Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question. Our government treasures our senior Australians for all they have done to make Australia the great country it is. Our senior Australians deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, and that's why our government is making a record investment in aged care. The government investment in aged care is going up by a billion dollars a year over the forward estimates. In 2017-18 alone, aged-care spending is estimated to reach $18.6 billion. Over the next five years, it will grow by an additional $5 billion to $23.6 billion. That's $5 billion more to ensure our senior Australians receive the very best care possible.

Despite the lies and falsehoods being spread by those opposite, the fact is that we are investing a record amount into aged care. The government is increasing the number of home care packages available from 87,000 in 2017-18 to 151,000 by 2021-22. This will include a 34,000 increase in high-level packages by 2021. On top of the immediate rollout of the 14,000 additional aged-care packages and the 6,000 additional packages announced in MYEFO, the government is bringing forward $90 million to support aged-care providers, with significant funding rolling out this financial year. Of this, $40 million is available to support aged-care services in regional, rural and remote locations to improve, maintain and expand their infrastructure, ensuring that senior Australians in these locations receive exactly the same support as those people who need these services in the cities. We're also providing $50 million to support residential aged-care providers and their staff to improve quality standards of care across the sector. Our government is absolutely committed to making sure we deliver first-class care to our senior Australians.