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

Yes, but you can’t say that to Ellie Seagrave. I said, ‘But, Ellie, there are the formulas and everything’—because it had only been open a few years; I might be getting my years mixed up. ‘How many old people over 70 in the region, subregion et cetera has determined the number of aged-care beds in the facility. Why do we need more?’ ‘We’re full,’ she said, ‘and we need more.’ Then she made a statement to me that I will never forget. I had said, ‘Why is there increased demand?’ She said: ‘We’re getting people who were raised in Emmaville and left Emmaville because they were worried about the facilities but who want to come back in their twilight years and live in Emmaville. That is an additional demand and we need more aged-care beds.’

That brought home the point to me that this is an issue beyond health and aged care. Some people are leaving their country communities because they are planning for their twilight years and are worried—in the Emmaville case, at least—that not enough health and aged-care facilities exist in their communities, so they are removing themselves at an earlier time rather than staying. In that sense, even though we see it as an aged care and health funding issue, the MPS is very important for people making decisions about their regional locations—especially those who live in country towns.

Another issue that I would like to raise briefly is pensioners. We have heard a lot of talk over the years about the debt of the nation being reduced, and I congratulate the government on doing that, even though I do not agree with some of the asset sales made to achieve it. With the resources boom and surplus budgets we are awash with money, in a sense. But I constantly see in my electorate—and I am sure others do in their electorates as well—that pensioners and older people who are not in nursing homes but are not working any more are really struggling under the regime that exists at the moment. I make this plea to the government: if there are surpluses and additional funds available, do not forget those people who have made a contribution to the development of this nation and have put us in a position where these surpluses can be generated. I think most of us recognise that the arrangements through indexation that currently exist are not keeping up with the real world of a pensioner. There are other issues as well. If a husband and wife are living at home and one of them dies, there are issues of the cost of keeping up their house—electricity and so on. I think it is time to revisit what we are doing for our older people and pensioners. There is no better time to do that than when there is a surplus that has been partly generated through the circumstances of—

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