Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Senator Colbeck. When 16,000 older Australians died in one year waiting to receive the home care package for which they had already been approved, can the minister explain why the Prime Minister today announced only 10,000 new home care places when more than 120,000 older Australians are currently waiting?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator Wong, for the question. As Senator Wong has indicated, today the government announced a significant package totalling $537 million to add additional capacity into the aged-care system as an immediate response to the royal commission's interim report. In that $537 million there was about $500 million for an additional 10,000 packages.

The reason that the government has made the response that we have is that we've taken notice of the royal commission's interim report, which talks about the growth of demand for home care packages as additional capacity is being put into the system. It talks about concerns about significant growth of home care packages and creating a circumstance like the Labor Party created when they put the pink batts program into place—there was so much capacity put into the market that it brought in shonky players and ended up leading to four deaths.

So the royal commission's report talks about doing a number of things. It talks about putting additional capacity into the system, which we've done. But it also talks about changing the way that home care is delivered, and so we are inclined to do that. The royal commission said in the report that it would be looking to provide some advice to the government on how the home care delivery system would be modified. We've said that we will take notice of that.

The Labor Party really should have a read of the report. We've done that. We're responding to it.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have read it. And we are responding to it in a proper and considered way. (Time expired)

Opposition senators interjecting—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On my left, order. Senator Wong, a supplementary question?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The royal commission has said that Australia's aged-care system is a shocking tale of neglect which diminishes Australia as a nation. Will the minister explain why Mr Morrison today put back only half of the $1.2 billion his own budget papers confirm he has cut from aged care?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Wong for the question, but I reject the premise of the question. The funding for aged care is increasing by an average of $1 billion a year, as it has done every year. When the deputy opposition leader came out last week, or two weeks ago, suggesting—as Senator Wong is doing at the moment—that we might have cut aged care, the RMIT ABC Fact Check put out a zombie alert in reference to a former senator, who talked about his whole party being zombies. That RMIT Fact Check said that the claim of the Labor Party was misleading.

We have continued to invest in aged care. When we came to government, funding for aged care was somewhere around $13 billion. It's now closer to $21 billion. (Time expired)

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A final supplementary question, Senator Wong?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What is the minister's advice to a 95-year-old woman with a terminal illness who is on a waiting list for a level 4 package and has been told that, under this government, that package will not be available for 22 months? Minister, can you advise the chamber what this Australian should do while she is waiting for her approved package?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator Wong, for the question. What I'd say to that patient who's waiting is: as of today, that package is much closer, because we've just put 10,000 additional packages into the system. And can I say that I find it very difficult to take any criticism from the Labor Party with respect to the funding of home care packages, because at the last election they went to the Australian people with a $387 billion bill for additional taxes—$387 billion in additional taxes, including taxing older people—and they did not include one additional home care package. Not one additional home care package did the Labor Party put in their policy at the last election.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, Senator Colbeck! I've got Senator Wong on a point of order.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My point of order goes to direct relevance. The question is: what is this minister, who is responsible, saying to the 95-year-old woman about her 22-month wait? It is not directly relevant to the question to discuss what happened at an election which returned you for your seventh year in government. This is your responsibility.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think it is fair to say that the minister was straying a touch from the terms of direct relevance, but as you rose I note that he was talking about home care packages, which I do consider to be directly relevant. But, Senator Colbeck, the point Senator Wong raises on direct relevance is valid with respect to the issue immediately preceding that.

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My very first words were that the home care package for that person is much closer as of today's announcement. Clearly, the Labor Party are still very sensitive about the fact that they had $387 billion in new taxes and not a single home care package. (Time expired)