Gary Humphries (ACT, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Ageing, Senator Santoro. Would the minister outline to the Senate what long-term policies the Howard government is putting in place to secure the future of aged care in Australia? Further, is the minister aware of any alternative views?

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

I thank Senator Humphries for his continuing interest in matters of ageing throughout Australia. He is a great contributor to the very constructive debate that at least we on this side of the chamber take on. The $1.5 billion package that was announced by the Prime Minister a few weeks ago, titled ‘Securing the future of aged care for Australians’, is one of the most positive initiatives for ageing Australians that has ever been delivered by any government. In fact, it will ensure that the aged-care industry in this country is put on a very sound footing indeed and that ageing Australians who benefit from areas of policy outside the direct aged-care industry will also continue to benefit. It will provide financial security for the aged-care industry to ensure that it is able to grow and to meet the growing needs of ageing Australians. We sought to strike a sensitive balance between the various competing sectors of providers, recipients and taxpayers, and we have sought to ensure the long-term economic sustainability of all the players.

The package allocates $1 billion to increasing government payments for residents of aged-care homes. Additional care funding will be targeted to those with the highest care needs, while residents with moderate asset levels will also receive extra accommodation support. Equally importantly, it also delivers on the Howard government’s commitment to increase the availability of aged care in the community, with 7,200 additional community care places to be delivered over the next four years at a cost of $411 million. The additional places will take Australia’s aged-care ratio from the current 108 places per 1,000 people aged 70 and over to a record number of 113 places per 1,000 people aged 70 and over in 2011. This particular figure needs to be compared with around 93 places when the government was elected in 1996, when we took over government from those on the other side.

As the Prime Minister said when he made this announcement—and this is a point that anybody listening to this debate can never forget—the reason a $1.5 billion announcement was able to be made was the very strong economy and the economically responsible financial stewardship of the Australian economy. It is a huge investment in any part of the economy, but $1.5 billion in the aged-care sector is a huge investment and it has only been made possible because of the strength of the economic management of the Australian economy by the Prime Minister and his government over many years.

The package has been very well received throughout the industry. There are obviously still some implementation issues. We are getting a lot of feedback from the industry, most of it positive. We are looking at an implementation plan that will certainly enhance the viability of the industry.

This did not happen just in the last year. The Howard government are very proud that over the last 10 years we have striven to improve the welfare of ageing Australians. Only 10 years ago, as I have said previously, there was no accreditation, no independent quality checking, fewer than 5,000 community care packages and 29,000 fewer residential places.

Kay Patterson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Patterson interjecting—

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

As Senator Patterson quite rightly interjects, some nursing homes were not quite up to the quality that we expect them to be. Today, I can honestly claim—and there would be very few Australians who would dispute it—that we have one of the best aged-care industries in the world. The Howard government continues to remain committed to the principles of quality, choice and affordability, and this $1.5 billion package clearly illustrates that commitment. (Time expired)