Santo Santoro (Queensland, Liberal Party, Minister for Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

I continue to answer very relevantly Senator McLucas’s question by again reminding her that the first part of her question was about consultation. But let us talk about the response to Hogan. Three budgets ago the government clearly committed over $2.6 billion in response to Hogan. That has gone into increases in aged care places across all aged care facilities in Australia, across all the regions that have been designated for the allocation of places. More importantly, as I was saying before I was again interrupted by Senator McLucas, we have continued to provide more capacity for people who are aged and frail to make a choice as to whether they go into aged care facilities or whether they stay in their own homes. By doing that, we implemented one of Professor Hogan’s recommendations that people be provided with choice and quality care when it comes to aged care.

In addition to that, we addressed some specific issues raised by Professor Hogan, particularly issues relating to dementia. As I have stated in my previous answers—and I just wish that Senator McLucas would come into this place and reflect the reality of our response to Professor Hogan—the reality is that, when it comes to dementia, we have stepped forward with $320 million to be paid over five years to a sector that is doing wonderful work particularly in research but also in caring very specifically for people with the dementia condition within Australia’s aged care facilities and some people with the dementia condition within community care.

One of the most frustrating things that I find about this job is that we have an opposition shadow minister who just refuses to recognise the wonderful work that we have done in aged care. That is intellectual and political dishonesty of the worst kind. (Time expired)