Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to pick up where the previous member finished and say there's something else that the government can do to encourage people—domestic, local workers—into the aged-care workforce. That's to pay them properly—to actually pay them a decent wage. One of the real reasons why we struggle to attract people with the skills and the experience into or back into aged care is that they are paid minimum wage. The solution to the aged-care staffing crisis is not simply importing workers. It's not simply opening up our borders and attracting overseas workers to work and care for our elderly Australians. That is not enough. We will probably always require some element of skilled overseas workers in our care sector, until we skill up our own, but it is not the only solution.

That solution also fails to address that we have a skills crisis in this country across the board. As the demand in the health sector under the COVID crisis has sucked a lot of workers into it—as it should; it is a pandemic and the demand for health workers and community workers continues to increase—it has left the aged-care sector vulnerable. There is no plan in this legislation to properly pay our aged-care workers, and without a plan this trend will continue. It is unsettling to hear government members speak about importing these workers—knowing that they'll be a second-class workforce who are paid low wages and do the work that Australians won't do—without recognising that we need to upskill the sector, that we need to properly fund the sector and that we need to properly pay our aged-care workers. I agree that our aged-care workers are angels. They do their work because of their love for older people and because they genuinely want to see our older Australians live in dignity and have a wonderful exit. However, that doesn't pay the bills. However, that's not recognition of the skills they have and of the compassion they have. For far too long our aged-care workers have been left to work in the sector for the love of their work, and it's simply not good enough.

Years ago Labor in government with the agreement of the states moved reform to introduce ratios to our early childhood education sector. My children are beneficiaries of this reform. Young Daisy is in child care in Parliament House and she gets the benefit of having extra educators with her. We don't have something similar for our aged-care sector. One of the complaints that's raised with me so often in this space is the fact that we don't have ratios in our aged-care facilities, which means that, if somebody is sick, people aren't called in, even if those people are available. The ratios vary from facility to facility. A state government owned facility or a community not-for-profit aged-care home will have better ratios than those of the for-profits. But because there are no rules in place and no mandated safe staffing levels, we see ridiculous ratios where you may have one aged-care worker to 50 or 60 residents. How can they possibly do their job adequately if we don't have decent aged-care ratios? I raise that because it's not being dealt with in this bill.

Whilst Labor supports what's before us, we're arguing that it doesn't go far enough. We held a huge aged-care royal commission in this country. It travelled to Bendigo and it met with over 300 people in a community forum, where local people got to share their experiences. Yet the bill that's before us doesn't deal with a number of the key recommendations in the commission's report. The government has yet again fobbed off, delayed and outright rejected key recommendations from the aged-care royal commission. Of the 148 recommendations, over half are not being implemented or aren't being implemented properly—over half. We have all heard the heartbreaking stories about aged-care residents. It could have been a moment of bipartisanship, it could have been a moment of recognition and healing, but, most importantly, it could have led to practical reform that would give our older Australians the dignity, support and care that they need. It's concerning that, as we stand here today, the bill that's before us not only is inadequate and does not deal with what is necessary to help our older Australians but also hasn't had the proper consultation that's required. Stakeholders, peak bodies, providers and workers are saying that they haven't been consulted in relation to this bill, despite it dealing with workforce screening, despite it dealing with provider governance and despite it dealing with banning orders and code of conduct. We know this government is so quick to implement something without consultation that there are going to be issues. I just hope that they're ready to reform where needed when we run into those mistakes. These small changes are necessary and needed, but don't rush them, don't implement them without consultation, because we'll hit more problems in a sector that is already exhausted.

Last year aged-care workers were at the front line and they were exposed to the COVID-19 outbreak. We are aware of the impact that COVID has had on the aged-care sector, and it has been twofold. First, we knew that COVID had a greater impact on the health of older Australians and those in aged care were vulnerable. It's disappointing that the vaccine rollout was so delayed, because we know that the vaccine saves lives. As the vaccine was rolled out in aged-care facilities, there was a problem because the government didn't have the vaccines available for the workforce. In my part of the world, when a contractor turned up to vaccinate older residents, which was welcomed, they didn't have enough vaccine to vaccinate the staff. It fell to Bendigo Health to vaccinate the staff in our aged-care facilities, and we thank them for doing so.

