ask if a vacancy had occurred. When I made the comment that there was no line of sight—I want to come back to the historical element of Living Longer Living Better. If you don't collect the data, you don't know the extent of the number of people waiting for placements and packages. When I made a national list, one of the challenges I faced was initially thinking it was 10,000. As we worked through the process of ACAT assessments—the allocation of packages—it became a reality that the list was going to grow. To address that problem, I gained approval to allocate an additional 6,000 home care packages in MYEFO to help alleviate that list.

This is interesting. If I follow the logic of what the member for Franklin said—in the forward to 2011–12 Report on the Operation of the Aged Care Act 1997, the former Minister for Aged Care, the honourable Mark Butler, the member for Port Adelaide, said:

The Government continues to emphasise the importance of providing consumers with the flexibility to choose the care they want. This year—

in 2013—

an additional 500 Consumer Directed Care (CDC) packages were allocated to Approved Providers. From 1 July 2012, these packages were converted to mainstream home care packages with conditions of allocation to ensure that care recipients continue to receive care and services…

… … …

This provided 187,941 residential care places, 60,949 community care places…

When you look at the table of allocated packages—in 2008, it was 39,000. Labor then increased it in 2009, which took the total to 42,694, and then, in 2012, it was 46,588. During his speech, the minister made the comment that he would be allocating additional places.

I want to go back to a couple of things. The Living Longer Living Better aged-care reform packages that the Prime Minister and I announced in April last year provides a 10-year plan for building new aged-care system—a system for the 21st century. But the work that was required to be done to identify the cohorts coming through by age didn't appear, and the underscoring of the number of places resulted in a lesser level being allocated by that government. It's fine to have choice, but one of the challenges is that governments have to look at the forward projections when they implement reforms, and in this instance that didn't happen.

In February 2017, the Turnbull government introduced the landmark increasing choice reforms. The new system means that packages are released directly to consumers rather than providers. Consumers who have the most urgent needs or who have been waiting the longest receive their packages first. The new system allows us to better understand the extent of demand for home care packages nationally for the first time. Older Australians are now allocated a position on the national queue depending on their needs, and packages will be periodically released to customers based on ratios set by Labor in the Living Longer Living Better reforms. However, with the reforms introduced by this government, the system is transparent, and it has exposed the enormous inadequacy of the ratios set by Labor.

When introducing the reforms the member for Port Adelaide indicated:

…the total allocation of home care places rising from around 60,000 to almost 100,000 over the next five years.

During the time of the Turnbull government, we've increased the number of aged-cared places from 83,800 to 97,516. That's an increase of 37,516 aged-care places. We are responding to the needs of Australians, and we will consider all the categories where I am informed, by members, of those requiring urgent support. What we do is bring together the resources under the various packages and provide them with assistance through the Commonwealth Home Support Program. I've always said that we need to ensure that people who are offered a level 2 package take that package and use it as the basis for the treatment they require that is also supported by the Commonwealth Home Support Program and other measures that are important.

We are working on the issues that have been identified within the work that we are doing. The Tune legislation review and the Carnell-Paterson report go to the crux of building on the reforms that were set in place, but drilling down into the data is also required. In looking at these figures, I asked the department to do an analysis of the ACAT assessing patterns, because there were jurisdictions where the waiting period for an ACAT assessment was way beyond the 17 days that you would expect, as the national average. In Queensland, it was nine months. We have now written to every health minister, and those matters have been addressed. The only state where we are still lagging with respect to the ACAT assessments is the state of Victoria. The data does show there is a higher demand for level 3 and level 4 packages, and the government recognises that more needs to be done to support older Australians with high-care needs to continue living at home, and that's why we released the additional 6,000 packages.

But that's not all we're doing. In the 2017 budget the Turnbull government provided a record $18.6 billion for aged-care investment for 2017-18. The first part is a commitment that is planned for the next five years. In addition to this, in the 2017 budget, the Turnbull government provided an investment of $5.5 billion to extend the Commonwealth Home Support Program for a further two years until June 2020. This is also a mechanism that provides support to those who are waiting. It provides a sense of being assisted. I am aware that there are people who are waiting, and we work very closely with those who raise the issues—with families and with the department—in looking for solutions while people wait to receive their level 4 package.

