Justine Keay (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

During the Braddon by-election, I challenged the Prime Minister, then Malcolm Turnbull, to come to Burnie and walk in the shoes of an aged-care worker after his despicable comments in question time, devaluing aged care as an occupation and telling a 60-year-old aged-care worker that they are entitled to aspire to get a better job. Unsurprisingly, he ignored my request. Last week, it was my privilege to spend a day walking in the shoes of Elaine, an extended care assistant at Meercroft Care in my home town of Devonport. Her aspirations aren't for a better job, but for better conditions and pay, and for a government that respects her, her colleagues and the residents they care for.

My electorate is the fastest-ageing electorate in the country, and the demand for aged-care workers is increasing at an enormous rate. To suggest that aged-care workers should aspire to do something else so they can increase their take-home pay is not only hurtful, but the opposite of what our community needs. We need people like Elaine, who are not afraid to get their hands dirty; who are not afraid to speak up for the rights of people they care for who feel that they may no longer have a voice; and who are there for those in their care, in their final moments, to hold their hand, to afford them the dignity and respect that they deserve.

Tomorrow is the inaugural Thank You For Working In Aged Care Day, a day organised by the Health Services Union for their campaign, Our Turn To Care. I want to put on the record my sincere thanks to the hundreds and thousands of committed and passionate workers who look after and care for our elderly and loved ones. They are very dignified jobs.