Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Santoro, the Minister for Ageing. Can the minister confirm that the government has received repeated warnings that the aged care complaints system is not working? Hasn’t the complaints commissioner identified problems with the department’s administration of complaints and the potential for retribution to dissuade residents and families from coming forward? Didn’t the Senate report tabled on 23 June 2005 recommend a series of changes to the complaints scheme to improve its effectiveness and responsiveness? Don’t the recommendations of the Senate report directly address the problems with the system as identified by the families of the alleged abuse victims in a number of current cases? Given that there was not an election last year, as the minister has tried to claim, why didn’t the government urgently respond to these reports? Why did the government wait until cases of serious abuse became public before acting?

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for his question. He will know that the Aged Care Complaints Resolution Scheme distributes satisfaction surveys to both the complainant and the service provider in each state and territory after each complaint is finalised. Yesterday, in answer to a question, I sought to outline some of the details of the results of those surveys.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Selectively.

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, it was not selectively.

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, ignore the interjections and address your remarks through the chair.

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

During the 2004-05 reporting period, a total of 621 complaints were finalised and the overall response rate was 49 per cent. In other words, 49 per cent of those surveyed returned the survey forms, which I am sure all reasonable senators would regard as a very high return rate for self-completed surveys. The data shows that, in relation to overall satisfaction with the service provided by the scheme, 86 per cent of complainants who responded expressed satisfaction, six per cent indicated dissatisfaction and eight per cent did not respond. I would suggest to honourable senators opposite that that is a good result for the complaints resolution scheme.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What about the 27 per cent? You’re not telling about the whole report.

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ninety-two per cent of providers who responded expressed satisfaction, four per cent indicated dissatisfaction and four per cent provided no response. Where dissatisfaction was noted, this may reflect attitudes about the outcome achieved rather than the process used. I heard an interjection: what about the percentage that was not satisfied? I think that is a reasonable question. That is the reason why the government undertook a review. The complaints commissioner in fact has—

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Are you coming back to the question?

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am coming back to the question, but you asked me a question about the complaints resolution scheme—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, ignore the interjections and address your remarks through the chair, and then we will not have all the banter across the table.

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Through you, Mr President, It is just that it is so obvious that they do not want to wait for the answer, so I try to help them as quickly as I can, being the very responsive person that I am. In response to part of the question from the senator opposite, what happened was that the government realised that, given those sorts of survey results, an improvement could be made to the scheme and it undertook a review. That review has been put before me over the last week or so—and I remind senators opposite that I have been in the seat for only four weeks—and I will look at that review.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will review the review, if that is what makes you feel happy. When I am ready to make recommendations in relation to what we implement out of that review, or any other measures that I wish to introduce to improve the scheme, I will do so and inform the Senate and the Australian public.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Hasn’t the minister’s promise of an aged care summit been downgraded to a meeting of an established committee? Hasn’t the meeting now been postponed until 14 March, two weeks away? Having now accepted that the system is not working, what is the minister, who is the one responsible, actually doing to fix the problem? Does the minister expect the community to just put their concerns on hold for two weeks while he arranges his committee meetings?

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable senator for his follow-up question. There has been no postponement. The members who make up the committee—the membership of which I detailed to the Senate a little while ago—come from all over Australia. You just cannot convene a high-level, expert committee, made up of busy people like the people representing the organisations that I mentioned, just overnight. Simple courtesy requires that you give them proper notice for them to prepare their thoughts and their submissions—and we have asked them to let us have their thoughts. That is just proper courtesy and proper planning for a serious meeting. There has been no postponement. I made no announcement of any date until we fixed a date. The furphy that senators opposite are seeking to perpetrate is nothing but a furphy.

Government Senators:

Government senators interjecting—

Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Some of my colleagues on this side suggest it is dishonest. I think it is just misguided or politically malicious. As I said yesterday to senators opposite, it is really important that you seek to depoliticise this particular process. (Time expired)