Tony Crook (O'Connor, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to point out a significant issue in my electorate of O’Connor. The city of Albany, located in the south of O’Connor, has a brand new respite centre—the Albany Community Care Respite Centre. There is a great need for respite care in Albany and the surrounding areas, but the centre, which only opened this year, is unable to secure enough ongoing funding to be open more than one week per month.

This respite centre is a state of the art facility, built with a generous amount of community support early this year to provide respite care, predominantly to aged care recipients—however there is also some capacity for the centre to provide respite care for people with disabilities. While the community worked hard to establish this centre, the lack of federal support means that it is unable to operate on a full-time basis. I am told that there has been no new funding allocated under the National Respite for Carers Program—Cottage Respite since 2005. This brand new facility is therefore only able to operate for up to one week per month, providing a maximum of 420 respite days per year. The total funding required to operate the facility 52 weeks a year is just $386,000 per annum, which would provide 1,472 respite days per year.

This centre is of vital importance to my electorate, as it will provide a service not only for the city of Albany but the entire catchment area of the Great Southern, with some clients coming from as far as Perth, 412 kilometres away, Esperance, 480 kilometres away, and even Kalgoorlie, almost 800 kilometres away. Currently the facility is booked more than six months in advance, and the few beds that are available in nursing homes in the Albany area are also in very high demand—and they are primarily allocated for emergency respite care.

I cannot stress enough how vitally important this service is, especially to a major regional centre such as Albany and the Great Southern. Respite centres are an absolutely vital service for carers who work to provide care 24 hours a day, seven days a week without any opportunity for a break. A respite break—whether it be for a few hours while in town to do some jobs or a week while taking a holiday—can significantly increase the duration that a carer will continue to provide care. Carers provide unpaid care and support to family members and friends who have a disability, mental illness, chronic condition or terminal illness, or even who are frail.

According to statistics from Carers Australia more than one in eight Australians provide care of this kind. There are an estimated 2.9 million carers in Australia, who are alleviating government of a financial burden worth more than $40 million—for very little in return. In WA, there are around 250,000 carers. The very best way that government can acknowledge our carers and the vitally important role they play in the community is to make sure they have access to respite care. We need funding to make respite available. It is as simple as that.

I recently met with a constituent from my electorate, a man in his 70s who has been providing care for his wife for more than a decade. For more than a decade this man has provided a service to Australia by caring for his wife. The toll it has taken on his body is great, as he is required to help with all aspects of her care, such as bathing and getting in and out of the car. I can only imagine the toll it has taken on other aspects of his life. Earlier this year, this man decided he wanted to take a holiday to visit his children. That is not a big ask. Despite trying to book more than six months in advance, he has been told there will be no respite beds available. I can only imagine the cost to the taxpayer if he had decided to place his wife into government care more than a decade ago. More than a decade of care, and he cannot even take a week off to visit his children.

We need funding to make respite available. I stress this again. It is vitally important to our carers who alleviate the government of a $40 million burden—and $386,000 each year is not a big ask when you consider how much these carers have already sacrificed.