Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

We keep getting interjections. I am trying to answer Senator Williams’s very important question in relation to aged-care facilities. I am sorry that the opposition do not want to hear the answer to the question that was asked. In annual recurrent funding that money was made available and the 10,447 new aged-care places were allocated. The places include 5,748 new residential aged-care places—two-thirds of them delivering high care—and 4,699 community care places. This government is working with the aged-care area to ensure that we have significant places available as well as recurrent funding.

The allocation is a mix of residential and community care places that reflect the changing demands of older Australians. It is not only a question of the number of new aged-care places but—as I am sure the opposition, particular Senator Williams, would understand—about ensuring we provide the right mix of aged-care facilities as Australians age and demographics change within the community. Older Australians tell us that they wish to remain independent in their homes and in their communities.