Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I intend to address the issues that this legislation covers, but I also want to comment on some of the problems which exist in aged care—problems which this government has constantly failed to address. It is an area where the consumers, the providers and everybody connected with the industry and the services is very upset and concerned about the government’s performance. Essentially, the purpose of the Aged Care (Bond Security) Bill 2005, the Aged Care (Bond Security) Levy Bill 2005 and the Aged Care Amendment (2005 Measures No. 1) Bill 2005 is to enhance the protection available to residents of aged care facilities who have paid accommodation bonds which are paid on entry by non-concessional residents of low-care facilities, by residents of high-care facilities with ‘extra service’ status and by some residents in multipurpose services. I would like to join with the member for New England in emphasising just how effective multipurpose centres are. If there is a model that can be taken on board by this government, it is to go further down the track of multipurpose centres and to work with the states to see if we can deliver better services to people in rural communities. Currently, I am under the impression that the government is more concerned about utilising state governments to—

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