Kay Patterson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on Senator McLucas’s matter of public importance. I always find it amazing when the Labor Party raises the issue of aged care, because it reminds me of Labor’s appalling record in aged care. Senator McLucas mentioned that we needed to restore confidence in the system. In 1996, when we came into government, there was no confidence in the aged care system. In fact, only two years before that, the Labor Party had commissioned a report into aged care by Professor Gregory. That was a damning report. He indicated that 13 per cent of nursing homes did not meet the relevant fire authority standards, that 11 per cent did not meet the relevant health authority standards, that 70 per cent did not meet the relevant outcome standards and that 51 per cent of nursing home residents were living in rooms of three or more beds.

I defy anyone on the other side who stands up and says they are absolutely certain that allegations similar to those that have been made of abhorrent behaviour towards older people did not occur when they were in government. All of us would say that it is totally unacceptable to see older people, probably the most vulnerable people in our community other than very young children, subjected to sexual abuse or inappropriate handling or touching. Nobody on the other side can stand up with a clear conscience and say that they are absolutely certain that that sort of thing did not happen. What we all ought to do is work towards ensuring that the likelihood of that happening is reduced.

When we came into office we found aged care in absolute disarray. I have to give credit where credit is due to the then minister Bronwyn Bishop, who in the early part of our time here closed 200 nursing homes that failed to reach standards. I hate to think what was going on in some of those nursing homes. I have visited them, mostly those in Victoria, as a Victorian senator, and they were disgraceful. I have said here a number of times that I would not have put my dog in some of those nursing homes.

I think I am right in saying that no nursing homes were closed in Labor’s period of 13 years because of failing to meet standards. Mrs Bishop closed 200 of them. It was a difficult task to relocate those people and make sure that they were appropriately accommodated. Over the time we have been in government we have focused on accreditation and quality, equity, sustainability and accessibility. Another thing that came to light when we came into government was that, as reported by the Auditor-General, we had 10,000 too few nursing home beds. Labor had a paltry 4½ thousand community aged care places. In terms of Labor’s record in aged care, whether it is in standards, accessibility, quality or sustainability, they do not have a leg to stand on.

Senator McLucas mentioned a number of processes of quality and accreditation. There was no national quality assurance program when we came into government. We established the Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency to monitor homes to ensure they complied with the standards and to take action against the homes that did not comply. Accreditation provided the first ever audit of the quality of care in aged care homes. Senator McLucas, when she mentioned the accreditation process, did not give credit where credit was due and that is to the coalition government for introducing the monitoring and accreditation processes.

The agency can reduce a home’s accreditation period while the relevant department can require the home to implement an improvement plan and to impose sanctions. The Aged Care Standards and Accreditation Agency visits aged care homes around Australia and if necessary changes the accreditation period. In addition, hundreds of spot checks are carried out annually, something that was not done under Labor. It is interesting that Senator McLucas has left the chamber. It is usually courteous to at least stay for the next speaker. But Senator McLucas is so uninterested in this topic that she has left the chamber.