The best ally that older Australians have in this place is the government. The bipartisan commitment to ageing Australians remains the foundation of the way in which we in this place provide the opportunities to older Australians. But, equally, I am seeking the opportunity to increase further levels of care to senior Australians living at home. I certainly do acknowledge that we have a future in which we will see numbers increase, but we are working to make sure that we address those in the way that Living Longer Living Better intended. The work that we will continue to do will identify the extent of people waiting, the number who receive the packages and those who need additional support whilst packages become available.

We release 2,500 packages every week as part of the process of providing better access to ageing Australians to ensure that they can live at home longer, enjoy quality of life and have the other supports from family. Certainly, carers are a strong consideration in the work that my department and I do under the Turnbull government to provide better outcomes for senior Australians.

David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you for the opportunity to address this matter of public importance today. One of the best written TV programs of all times is The Simpsons, and one of the recurring motifs of The Simpsons is Bart turning up somewhere and being depicted as saying: 'It wasn't me. I didn't break it. It was broken when I got here.' We've heard 10 minutes from the minister saying: 'It was Labor. It was broken before I got here.' But the minister has been part of a government that's been in power since 2013 and bears responsibility for what the current situation is with aged-care packages. It is not good enough that the minister says that Labor failed to do anything before 2013. There has been sufficient time to add resources into this sector, and clearly the evidence shows that those resources should have been put in before now.

The release of the latest data on the Turnbull government's Home Care Packages has revealed that there are more than 100,000 older Australians who are languishing in limbo waiting for care. It's not good enough, Minister, that you say that's the responsibility of Labor over five years ago. These figures include around 80,000 older Australians waiting with high needs, many with dementia. This is a crisis. It is unacceptable. It is absolutely unacceptable for you to play the role of Bart Simpson and say, 'It was broken before I got here.' The Turnbull government's own website states that most of these vulnerable older Australians will be waiting more than a year for a package. This has flow-on effects that go beyond the immediate concern of older Australians waiting for care. Families are placed under pressure, trying to ensure their loved ones have acceptable care, while simultaneously attempting to navigate a complicated system. Older Australians who would otherwise have access to a home-care package are, instead, forced to visit emergency rooms, which has a real impact on health departments and budgets at a state level.

Minister, I've seen this in operation. I've seen what happens when constituents approach your office about the fact that they've been assessed for a level 4 package, but, after a wait of over a year, they get an offer of a level 2 package. Minister, a constituent of mine from Bridport, Diana, has written to your office about the particular issues that she has experienced. She wrote to you indicating that, late in 2016, she was assessed for a level 4 package. After a year, she was approved for a level 2 package. She contacted My Aged Care and established there is a further wait for a level 3 package of six to nine months and for a level 4 package it is over 12 months. She has a chronic situation with advanced arthritis caused by a rheumatic condition, which means that she has had multiple operations. She requires substantial assistance, which is evidenced by the fact that she's been assessed for a level 4 package. Minister, it's not good enough to condemn Diana, and many others like her, to substantial waits when she should be given assistance. It is necessary for people with many co-morbidities to be given practical assistance in their own homes before they are admitted to the emergency department of a hospital because they require substantial care.

The Australian public deserves much better than this, Minister. It deserves a minister who gives attention to argue the case within cabinet for additional resources to be allocated. It's not enough, Minister, for you to recognise belatedly that there is substantial demand for additional aged-care packages and then drip-feed further packages into the market.

Returning to the situation with Diana, she lives in a country town which is approximately 100 kilometres away from Launceston, in northern Tasmania. She found it necessary to approach over 20 providers to try to organise her own care package, which is already acknowledged to be less than what she needs for her ongoing care and assistance. I cannot begin to describe the substantial levels of stress and anxiety that have been caused by the indifference of this government about the level of these packages and the fact that people like Diana can't receive the appropriate assistance that they deserve and need. Minister, please listen to this.

David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party, Assistant Minister for Children and Families) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The other side always claim the moral high ground, and it's a classic case here. They are trying to claim the moral high ground regarding home-care support packages and aged care, and that is so far from the truth. As the member for Hasluck, Minister Wyatt, already outlined, we are delivering in spades. We inherited a mess. The My Aged Care portal has had to have another $20 million poured into it to correct its workings and make it function better. There have been reviews and there's been extra capacity added. We are now up to $5½ billion being spent on the home-care support package system out to 2020. That's a massive increase.

