Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1)

notes that approximately 1,000 Australians under the age of 50 are living in nursing homes because they have a severe disability such as acquired brain injury;

(2)

recognises that in most cases such accommodation is not appropriate, and that greater choice is needed for these younger people;

(3)

acknowledges that as both federal and state governments are deeply involved in the aged care sector, both levels of government have a role to play in addressing this problem;

(4)

notes that the Aged Care Innovations Pool has provided a small start to addressing the problem; and

(5)

calls on federal and state governments to use the Council of Australian Governments process, and the current Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee Inquiry, as a basis for a combined effort to deal with this serious problem.

The motion that I have moved has been on the books for quite some time. It is something of a coincidence that it has arisen in the House today, very shortly after the COAG meeting on Friday, which took some timely steps towards addressing the problem that the motion refers to.

There are somewhere in the vicinity of 1,000 or so people—that is only a rough estimate; it could well be more—under the age of 50 who are currently living in nursing homes throughout Australia, and there are many more who are older than 50 but still well below the age of the typical resident in nursing homes. Of these 1,000 or so who are under 50, typically they are suffering severe disabilities. Many suffer from acquired brain injury and very severe brain injuries. They are often in very difficult circumstances personally and in terms of the care that they require.

The problem that this motion is designed to refer to is the fact that for many of these people—in fact, probably most—accommodation in a nursing home is inappropriate. They are typically housed with a very substantial number of people who are very advanced in age, often in their 80s or even 90s, people who by definition are dying in the nursing home, and sometimes fairly quickly. I think the average length of residence in a nursing home is something like six months, because of the very nature of the illnesses and disabilities that the older people who are in nursing homes tend to suffer from. Obviously the younger people who are in nursing homes in these circumstances have very different needs and very different requirements in terms of stimulation, assistance, care, and just the general emotional and physical environment within which they are accommodated.

What we have seen—until last Friday—has been a classic example of the failure of Australia’s antiquated federal-state structures and the inability of the two levels of government to cooperatively deal with a serious and growing problem. We have had hundreds of people effectively rotting away in nursing homes—people who could be much more appropriately looked after and cared for in more suitable accommodation—because of the fact that, as far as the Commonwealth is concerned, they fall under the category of disability and therefore belong to the states as a responsibility; and because of the fact that, as far as the states are concerned, they are in nursing homes and nursing homes are essentially predominantly a responsibility of the Commonwealth.

The steps that were taken by the Commonwealth and the states on Friday I would regard as a welcome first instalment. Clearly we are not going to see an overnight solution to this issue, but the steps that have been taken, with a significant injection of additional funding, will be a welcome start. Small progress has been made up until now with things like the aged care innovations pool. The Victorian government, I note, is committed already to building a five-bed facility for young people who are currently in nursing homes. It is to be hoped that that commitment will be able to be expanded as a result of the COAG meeting.

I first became aware of the true magnitude of the issue—I knew of it as a general proposition, but I first became aware of the true difficulties involved—when I visited the Harold McCracken House nursing home in my electorate a number of years ago. That nursing home, by the way, is very soon to close because of the new requirements that are imposed on nursing homes. There I met Chris Nolan, who has become quite well known publicly as a person in this situation, a young person who tragically suffered an acquired brain injury that has left him unable to speak, communicate or look after himself. He is able to communicate to a small degree through blinking, and he does greatly appreciate music and still manages to battle against his disability. He has had a very difficult time being a resident of a nursing home. He makes friends who very shortly thereafter die. He and his family, carers and supporters have been long involved in this campaign. I commend their efforts, because it is people like them who have ultimately got this issue on the agenda nationally and got some action.

There has been a lot of publicity and a lot of rallying around people like Chris Nolan, and there have been many other examples that have been exposed in the media in my state and other states—some of them, perhaps, are people who are in an even worse position than Chris is. It is long overdue that we as a nation, the federal government and the states, show some compassion, some commitment and some commonsense, rearrange the way the federal government and states deal with these issues, get over the bureaucratic stand-off and ensure that those younger people who do suffer already extreme circumstances get treated fairly and decently. (Time expired)

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