After and during last year and after the vaccine rollout, whilst we've been in and out of lockdown, our aged-care facilities have for health reasons been the first to be locked down, so we've now had long periods where aged-care residents have not been able to see their loved ones. That's because we are in a pandemic. So our workforce have had to step up, and they have not only been the carers and the healthcare workers in these facilities but also the companions for many in these facilities. Residents are frustrated and heartbroken and they are lonely. There have been long stints between seeing loved ones. Some may say it's the nature of a pandemic and there was nothing we could do, but we need to recognise that, during this difficult period, the workers in these facilities became their loved ones, their family members, the comforters, the people that residents could have a face-to-face conversation with. This is where we need to be doing more to support this workforce.

Older Australians have helped build this country. They've worked hard. They've paid their taxes. At a time when we promised them, 'If you payor taxes now, we'll be there to care for you in later life.' They've raised their families and now in their later years deserve respect and support from their government. They rightly expect the government to support them in their frailing years, yet what we've seen from this government time and again is that they've consistently let this age group down. After 21 expert reports, they knew that older people were suffering in aged care, but they did very little to fix the problem. It took an aged-care commission to bring these reforms before us, yet, as I've already staged, of the 148 aged-care royal commission recommendations, over half have not been implemented or aren't being properly. The government has proven that they're incapable of fixing the aged-care crisis. Hopefully, in the months ahead they will been listen to the sector, the workers, the unions and the providers and finally do something about the crisis that we're facing.

I held my own inquiry into the aged-care crisis that we're experiencing in my electorate. I asked people what they thought of the reforms that Labor had put forward and whether they agreed with some of the suggestions we were making. Ninety per cent agreed that there needed to be minimum staffing levels in aged care. This is what they're saying in my part of the world, a regional electorate where we have multiple aged-care providers, from our small towns to the big regional centre. Ninety per cent of people who responded to my survey said they agreed with minimum staffing levels, a Labor commitment, a recommendation from the royal commission into aged care, yet no reform is before us in this House. Ninety-seven per cent agreed that staff should be trained properly for aged care, recognising that not all people in aged care have had the opportunity for skills, have had the opportunity to train, have had the opportunity to get the education required to be aged-care providers. Again, this is something that Labor did in government for our early childhood education sector, but we have not yet seen it rolled out in aged care, though it is something that's required. If COVID has taught us anything about aged care, it's that, if you train the staff, the staff will have the skills that' are required.

Seventy per cent in this survey agreed that aged-care facilities in our area did not have the appropriate or proper PPE required. We asked the staff, and many reported having to go the whole day in the one mask or the whole day in the one PPE, which is not good infection control, as we know. Ninety-two per cent agreed that we need a better surge workforce strategy, highlighting the problems that we'd experienced in our region.

Staff are exhausted. Many haven't been able to take any leave over the last 18 months to try to get through this pandemic. They deserve the support right now, and yet many don't know when they will be able to take a day's leave or a week's leave or even go on a holiday with their family. Ninety-four per cent say that their home-care waiting lists are still far too long.

The government and government MPs come in here and crow about what they've achieved but there are still people on the waiting list. I've had people in my electorate die waiting for the appropriate aged-care package and it's simply not good enough. A level 2 package isn't the care that somebody on a level 4 pack package needs. When the government crows about their packages—what people in my electorate have told me is: 'I've been offered a level 2 but it nowhere near covers or satisfies what I need.' Children are frustrated that their parents aren't getting the support that they require.

In the few moments I have left, I'd like to share what people have said about what it's like to work in aged care in my electorate and what some of the children have said. A daughter of a woman who was in aged care, now deceased, said to me, 'At the time there was one registered nurse per floor of 50 to 70 residents. There was one enrolled nurse and a personal carer. On the night shift: one. How can they possibly do the work that's required?' Another person who worked in the sector said, 'Inadequate staffing ratios led to inadequate service provision. I felt like I couldn't do my job. I went home tired, exhausted and heartbroken that I couldn't do the job required.' Another aged-care worker said to me: 'The things you see and experience in the sector are just heartbreaking. The wages do not reflect what we do or what we go through. I don't think many workers in aged care are here for the long-term. Many are thinking of the exit strategy and that's just heartbreaking. We can only deliver the basics and not the emotional support that many in our care need. We can't wait for the findings of the royal commission. We need action now.'

The heartbreaking thing is we have been forced to wait for the royal commission findings. We've got the findings and yet still the bill before us doesn't deliver the reform that these workers and these children are seeking. We have an opportunity to fix this once and for all and to really move the sector forward. What's needed is not just the minor reforms that the government have put forward. What's needed is strong reform. If we want to stop what is occurring in aged care, to fix the aged-care crisis, then we need to tackle the issue of wages. We need to fund the sector properly. We need to make sure that we have the skill mix right.

( Quorum formed)

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