Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

Absolutely. To be or not to be—thank you, Senator Sinodinos—a supporter. Instead of worrying about that, Minister Butler, might I suggest that you worry about the key issues in your portfolio, which are the aged-care system, which needs reform and for which your proposed changes will only make things worse. Aged Care Australia tells us that 60 per cent of aged-care providers are operating in the red. There is a real viability issue for providers, most especially smaller providers in regional and rural areas. So it is little wonder that aged-care providers, who will be dealing with older Australians with a disability, are understandably concerned that they are not going to be able to provide the services that our older Australians with a disability do need.

As I said, this is a sector that does need reform, and I have real concerns that proper reform will not be undertaken in the aged-care sector, which this minister and this government seems loath to do—they are only paying lip-service to it. And what are we seeing? We are seeing that the government is more concerned with rolling out its workforce compact by ripping $1.6 billion out of aged-care funding—to then turn it back and return it supposedly as a $1.2 billion workforce compact as a bid to refinance unions in the aged-care sector. Of course, there is United Voice, as we have seen. Indeed, I have come along this morning with the latest pamphlet from United Voice in which United Voice are urging aged-care workers to join United Voice to 'speak with one voice in negotiations'. That is what it is about. That is what it is really all about, refinancing the unions, the aged-care unions: United Voice, Minister Butler's former union; the HSU, which we know suffered a spectacular fall in membership; and the Nurses Federation.

In the end, I would remind the Senate that under this so-called administrative change, which is really an industrial instrument, aged-care providers of 50 beds or more must enter into an enterprise bargaining agreement; otherwise, they will not be able to access funding. If they are 50 beds or fewer, they do not have to enter into an enterprise bargaining agreement but they must comply with the terms of the compact to be able to access that funding.

What does that mean? That means that, already, that 60 per cent which is operating in the red are going to find it harder and harder to be viable; but most especially here is the government promising pay rises which will never materialise. Why? Because providers are not going to be able to meet those wage increases on the tied money that the government is providing. So another false promise by this minister, who really is demonstrating that he is not up to the job.