The whole aged-care budget is $18.6 billion over that same period, and $5½ billion of it is going into the home care support packages. We in the coalition know what our senior citizens have done in their life. The seats in parliament with the most elderly people are in fact Nationals seats. Today I looked up the figures from the department, and I claim the crown for the most senior citizens receiving support from the federal Commonwealth. In the Mid North Coast we have 122 aged-care providers, 4,264 people in residential care, 1,630 in home care and another 80 in transition. And as the minister and member for Hasluck outlined, we have added extra places in the last three years, 6,000 in the last two years and an extra 6½ thousand. We have supported putting extra money into multipurpose centres, which in rural Australia deliver aged-care services—$8½ million in January 2017 and another $3 million released by the good minister just in December 2015.

In my electorate, for instance, we're pouring money into expanding aged-care services. We have a $40 million project happening in Forster. We have Bundaleer, with a $30 million aged-care project, with $8½ million additional funding from the Commonwealth. In Gloucester there is an $18½ million project expanding aged care. We know that the seniors in Australia built the nation, and the veterans fought for our nation, and they deserve all the support they can get.

The review and the reforms to the system mean that the Commonwealth now has visibility on what these waiting lists are. There are 2½ thousand packages that go out every week, and on top of that we've added these extra bundles of 6,000, as my colleague and member for Hasluck has already said in his speech. So, that's greater capacity. There's a greater weighting towards package levels 3 and 4 rather than levels 1 and 2, And they are now in control of it, because they can get the providers they want rather than having the money go to the providers and back. It gives greater choice and greater control, and that is a very good principle.

What the good member for Hasluck has done has been excellent in this space, and I commend him for it. As I said earlier, we understand the pressures of aged care, because up on the north coast we have a lot of retirees who have built the nation, and in their retirement and twilight years they come up to the north coast, and we are delivering for them in spades. It's a massive increase in care. The same goes for Commonwealth home support packages. It is so much better to keep elderly people in their homes for as long as possible, rather than having them go straight into aged residential care. The average length of stay in residential care has shrunk considerably, because people are staying independent, with assistance in their own home. And we're not talking about it; we are delivering in spades with extra places, a better system, and more choice and control so that our seniors get the care that they want, they get control, and they get the funds directed to them. All of this means a better outcome. Anyone would think the other side— (Time expired)

Susan Lamb (Longman, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I find it quite outrageous, the way this government treats our older Australians. I'll give you an example. Just this week the Minister for Social Services, Minister Tehan, stood up here in question time, when he was asked about deeming rates for part-pensioners, and what did he say? He said that they should get a job. Well, I just heard the member for Lyne, who spoke here prior to me, talking about them building our nation and fighting for our nation. I don't think we should be asking them to 'get a job' after building our nation.

But of course it wasn't just Minister Tehan. Last year we had the government tampering with the pension asset test, which saw a number of pensioners in my electorate lose their concession cards. Thankfully, they got them reinstated, but why did they have to lose them in the first place? How cruel can you be to somebody who built the nation, who fought for the nation?

But what I find truly unforgivable is how this government is mishandling the home care system, which has left more than 100,000 older Australians waiting for care. The government itself concedes that 80,000 of these are people with very high needs, including dementia. People with high needs should be considered a priority by this government, yet vulnerable seniors are still waiting one year, 14 months, 16 months or 18 months for a package. The government knows that this is an urgent situation. But, instead of prioritising it, this government has spent all of its energy giving tax cuts to big businesses and just fighting amongst themselves. This government must make this a priority. This is a crisis that needs to be addressed. This isn't something that can wait until Labor is elected. It needs to be addressed now. Older Australians and their families being forced to wait months and months and sometimes over a year is just unacceptable—and there are many, many stories about how unacceptable this is.

Nearly 20,000 Queenslanders are waiting for their package. Let me share the stories of two people in my electorate. The first person I want to speak about is in her 80s—built this country, and she is now in her 80s. Her husband contacted me. He claims that his wife's been assessed by ACAT at level 3, but she's currently on level 2. Mr Harrison, who contacted me, said that there are no level 3 packages, so they've accepted a level 2. Last year, his wife fell down the stairs and broke her arm. She spent six weeks in hospital and was in an ICU for some of that time. They now need some renovations to their bathroom to help her live at home. Her husband contacted me and said, 'We cannot wait for another accident to happen while we wait for this package.' This is one of those horror stories—taking a lower-level package while they wait for their higher-level package. It is unacceptable.

