Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care. Minister, will you update the House on the action the government is taking to protect the dignity of senior Australians to live a healthy and active life—as you hobble to the stage?

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

I thank the member for McMillan for his ongoing interest in aged care, but in particular for his wise counsels since I became a member of this chamber in 2010.

In terms of the needs of senior Australians and their dignity, I want to acknowledge all members on both sides of the chamber who've raised issues with me about the needs of senior Australians, because in a sense you raising those issues is like Neighbourhood Watch. You bring before me the issues that senior Australians are faced with. What I've done is I've met with the member for Flinders and the member for Cook in the budget lead-up to prepare a strategy that looks at more choices for a longer life. And more choices for a longer life is about better access to care, better access to ageing and better access to quality care within residential care.

More than 1.3 million Australians have the benefit of a budget that we have committed to, that rises from $18.6 billion to $23.6 billion. And following the recent Oakden inquiry, we are in the process of establishing an independent aged-care quality and safety commission. That commission will bring together all of those elements that are absolutely critical in ensuring that senior Australians are safe within residential and home care. And, more importantly, it will build the confidence in the aged-care sector given some of the incidents that we have seen reported in the media. I will be bringing to the chamber legislation that establishes this commission that brings together all of those components, and I would certainly ask the Leader of the Opposition and the opposition to join with us in ensuring the passage of that legislation through both chambers so that we provide all Australians with a safe and secure environment.

What is important is we build for those who have contributed to our nation—the people who have been the wisdom-givers, the people who built this nation and the people who have given us everything we take for granted—an opportunity to have integrity and safety in their later years, particularly in their years of frailty. I think it is important that the exemplary behaviour of this House in many issues that we've talked about in aged care that started with the Productivity Commission's report is continued to be built on, and that the reforms we put into place guarantee an opportunity for those of us who are reaching that point—as Russell has indicated to me—that I will have a safe environment in which to make that journey. Equally, I want to thank all of you who raised many issues with me that form the basis of our More Choices for a Longer Life package, which is premised on quality and safety.