Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today is the fifth annual Thank You for Working in Aged Care Day, run by the mighty Health Services Union. I am a proud member of the HSU, and today I would like to give my thanks to the tens of thousands of workers across the country who work tirelessly in our aged-care system. These workers—personal carers, allied health professionals, nurses, cooks and cleaners—commit themselves every day to deliver high-quality care to our older Australians. I also thank Gerard Hayes, Adam Hall, Lynne Russell, Lauren Hutchins, Meri Bosevski and Renee Sheridan from the HSU for their relentless support of our local aged-care workers. It has been a privilege working with you to develop and implement Labor's aged-care policies. Together with the Albanese Labor government and the Minister for Aged Care, we are working hard to support the aged-care sector in the Illawarra and around the country. So far we have backed in a 15 per cent pay rise for aged-care workers, achieved 24-hour nursing across our aged-care facilities 98 per cent of the time and funded 214,000 fee-free TAFE places for sectors in need, including in aged care. We've joined with New South Wales minister Ryan Park and the New South Wales government to deliver an additional 35 transitional aged-care beds in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven. We will continue to work together to ensure our workforce is supported in providing older Australians with the care they deserve.