Then I've got the story of a 76-year-old constituent, another elderly Australian who has worked hard to build this nation. In May this year this constituent of mine was approved for a level 4 home care package. This constituent suffers from Parkinson's disease, diabetes and cancer, and is in very desperate need of some medical equipment, including an oxygen concentrator and a nebuliser. These are the types of equipment that this constituent needs. The constituent tells me that, if they had to buy it themselves, the cost of the equipment would be way out of their reach—absolutely out of their reach. But it doesn't get any better, because they are still waiting, more than 12 months on, and they have been told that it could be another 12 months before they can get their package.

But the system doesn't get any better once you get your package. I am helping a constituent with an issue they have working through the online portal. They've got a package but they need to make some changes. There are two issues that forced this to be quite difficult. One is where they live. They live in a black spot area and their mobile phone doesn't work, so it's really difficult to ring and get some help. But guess what? They can't get onto the portal anyway because they don't have the NBN. It's a bit difficult. So, Minister, I say to you now: we need to fix these aged-care packages and fix them immediately.

Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk about this issue with great joy because there's been an unparalleled investment in my community not just within home care places but also within the wider aged-care area. I'll start with home care packages. In the last four years, home care packages have gone up by over 30 per cent in my community. So there are 30 per cent more home care packages in my community now than there were when we came to government in 2013, which is a huge investment in that sector. As the minister was saying earlier, we certainly understand that people do want to stay home for longer, and having more of these packages, and more wrapped around these packages, means that the flexibility, with people being able to stay at home longer, is there. That's why, in my community, we have increased the number of packages available in this area by 30 per cent.

But there's more in the wider sector. Within the residential care sector and others in my community, there's been an enormous boon, not only in the availability of home care and residential care packages, which include dementia packages, but in jobs. I will run through a few of them. In the Clarence Valley there have been three major upgrades of aged-care places, both residential and home care. The Whiddon Group opened their upgraded facility in Grafton just a few months ago, and I had the pleasure of being there to open that. We've got a new aged-care provider coming into our region in the Clarence Valley, called Signature Care, and they themselves, with both residential and home care packages, are going to make an investment of tens of millions of dollar in that community. The Dougherty aged care facility is upgrading and is also going to be offering more aged-care places. The combination of residential and home care packages will not only provide hundreds of extra places; there will also be hundreds of extra jobs.

There have also been more home care places provided in Kyogle. With the wider residential facility, we are not only providing some funding for places in aged care in Kyogle; we're actually helping one particular provider build the physical building itself. We understand that people don't only want extra home care packages. Obviously when you have a community that is widespread—it's not all in one centre—people also want residential aged-care packages in their own community, and we are making sure that we provide extra places in a variety of different communities. We also offered more home care packages in Casino as well. There are also some expansions of residential aged-care facilities happening there.

I'll just go through some of the bigger figures as well. I know the minister mentioned some of them, but I think some of them are important to reiterate. We announced 6,000 additional level 3 and level 4 home care packages over 2017 and 2018. As I said, I certainly got a high proportion of those. In the 2017 budget we provided an investment of $5.5 billion to extend the Commonwealth Home Support Program. Again, this is a massive investment. It funds a range of essential services—Meals on Wheels, community transport, personal care, nursing and allied health, domestic assistance, home maintenance and modifications and a range of respite services. Again, I am exceptionally happy about these figures of what I've got for my community, in both home care and residential care. These figures, country wide, show the massive investment that we are making in this obviously growing sector.

Obviously we're doing this because it's a statistical fact that we, as a community, are getting older and people are living longer, so the resources that we have to put into it will always increase. In a wider sense, we have a record $18.6 billion of aged-care investment in 2017-18, the year we're currently in, which is the first part of a nearly $100 billion planned for the next five years. We are a government committed to aged-care providers.

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

Here we go again! I'm addressing an issue that I'd rather not have to address. I'd rather be talking about something else. This is extremely serious. We have some of the most vulnerable people in our community—people who have worked all their lives, people who have paid their taxes, people who have contributed to this nation—who now need a little bit of help. It's not much to ask when you've done everything you could possibly do, the right way, to build this nation. They've come to a point in life where they need that little bit of assistance, and we cannot give it to them. We cannot give them what they require after all these years of paying taxes and working.

