Tony Windsor (New England, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Before getting into the substance of the Aged Care (Bond Security) Bill 2005 and cognate bills, there are a couple of issues I would like to mention. Firstly, I would like to congratulate the former Minister for Aged Care on her conduct in this ministry and the minister prior to her, Kevin Andrews. In his contribution the member for Calare made a few comments that I agree with. Given the circumstances of the mid-nineties, the circumstances that surround aged people today and the demographics of aged care, the government has made substantial changes and substantial gains in an effort to come to grips with current aged care problems and the problems we will be facing in coming years. That is not to say that everything has been fixed and there are no challenges, but I do think that the government does deserve some congratulations on the way it has handled this portfolio in particular.

I still have some concerns that from time to time the amount of paperwork involved in the administration of aged care facilities consumes quite a lot of the finances that are channelled into those facilities. The broader community may well have to make some decisions further down the track. I am told that the administrative costs are up to 30 per cent of the operating costs, and some expectations of the broader community should be adjusted to take account of those costs. There is no doubt in my mind that, due to the burden of administration, some of our aged people do not have accommodation because the money is going into administration rather than accommodation.

I also recognise the government’s efforts in the way the multipurpose service model has been developed—and I am sure government members here today would be fully aware of this. I pay credit to a predecessor of mine, Ian Sinclair, who, after retiring from parliament, became involved in a committee that looked at the needs of regional communities, particularly smaller communities, in relation to health and aged care and the models that could be developed. Some years back there was great concern and fear about the multipurpose service model—or MPS, as it is called, though I think they should rename it. I am pleased to say that, in my electorate at least and I think in most country electorates, that fear has been alleviated.

The model is an outstanding success that does have some benefits for the costs of running an operation and also delivers to smaller communities an aged care facility which is run together with a health care facility. During the mid-nineties there was a risk that the smaller hospitals would be closed and that aged people would not be able to live out their twilight years in the community whence they came. I am pleased to say that in New England there are a number of multipurpose services that have been approved and constructed or are under construction at the moment. They include Emmaville, Guyra, Walcha, Bingara, Barraba, Bundarra and Tingha. They have been embraced by the community, and by the health service too, which is state run. For those in the gallery, the MPS model is one where state and federal governments work together, which is quite strange, but it does happen from time to time. The state government provides the health service part of the structure and the federal government provides the aged care beds. As I said, it is working very well in those smaller communities, which were—in their own minds, at least, and in the minds of others—at risk of losing their facilities.

I am reminded of a lady from a little town called Emmaville in the north of my electorate. Emmaville is one of those smaller communities that was campaigning not to lose its hospital. An MPS was established with aged care beds as well as hospital beds as most people would think of them. I visited that town for a public meeting and this lady said to me, ‘We need more beds. You’re the federal member; go and get them.’ I guess all members of parliament have heard that from time to time. Of course you have to explain that there is a formula and that, within our electorate, we are not doing too badly under the formula et cetera. But that was not sufficient: ‘We need more beds.’ I mentioned that it had not been open for long. She said, ‘Well, it’s full.’ Then she made a comment that really hit home to me—one of those comments that make it worth while being a member of parliament. She said, ‘We need more beds because people who left Emmaville to go to the coast or the city want to come back because there is now an aged care facility for them to be in.’

That said to me that, in terms of infrastructure, aged care—and also telecommunications, but I will not mix the debates—is absolutely critical if we are to turn around the loss of population from regional areas. There are cost-effective models now like the MPS that send signals to people before they leave, whereas in my story those people have responded to that signal and want to go back and live out their later years in the community where they made a contribution. I think it is a significant message that should not be missed. There has been a failing in the past, but I think that model is having a significant impact on the decisions people make about their futures. If you know that there is nowhere you can be looked after when you are older, you will leave when you are younger. Obviously we then lose all those advantages of country communities such as the extended family and so on. So I pay credit to the government, which perhaps is a shock to some of the government members, for the work it has put in.

Another issue I would like to raise—which the Prime Minister has been involved in, and on which the former minister had a keen ear—is young people in nursing homes. There are something like 6,000 young people in nursing homes at the moment. For a whole range of reasons—including the facilities they need, the various treatments they may need access to and the general atmosphere of being a young person in an old-person’s home—they are inappropriately housed. I know that the Prime Minister has elevated that issue to COAG, and I am hopeful that the states and the Commonwealth will debate it at the upcoming COAG conference.

In my electorate of New England, the community came together about 12 months ago under the leadership of Challenge Armidale. We have been working on a submission which presents a regional model. The former minister has that submission and I am sure the new minister has it as well. This submission looks at a model which not only is appropriate for young people in nursing homes but which fits into regional communities, and we believe the costing is reasonable enough to be given due consideration by the new minister, the Treasurer and the government. I ask the parliamentary secretary to take that model on board. You may well have seen it before, but have a good look at it, because a lot of work has gone into it by a whole range of health and aged care professionals.

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