Cameron Caldwell (Fadden, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australians are suffering a cost-of-living crisis under this Labor government. Mortgages are up, power bills are up and grocery costs are up. Families tell me that they're cutting back everywhere. Under Labor, the great Australian dream is turning into a nightmare. While families juggle bills, Labor's priorities are on full display this week. Senate estimates has revealed that taxpayers have forked out $2.2 million on the renovation of the Greens party room. If you think about this in the midst of a housing crisis, in Queensland, you could build a home with Metricon for approximately $249,490. So that's about eight homes for the price of one party room. This $2.2 million renovation included nearly $50,000 in carpet. I'm sure if you gave World Carpets in Labrador in my electorate a phone call, you would get a better price than $50,000 for carpet in one room. Only Labor would see that as being good value. They are so out of touch.

In my electorate of Fadden, there are almost 20,000 residents over the age of 65, and every week my office is contacted by older Australians and their families desperate for help navigating My Aged Care, which is too often a difficult and slow-to-respond process. The Productivity Commission's report on government services confirms what my constituents are living through. Under Labor, delays are getting worse. The median time for an aged-care assessment has increased to 27 days. But the real damage is after people are assessed. The commission's report finds that the median time from assessment approval to signing a service agreement has blown out to 245 days, up from 118 days just the year before. Labor promised to put the 'care' back into aged care, but all they've managed to do is put the 'wait' in waiting list.

Let me tell you what this looks like on the ground. A constituent of mine moved to Coomera in April 2025 to support their 76-year-old aunt and uncle who live in Ormeau because there's no other family nearby. They're juggling full-time work and trying to provide informal care most afternoons and weekends. The uncle, John, has failing kidneys and is on a level 3 package, but his declining health means he can no longer afford basics like transport to appointments. The aunt, Sheila, has mid-stage dementia. She's been assessed for a higher level of support, but she's been told that funding may still be months away.

This is not a patient-first approach by this Labor government. The Commonwealth is shifting the burden onto families until they break. Under Labor's new system, older Australians can be given only 60 per cent of the support they've been assessed as needing, but the rest doesn't get paid back later. Prime Minister, please fix My Aged Care. Our older Australians deserve nothing but the best.