Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

There is one statement we can make which is absolutely clear: the Morrison government has failed older Australians in aged care. We say this because, over six years, four ministers and dozens and dozens of reports, they have yet to deliver long-term or actual reform. What we've seen throughout this failure of a government, with all their prime ministers and failed ministers, has been a constant deflection of responsibility that they never accept. This is a government led by a Prime Minister who, as Treasurer, cut $1.2 billion out of aged care.

You heard the minister before. He should always start his contributions with 'once upon a time' because it's a fairytale that he brings in. They put a little bit of money back, but they neglect to mention that they took a whole lot out to start with. They cut it down here, then put a little tiny bit in and go, 'Aren't we good?' and congratulate themselves. We know what they did to try to hoodwink the Australian people with the lie before the election that the budget was back in black. It was done because this government attacks the most vulnerable people in this country. It held money from the NDIS. It took money out of aged care and now says pensioners should be working longer and harder.

What we have seen in aged care through the royal commission is an abject failure of this minister and his predecessors. We know the royal commission was called for because this government was failing and the minister was asleep at the wheel. The entire time, he sat there and said, 'Well, if it comes on my desk, I'll have a look at it.' This is everyday Australians who are being punished by this government each and every day.

I was talking to a local resident in Sunbury the other day. He was telling me about the issue that he's had. He was assessed for his package and had to wait 18 months for a level 4. He had a stroke that saw him left with some brain damage, paralysis down both arms and poor hearing and eyesight. We've already seen today, as the shadow minister rightly pointed out, that only 5,500 of these home care packages will be delivered. One hundred and ten thousand people will not get access to the care that they rightly deserve. These are the people that put this nation where it is, and this government wants to use them to rip the money out and treat them poorly. It is absolutely wrong that, each and every day, Australians are missing out on the care and the help that they need, because the government is incompetent or deliberately nasty. I'm not sure which one it will be, but I'm tipping that what we're seeing is a bit of column A and a bit of column B.

Older Australians have served this country and delivered us the prosperity that we have, and they deserve to be treated fairly. We can't have people dying while they're waiting for home care packages. That is just fundamentally wrong. These are vulnerable people, but this government says, 'Don't worry about them, they'll be right; we'll just keep moving on.' None of those opposite will ever stand up and say: 'We are sorry for what we've done. We should address this.' They want to hide and obfuscate about the issues we have. We have people every single day looking for help and support to get the aged-care packages that they desperately need. People are watching their loved ones deteriorate in their health and wellbeing, and families are having extra stress and financial strains, because the government is too incompetent to actually get out there and prioritise the important things. They won't prioritise people. They'll happily support banks, but they won't prioritise people. In the meantime, you've got families that are going to breaking point because they can't get the help and assistance that they deserve.

The member for Cooper talked about the workforce. Let's talk about the workforce, because that is so important. This is a government that has failed on workforce. It does not care enough to ensure that people who are in aged-care facilities get the help and support they need by having properly trained people who are able to deal with the issues that get faced in aged-care facilities, like dementia. I have a very close friend whose mother was attacked in an aged-care facility and died. There was no help and assistance available. That is a disgrace that sits wholly and squarely on the Prime Minister's shoulders because he's the one who, as Treasurer, took the money out, which means we don't have the workforce that we need and we don't have the support in aged-care facilities.

It's time the government gave up on their rhetoric and actually did something for Australian people. The people that put them there are the ones they should be looking after, not themselves as they have been doing and continue to do right up to today.

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