Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader (Tasmania)) Share this | Hansard source

Last week I had the pleasure of walking in the shoes of an aged-care worker as part of the health and community services campaign. I walked in the shoes of an aged-care worker at Tyler Village in Prospect in my home state of Tasmania. I want to acknowledge from the outset the concerns a lot of people have about the shocking aged-care stories we've seen highlighted in the media recently. There are around 340,000 people currently working in the aged-care system, and most of them work very, very hard day in, day out delivering the service and care that older Australians need. These workers undertake one of the most important jobs in our society, and that is to look after, care for and give respect to older Australians. Over the years I've visited many aged-care homes right around this country, and I can tell you it doesn't matter if the home is new or old; the workers and carers are the beating heart of the home. The home is only as good as the management and dedicated staff.

Tyler Village is a warm and inviting home for residents and their families, and I really enjoyed my time with the staff and residents. This experience only confirmed my view of how dedicated and respectful staff are, not only at Tyler Village but around this country. Many of the staff have worked at the home for years. One staff member has been working for this particular home for over 35 years, and others were generationally known, with their families having a proud history of working at this home. My time in the kitchen, roster room, pharmacy room and dining room, and speaking with residents, reinforced my belief in the staff and how seriously they take their roles. For these people, it's not a job; it's a privilege.

I've spoken before about how I believe aged care is one of the most important sectors to be involved in. There is so much potential and so many career opportunities going forward, but it is hard work, and it's tough. We have a serious aged-care workforce shortage in this country, and there just aren't enough workers. Aged-care workers, whether personal carers, nurses, cooks, cleaners or administration staff, are overworked, undervalued and underpaid. But they are doing their best, something I witnessed last week at Tyler Village. In the kitchen, for instance, there were two staff serving the meals and two staff delivering those meals into the dining room, and I was able to assist them. The meals were of excellent quality—good, well-balanced and very nutritious. But the thing that impressed me most was the fact that those women working in the kitchen really knew and understood the individual residents they were caring and cooking for. They knew whether or not the food had to be cut up, whether they liked beans or whether they didn't like broccoli. There was a personal touch very evident in that dining room.

Can I also say that those women who work in the kitchen and do the cooking and the cleaning up are under pressure all the time to bring out the breakfast, the morning tea, the lunch, the afternoon tea and the dinner. All of that is pressure. We all know that there's been so little money invested in aged care, and this pressure is starting to tell on the staff. The job is not only physically and mentally demanding but also emotionally very taxing for these workers, and I really, truly don't believe they get credit for the valuable work they do. I'd also like to talk about the experience of working alongside the workers doing this important work. It made them feel like they were being appreciated, that someone was listening and that someone was interested in what they were doing.

But there have been some really terrible instances of abuse since the announcement of the royal commission into the aged-care sector and the airing of the Four Corners program, where aged-care workers, in their uniforms, going about their daily business after work, have been abused by the public and, in some cases, they've been spat on because they happen to work in this sector. That's not the message we need to send to Australians. We want more people to work in this sector. We really don't believe that anyone should be bullied or abused in any workplace at all. I would just remind people that the majority of the people working in the aged-care sector are dedicated, committed and caring. I would urge people to think twice before they start to abuse people for the job that they do. I would like to thank HACSU for enabling me to visit and work alongside these workers. I want to thank Tyler Village for giving me that opportunity as well. (Time expired)