Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Deputy Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to table answers to questions taken on notice and seek leave to have them incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The answers read as follows—

Home Care Packages Program - Answer to question taken on notice – 12 September, 2017

A national prioritisation list for the Home Care Packages Program was introduced in February, but vulnerable older Australians are still in the dark about where they are in the queue and how long they will have to wait to receive a package. Minister Ken Wyatt first promised to release the wait-time data in July and, following that failure, recommitted to do so by the end of August. Given it is now the second week in September, when will the Turnbull government finally release this information?

Response:

On 27 February 2017, the Turnbull Government announced the landmark Increasing Choice reforms, giving older Australians choice and control over their home care packages for the first time.

This new system means that packages are being released directly to consumers, and consumers who have the most urgent needs or who have been waiting the longest receive their packages first.

Under the old system, consumers were still waiting for packages, however there was no way to determine how many consumers were waiting and for how long. The new system introduced by this Government will allow for this transparency, and allow consumers to access the information that will help them plan for the future.

Targets for release of home care packages were set under the Labor Government in 2012 under the Living Longer Living Better reforms, and we now know that what Labor planned for was vastly inadequate compared to the actual need.

The Department of Health has been analysing the data from the new system, and working to ensure that when released the data is in a format that is usable and helpful for Australian consumers, and another Labor policy failure has made this process more difficult.

The Turnbull Government is committed to increasing the transparency of the aged care system, and ensuring greater consumer knowledge over their aged care, and we will be releasing the data shortly.

If Australians have questions concerning waiting times, they should direct these to the Labor Party, and ask why they set targets that were inadequate for the actual needs.

Senator Polley: How many older Australians are waiting for each level of the aged-care home care packages?

Response:

As has been stated already, the number of individuals waiting are far greater than the Labor Government's reforms catered for.

As an example, when she was introducing the Living Longer Living Better reforms to the Senate on 17 June 2013, the then Minister, Senator Collins, said in relation to the release of home care packages "under these reforms they would be increasing the total allocation to almost 100,000 over the next five years".

In contrary, since the introduction of the Increasing Choice reforms by this government, we have released over 70,000 packages this year alone.

This just goes to show again that Labor totally failed to adequately plan for the implementation of their own reforms, and this Government is cleaning up the mess.

Senator Polley: Vulnerable older people are being forced out of their own homes and into residential care and hospitals and, in more dire cases, are passing away while they are still waiting for support from the Turnbull government. Why is the Turnbull government failing to act to support older Australians?

Response:

For Senator Polley to assert that older Australians are dying as a result of lack of action by this Government is unhelpful.

The reality is, that under Labor it was impossible to determine how many people were waiting, or for how long. If not for the reforms introduced by this Government earlier in the year, this would never have been the case.

The assertion that we are taking no action is simply inaccurate. The very fact individuals will be able to see where they are in the queue is a direct result of action taken by this Government.

This means that for the very first time we are able to monitor and track where an individual is in the queue, and this was not possible under the previous system.

Additionally we have released over 70,000 packages since the introduction of Increasing Choice, and we continue to periodically release more packages at roughly 2000 per week.

The Government also allocated $5.5bn in the 2017 Budget towards the extension of the Commonwealth Home Support Programme. This huge investment in our older Australians is about supporting them to remain independent in their own homes for longer, while ensuring they have the care they require.

Senator Polley's assertion is false. The contrast could not be more stark. This Government is continuing to provide support for older Australians to remain in their own home and their communities, while the Labor party has shown that they aren't even capable of planning for the real needs of the Australian people.

Senate Eligibility - Answer to question taken on notice - 5 September, 2017

I am continuing to execute my duties as Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Local Government and Territories and Minister for Regional Communications.

As part of my ongoing ministerial duties, I attend official meetings, receive and approve departmental briefings, sign ministerial correspondence, make formal ministerial decisions and sign funding agreements regularly and frequently.

This will continue to be the case.

I do not intend to provide a live tally on these duties.

Warrego Highway upgrade - Answer to question taken on notice – 12 September, 2017

Contracts relating to the Warrego Highway upgrade are awarded by the Queensland State Government.

The Commonwealth plays no part in the tender or the awarding of the contract.

Any questions relating to the contracting of this project should be directed to the Queensland Government.

Senator O'Sullivan has expressed publicly that he does not have, nor has he ever had, any interest in a corporation or entity that a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in an agreement with the public service of the Commonwealth of Australia.

I can also confirm that the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development has advised that there are no contractual or other agreements between or involving the Commonwealth acting through my Department and the Newlands Group.