Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The aged care royal commission's Interim report: Neglect revealed that up to half of all older Australians in residential aged care are malnourished. They're literally starving. Didn't the Prime Minister's decision to cut $1.7 billion from aged care leave frail and vulnerable older Australians worse off?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The care and respect for Australians who are living in residential aged care is something that all members of my government, and I know that all members of this House, take very, very seriously. We have all had personal experiences, no doubt, of our own loved ones being cared for in residential aged-care facilities and we know how important it is. That is why our government has continued to increase funding for aged care. When we came to office after the 2012-13 budget, in terms of aged-care places and funding, it was at 186,278 registered residential aged-care places. In the most recent budget, that has increased to 219,000 places. We inherited just 60,000 in-home aged-care places from those opposite. In the 2019-20 budget we've increased that to 150,756 places.

In response to the royal commission into aged care, which I initiated not long after becoming Prime Minister, there was an interim report released. It touched on three particular issues and we responded to each and every one of those three issues highlighted in that interim report, with 10,000 home-care packages established at a cost of $496.3 million; $25.5 million to reduce the use of medication as a chemical restraint on residents in aged care and at home; $10 million for additional dementia training and support for aged-care workers and providers, including to reduce the use of chemical restraints; and $4.7 million to help meet new targets to remove younger people with disability from residential aged care. These were the matters that were highlighted in that interim report, and we moved very quickly to provide the funding to support them soon after that interim report came down. When its final recommendations are made next year, we will have the opportunity to respond in full to those in the budget next year. In the meantime, in the budget this year, we will continue to address the many challenges there are in aged care—not only the more than $1 billion we've already put in to support our efforts to respond to COVID-19 but the other many issues that we continue to be aware of and have been acting on.

In my earlier answer, I ran through a series of funding commitments. Those funding commitments that I outlined in answer to the Leader of the Opposition's first question are only those that we've announced since the royal commission was established. So we'll continue to look after our older residents, and we'll do it in a way that ensures their dignity and their respect.