Elizabeth Watson-Brown (Ryan, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Fifty dollars for a shower: that's what some older people are going to be paying under the government 's new aged-care legislation coming in, in a couple of days. This results from a deal made last year between Labor and the coalition to protect for-profit providers, making life even harder for older people and their families.

At least 50 per cent of older people will pay more for care from 1 November, including 30 per cent of full pensioners and 75 per cent of part-pensioners. The scheme includes co-payments for non-clinical care. These are essential services like help with showering, cooking and laundry, as though these services were some kind of luxury. How cruel.

One in three big corporations in Australia is getting away with paying no tax, but, instead of going after them, Labor is going after older people, who've worked hard and paid their taxes all their lives—older people, just trying to get the care they deserve and that they need to survive.

To add insult to this government-imposed injury, 200,000 people—a huge waitlist—are just trying to access home-care packages. The enormity of this waitlist was kept secret by the government until it was uncovered by a Greens-chaired Senate inquiry. People who urgently need this care are waiting years—I've heard from so many locals in Ryan—to access the care that they need. Shamefully, tragically, people will die while they wait. I'm ashamed. All Australian should be and should stand up against this institutionalised maltreatment by our government.

Well, the Greens are standing up. We eventually forced the government to release 20,000 home-care packages early, but that was clearly not nearly enough to clear that full waitlist. If you, your parents or grandparents are in a nursing home, these changes from 1 November will affect you too. They make things easier for for-profit aged-care providers and far harder—far harder—for care residents. These changes will now allow providers to keep part of that refundable accommodation deposit, which had previously been returned to relatives when the resident passed away.

Under this rather dirty deal with the coalition, Labor also removed proposed criminal penalties for providers that do the wrong thing, and this comes after the royal commission into aged care exposed absolutely appalling behaviour by providers. They need to be kept accountable. If you're in my electorate of Ryan, listening to this speech and affected by these changes, I want to hear from you. Please contact my office.