Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing and Seniors) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Why is the Prime Minister privatising aged-care assessments?

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Minister for Health.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on my left!

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We reject the proposition. We reject the proposition put forward by the member. That is inaccurate, it is untrue and it is false. I will make this point, though: what we are doing is following the advice of David Tune and the Tune report, which is to ensure that we are having a system which delivers better outcomes for patients who are seeking to enter residential aged care or have some form of aged-care assessment, and that's exactly what we're doing. In terms of the implementation, we'll work with the states, and I make this offer now, ahead of COAG at the end of the week: we are looking forward to working with the states in a flexible and a constructive fashion.

But I am very interested, because what the opposition is effectively saying is that they are going to abandon the practice that they had when they were in government of using non-government providers to assist with the assessment process—that's the change. Or are they not? So here is the question for the opposition to take away from this: are they now saying that they would abandon all of those current non-government providers—which were in place when they were in government and which they did not propose to change at the election—or is this a case of simply making it up as they go along? We know one thing: when they had the opportunity, only a few months ago—and the current shadow minister was the shadow minister going into the election—and a chance to invest in aged care, what did they provide for residential care?

Mr Brian Mitchell interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Lyons.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Nothing. What did they provide for home care? Nothing. They know that, we know that and the Australian public knows that.