Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

Furthermore, when they learnt that this has allowed the government to establish the Future Fund and about how it will help meet the costs of demographic ageing, they were even more impressed. Consumer advocates, such as the National Centre for Elder Abuse, and provider organisations, such as the International Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing, commended the Howard government for establishing a quality framework in relation to care and building standards for residential aged care. They were very surprised to learn that this had not been in place prior to 1996 when the government was elected. The government’s approach of increasing the availability of community care so that people have the option of staying in their own home to receive care close to their friends and communities was strongly supported by the US industry stakeholders with whom I met. (Time expired)