Today we're talking about, again, and highlighting the government's failure to address home care for older Australians. We know that there are approximately 80,000 to 90,000 packages available in this nation, but there is a massive waiting list which is blowing out by 10,000 every single quarter. On the last figures released it could blow out by another 40,000 and, within a very short time, we'll have more people on the waiting list than packages available. And this is just not right.

I'm very proud to represent a seat that has a very aged population. At one stage, the demographics of those in my electorate showed that nearly 20 per cent were aged 65 and over. These are good people—people, as I said, who have contributed to this nation; people who have worked all their lives and have brought up children. These people are our mothers, our fathers, our grandfathers and grandmothers, our great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers, our uncles and our aunts, and they deserve better than they're currently getting from this government.

In South Australia, for example, the latest figures showed that over 11,000 people were waiting for packages; they were at home fending for themselves, or having partners, husbands or wives, or children, or nephews and nieces looking after them—carers who may themselves be aged and frail. So what we are doing is putting not only the people who require the packages but also those people who are caring for them at risk. You see that people have had to give up work to stay home to care for their loved ones.

We heard the minister say that there are financial constraints to keep people at home. Well, let's just look at that for a moment. If you spend some money to keep someone at home, it's far cheaper in the long run and costs the government far less than if they end up being hospitalised or end up very frail and very disabled, and we know that the best place for these people is at home—and the majority of people want to stay at home, with proper care.

Some people in my electorate have been given packages, but I've heard some absolute horror stories. For example, one of my Hindmarsh constituents—and we spoke with them earlier and they were happy for us to use their name—is Mr Middleton of Seaton. Seaton is a working-class area, an area where people work very hard all of their lives to make ends meet. Mr Middleton is in his 90s. He contacted us after trying to access a package for his wife. She was placed on a level 4, after an assessment, back in 2014. In 2014, you have to remember, the then Prime Minister was the member for Warringah, about a year after the government had won the election. Fast forward to January 2017: Mrs Middleton passed away without that package. That is a disgrace. It is not acceptable and shouldn't be happening in our nation. Mr Middleton and Mrs Middleton worked very hard all their lives, and they deserved better. So how much assistance did they get? Zilch, from the government; zero; absolutely nothing.

There are many more—like Ernesta and her husband, Ross. The daughter contacted us, saying that the mother has been waiting 18 months. They had contacted My Aged Care on 43 different occasions—43 different occasions—and spent hours on the phone with no further assistance. They'd been provided with eight different ACAT reference numbers. The husband has been waiting since August 2015 and only recently started receiving level 3, when they were assessed for level 4.

Antonietta is another one; she was assessed over 12 months ago and cannot find a provider for level 4 assistance. Unfortunately, in March-April, Antonietta had to go into a nursing home—costing the government quadruple what it would have cost the government to keep her at home on a level 4 package.

This is unacceptable. We know that the numbers are increasing by 10,000 every quarter. Yet we see no action on the other side to fix this. On our side of government, this is a priority for us. These are people, as I said, who deserve better and should be getting much better than they currently are.

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

I rise to speak on the MPI, and it's great to be able to be in the chamber to support the member for Hasluck, who's also the Minister for Aged Care, who has carriage of this particular area. I also recognise the member for Hindmarsh; we both served on the health committee for many years, and he will know that, during his time as chair of that committee, under the Labor government, issues with aged-care and home-care packages existed as well. So it is not just isolated, as per their perception, to the coalition government. The beauty of having the member for Hasluck as the Minister for Aged Care is that I know how dedicated and how thoughtful he is and how much empathy he has for people, particularly coming from the background that he's come from to this place and having the focus that he has on aged care for all Australians. His experience is greatly recognised by many people, particularly in Western Australia where he's homegrown, as are the efforts he's made during the 18 months he has been the minister.

I will also go to the fact that this is a bit of a scare campaign by Labor. With the broad, sweeping statements they come up with each sitting day, they're hoping for a bit of political pointscoring. As I mentioned, the member for Franklin had the opportunity when Labor were in government to fight for the increases she now talks about. The member for Hasluck has been the minister for 18 months. We come into this chamber every day to hear questions from those on the other side. You wouldn't believe it that but, in the 18 months that the minister's been the minister, he hasn't had one question from the member for Franklin on this issue—not one question. But now she brings it up in an MPI. This is the question that's the highlight of the day, and there has been not one question in 18 months. What sort of shadow minister is that? She has not even questioned the minister for any details about his portfolio, but is quite happy to bring spurious claims in here that are designed to scare the elderly and the vulnerable in our nation.

