Anika Wells (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. With almost 10,000 people over the age of 65 in his electorate, I know that lifting the standard of aged care is a priority for him, and I thank him for his advocacy.

The Albanese government is committed to the delivery of safe and high-quality aged care. No older person should have to experience substandard aged care. But you can't improve what you can't measure, and that is why we are shining a light on aged-care services that are not meeting standards or community expectations. Australians have the right to know, and that is why in December the Albanese government delivered a key recommendation of the royal commission when we delivered star ratings so that older people and their families have greater information and greater choice. Star ratings provide a nationally consistent benchmark to monitor, compare and improve residential aged-care services, and we are working with providers to improve their ratings. The fact that almost one in 10 residential aged-care homes have either a one- or two-star rating shows that, after nine years of neglect, there is a lot of work for us to do to reform aged care, on a number of fronts.

The opposition, as we know, did not want the problems in aged care highlighted when they were in charge. But I was surprised to find out that, on the day that we released star ratings, they didn't want the problems in aged care highlighted, even on our watch. On the day that we delivered star ratings, the opposition called for them to be torn down. They would not know transparency if they were looking through a window—not even when it's on our watch, when we are charged with fixing it.

Transparency is not a bad thing. It's not a forbidden word, as those on the other side of the House would have you believe. Transparency also lets you highlight the good work that is happening by hardworking people who are doing their utmost to lift the standard of care in aged care in this country. Since the release of star ratings, I have visited 15 aged-care homes, from the Sunshine Coast to regional Queensland to Tasmania and in my electorate of Lilley. I'm proudly the representative of two five-star homes in Lilley. I talked to the aged-care workers in each of those 15 homes about the components of the star ratings and the work that they did to achieve them.

Sam at Lutheran Services Salem Aged Care, a four-star facility in Toowoomba, runs the Happy Table project, which is about creating a restaurant-like experience. He works with a dietitian to make sure residents are nourished properly. Bowder Lodge Care Centre in Nambour is a five-star facility. From talking with workers and the CEO, Helen Sharpley, there, it is clear why. By requiring transparency, we showcase standards of care the sector can aspire to. I commend all these facilities for being ambitious for aged care, like we are.