Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for this motion. Aged care is so important. I'm very pleased that the government has already committed so much in this early term of parliament and for its interest and investment in aged care. I welcome the passage of the Aged Care Amendment (Implementing Care Reform) Bill 2022. I think about the private members' bills that I have brought into this House and that they also form part of this bill. That's really the point of what we do in here; that we lean on each other and work collectively.

I want to talk about aged-care workers. We don't talk enough in this chamber about the good people working in aged care on very low wages, as the member quite rightly pointed out. So I support the Fair Work Commission's application to lift their pay because working in aged care is backbreaking work, and it's work that tears on the heartstrings of those who work in this area and care very deeply for the people they support. Every time I stand and talk in this place about where I see the need to make changes with respect to aged care, it's important that we also talk about the good things in aged care, and at the top are the people who care and work for those in aged care.

I want to reflect on some of the wonderful events I have attended at some of the aged-care facilities in my electorate. You could see how the workers, particularly the care staff, the nurses and the cooks, had gone over and above to make those events special for the residents. Whether recognising Melbourne Cup or International Women's Day, the work that the aged-care workers do is extraordinary. Many of them do it for love; they certainly don't do it for money. It's critical that we make sure that we lift, along with staffing ratios, the number of people who are working in aged care. Six minutes is not enough time to get someone out of bed, showered and ready for breakfast. In many cases, workers are working beyond their shift hours to get this done.

I also want to talk about the fact that we don't talk about working in aged care as a career. I think that government policy can do a lot more—and it was in Pollaers' report—to support people who work in aged care to be part of the broader allied health profession, to encourage people to see working in aged care as a career and to make sure there's career progression in aged care. We lose too many good people out of the system due to being burnt out or going and working in the NDIS space or, indeed, going to work in the hospital system or other allied health areas. This is because the pay is so much better. I don't think we can talk about career progression and the value of aged-care workers until we pay them a wage that is attractive and appropriate for their enormous hard work. Often they are the last person to hold a person's hand before they say goodbye and depart this world. People in aged care do extraordinary work. I thank them for all the work they do in my community, including in-home care, and I thank the member for this wonderful motion.

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