Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Friday this week the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety will hand down its final report. After more than two years, dozens of hearings, 20 research papers and millions of words of evidence, the royal commission will provide an authoritative perspective on aged care in Australia, as well as guidance on the path forward. Before then, however, the royal commission's verdict on this government's performance in this space has been unambiguous. They have let older Australians down—our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers and, of course, our community. The royal commission's interim report, released in 2019, explained the government's approach to aged care right in the title: Neglect. This damning report card was delivered before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and before 678 residents of aged-care facilities had died. It laid bare for all to see what the underfunding of staff and the neglect of patient needs and infection protocols meant.

As the duty senator for the Central Western New South Wales seat of Calare, I'm compelled to bring the heartbreaking example of Lithgow Aged Care Ltd to the attention of this this chamber. Like many regional centres, Lithgow's local aged-care centres have been struggling with inadequate funding to maintain care. Lithgow Aged Care received its first official sanction from the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission in 2019. On 15 February this year, the centre was audited by the commission and received a notice that the centre's accreditation would be revoked within eight weeks. That would, of course, require the centre to close. If the centre closes, 75 frail and vulnerable residents will be forcibly relocated further away from their families.

There are simply no beds in town, so the Department of Health has attempted to find places for them as far away as Western Sydney, which is a great inconvenience for those in the community and, of course, for those patients and residents. While there are repeal avenues available to the Senate, without a decisive intervention from the federal government 15 April will be the day that more than 120 staff will be made redundant and all the residents will be made homeless. Lithgow already struggles with chronic unemployment, so over 120 staff will find it difficult to find work. Meanwhile, the income from these jobs will be ripped out of the local economy.

Aged care is the responsibility of the federal government, and for eight years the coalition has slashed funding and further enabled the plunder of this vital public institution by 'rich listers', who become multimillionaires and billionaires on the backs of vulnerable people and underpaid care workers, often on the government dime. Since Scott Morrison was Treasurer and then Prime Minister, $1.7 billion has been ripped out of the aged-care budget. Even the government's own former aged-care minister delivered a scathing assessment of what the Liberal Party has done to aged care in this country and the revolving door of ministers who have failed older Australians.

The people of Lithgow in New South Wales can now speak to what their underfunding and neglect looks like. When the centre's board ran into difficulties running the centre, it was abandoned by this government. On his Facebook page the member for Calare, Andrew Gee, has a range of posts announcing funding for this centre, but, like the rest of the government, he is there for the photo-op and gone for the follow-up.

The ABC reported a story of Bill Burns, a local whose mother died three weeks prior to the meeting. He said the standard of care delivered at the home amounted to 'broken promises'. Another resident, Bronwyn Thompson, said she had observed 'systematic failures' at the home. Her father is a resident there, while her mother died there last year. Ms Thompson said, 'The staff are great but there's just not enough of them.'

If this centre is to close in April, I'm extremely concerned about the impact this will have on residents and staff in the local community. I'm calling upon the government to come up with a plan to provide continuity of care to these residents in the centre they are currently in.