Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the minister for aged care. How is the Albanese Labor government delivering for aged-care workers and the people that they care for? Why is this necessary and how does it differ from other approaches?

Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Aged Care and Seniors) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Solomon for his question. He and the member for Lingiari have been tireless advocates for better aged-care services for older Territorians, and that's why our government is investing $60 million to build a new aged-care facility in Palmerston.

It takes a very special person to work in the aged-care sector. They are dedicated and highly skilled. They show up every single day, and they afford our loved ones the dignity and the safety that they deserve. That's why this Labor government, since coming to office, has delivered the biggest pay increase in the history of aged care. So far, that's four rounds of fully funded pay rises recognising aged-care work as the professional essential work that it is. Today, the average registered nurse in aged care is making $28,000 more a year than they did before, meaning the award has increased by about $550 a week. These are life-changing numbers delivered by this government and by this Prime Minister. We've mandated registered nurses in aged-care homes 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We've implemented mandatory care minutes because we know that care isn't just a task to be completed; it's a relationship between two human beings. When it's done right, both workers and older people benefit alike.

The contrast with those opposite could not be starker. When they were in government, the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety handed them a roadmap for reform—a roadmap built on the testimony of older Australians, their families and the workers who saw firsthand what neglect truly looked like. And what did they do? They sat on it. They delayed. They watered down and then, ultimately, they walked away. This isn't ancient history. We're still working today to address the consequences of choices that those opposite made and that they have never properly accounted for.

We shouldn't be surprised that the Leader of the Opposition hates workers. He made that very, very clear as shadow Treasurer. He opposed tax cuts for every Australian taxpayer. He planned to cut 36,000 public servants, which would have hollowed out aged care. He planned to strip protections from casual workers—that's tens of thousands of aged-care workers around Australia. This is a man who couldn't be trusted when he was auditioning for the top job. Aged-care workers and the people they care for should be very nervous about ever letting him near the budget again. This government came to office with a clear commitment to fix what was broken, to resource what had been starved and to treat aged-care workers with the respect that they deserve while they care for the people that we love.