Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

This bill that's currently before us almost directly replicates the bill that was in the parliament under the previous government, which was voted on nearly six months ago. Can I say that, as part of that, the previous government was very keen to make sure that the provisions that are contained in this bill were implemented as soon as possible, because we understood the extraordinary importance of these amendments to the aged-care sector and obviously to older Australians who rely on aged care. In that view, at the time, an amendment was moved by then Senator Rex Patrick that required for the provision of a nurse on site 24/7 in all aged-care facilities from 1 October 2022, so I'm keen to understand, in saying that we obviously want to make sure that we move to a position where we are supporting our aged-care facilities and our older Australians in a consistent, responsible and timely manner, why this particular bill, which you sought to amend in March to contain 24/7 nursing care by October 2022, does not contain that particular provision?