It seems like a good opportunity to remind those opposite of their failure to address the crisis in home care for older Australians that they sparked. Under Labor's Living Longer Living Better reforms, the ratios set for care packages were inadequate and severely underestimated the real demand. The introduction of the new national prioritisation queue has uncovered the extent of the problem left by the former Labor government, which this coalition government under this minister is working very hard to fix.

When we were elected to government, we inherited a home care system with predetermined ratios that were inadequate and a supply of packages that were vastly insufficient for real demand. Our 2017 aged-care reforms and commitment to transparency exposed the extent of the home care mess left by Labor, and we are working to fix it. I'm proud to be part of the Turnbull government that has achieved this. Now there are more consumers than ever receiving home care packages, and we're adding more and more every week under this minister.

The increasing choice in home care reforms took effect from 27 February last year, and the reforms made changes in three key areas. Funding for home care packages now follows the consumer. There is a consistent national approach to assigning home care packages to consumers through My Aged Care, which allows for a more equitable and flexible distribution of home care packages. Consumers seeking care are placed on a national prioritisation queue, with their position based on their priority for home care services and the time they have been waiting for the care regardless of where they live. Also, item 3 is a streamlined process for organisations seeking to become approved providers under the Aged Care Act 1997. I'm sure the member for Hindmarsh and the minister will also remember in Western Australia the amount of home care packages that used to get handed back under the Labor government because they were unworkable.

These reforms have ensured a home care system that is consumer-centric, market based and streamlined, which means older people are in control of their package. Service providers are driven by quality and innovation, and we're actively encouraging new providers to support greater choice for consumers. This new system allows us to better understand the extent of demand for home care packages nationally. As such, we have now released two data reports since the transition to the new home care system. The data shows the number of consumers in care increased by 1.2 per cent from 70,000 in March 2017 to 71,000 in June 2017.

With the short time I have left, I would encourage the shadow minister, the member for Franklin, to take advantage of asking the minister questions in question time.

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's no wonder that Australians find themselves disillusioned with politics and with this parliament when you listen to contributions like that. The lack of home care packages is an issue which is affecting tens of thousands of Australians and their families each and every day. They expect and demand better of this place than to come in here and hear nothing but politicking and blame shifting. Let's be really clear about this. Rather than just standing up and reading some government lines about what Labor did, why doesn't the government stand up and concede that it has been in office for five years? The people want solutions, the people want actions and the people want policies which will set this straight. They don't want people looking back to the history books and trying to find a way to make it Labor's problem. The Abbott-Turnbull government has been there for five years, and this has occurred and got worse and worse and worse under its watch.

There are lots of issues that we debate in this parliament, but there are few which affect the dignity of older Australians more than this issue, and it should be treated with absolute importance. It breaks my heart, as a mother of two young children, when they ask for my help with something and I can't assist for some reason. But I'll tell you one thing that would be even more heartbreaking than not being able to deliver for your children, and that is not being able to assist your parents—who have looked after you, raised you and supported you throughout your whole life, who have made sacrifices for you and who stand there proud yet vulnerable in their older years—when they come to you for help, because, even when they are assessed as needing extra assistance, the government won't provide it. That is the situation that we're hearing from tens of our constituents, coming to each and every one of our offices, saying, 'Can you please help me?' or 'Can you please help me to help my parents?' Every one of us has heard those stories. That's why we raise this here today—not because we want to engage in politicking and buck-passing with those opposite, but because we are pleading with the government to stand up and fix this issue. The government itself knows how absolutely shameful this situation has become. That's why it snuck this data out after parliament had risen last year. It is an absolute disgrace that more than 100,000 older Australians are in limbo, waiting for the care which they need and deserve. It is, quite frankly, unacceptable.

One of my constituents, Trude, came to see me to talk to me about her 93-year-old grandmother, who, I must say, has been an absolute champion of our local community. She has contributed so much over so many decades, but she now needs us—this parliament and particularly this government—to stand up and give something back. Irene, who is 93 years old, has been assessed for level 4 care, yet, despite this, she is still receiving level 2 care six months after the assessment. We know that Irene has permanent physical issues which she will need to deal with. She's very stooped and her family are really concerned about her falling over. Irene is a very proud woman, and she wants to stay in her home. She knows that she can stay in her home, but she needs assistance to be able to do that. Her family want to support her to do that but are terrified that Irene could fall and hurt herself. The difference in the level of support between a level 2 package and a level 4 package could make a huge difference for Irene and the type of support she could have to remain in her own home; or whether she would be faced with no choice but to have to move into an aged-care facility, which is not what she wants and not what she needs if she gets the right assistance.

I note that the minister said there were financial considerations as to how many of these packages were available. Let's talk about that. If you want to put aside human dignity and doing the right thing by older Australians, who have worked so hard to build this nation, if you want to just look at it in terms of dollars and cents, consider this: it is smarter and cheaper for the federal budget to support people in their own homes than to pay for aged-care facilities. I urge the government to fix it. (Time expired)

Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What rot we hear from the member for Adelaide over there, when we haven't had one question from the shadow minister in 18 months. The member for Swan exposed what this MPI from those opposite is all about today. They haven't asked the minister who's sitting here at the table one question in 18 months. The member for Franklin ought to revisit that and raise a question in parliament in question time when we come back the week after next.

In relation to the aged-care sector, I would like to personally thank everyone in my electorate of Petrie who works in either community or residential aged care, supporting our senior Australians to remain independent and age well. Thank you to them. They work hard and are often underappreciated in an industry that is growing and is so critical to ensuring quality care for our ageing population. Yes, we knowledge there are deficits and the system is far from perfect. As members here who represent our electorates, we need to work together to ensure things are at the best possible place they can be for people seeking home care packages. It is so crucial to ensuring quality care for our ageing population remains competent and capable.

Since consumer directed care was introduced under the Turnbull government in February 2017, we've seen ageing Australians receive much more freedom and choice in remaining at home, supported by the Home Care Packages Program. The options for aged care have increased, and whether seniors want to be cared for at home, live in an independent living retirement village or live in residential aged-care facility they can. There are still fully funded government support beds in residential aged care for those who can afford private services or want resort-style living in their sunset years. We support them as well. They can have that. Baby boomers are demanding five-star care, and our self-funded retirees want to age comfortably. For the disadvantaged and vulnerable, our not-for-profit sector provides services free of charge for those in financial hardship as well.

In talking with those who work in the industry in Petrie, they report on the wonderful facilities and services offered by so many. I have visited plenty of them, including BallyCara at Scarborough with their new wellness centre providing exercise physiology sessions to keep our seniors active. Their motto is, 'Inspiring healthy and happy living.' Seasons Aged Care at Mango Hill, which I've had the privilege of visiting a number of times as well, particularly at Christmas, are providing innovative options for seniors with their unique aged-care model as well. The Holy Spirit Home in Carseldine have retirement-living, aged-care and nursing centres to help people as they progress through life. I've had the chance to meet and mingle with many senior Australians throughout my electorate in these places.

I also want to give a shout-out to Kerri-Anne Dooley, who works for Home Instead Senior Care in Redcliffe. Kerri-Anne is a registered nurse, works in the aged-care industry and does so much in that industry. She's a good friend of mine. I want to thank her and others in my electorate for what they do.

At the end of last month, I also visited Seabrae Manor in Rothwell. I enjoyed having a cuppa and morning tea with residents and chatting to the very compassionate staff. They have really good staff there. The residents there were so full of wisdom. I thoroughly enjoy visiting aged-care facilities in my electorate. These are just a few of the some 39 aged-care facilities in Petrie, and the list of community providers in my electorate is even longer.

The Minister for Aged Care, the Hon. Ken Wyatt, visited my electorate last July. The minister is here. I want to thank him again for coming up to my electorate. We hosted an afternoon tea and a Q&A session with around 200 locals at the North Lakes Resort Golf Club. The minister did not shy away from answering the tricky questions that some people had. He is passionate about his portfolio. You can see from his speech today that he is doing the very best he can. We're seeing great results, with increased expenditure in the budget. We need to continue to be able to deliver for senior Australians. I want to thank them for what they do in my electorate. (Time expired)

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time for the discussion has concluded.