Kerrynne Liddle (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

I am in continuation. This is yet another broken promise by the Albanese government, and older Australians are paying the price wondering, waiting, worrying. Grandfathering arrangements protect those already on their aged-care journey because uncertainty is the last thing they need. The coalition fought hard during the passage of the Aged Care Bill 2024 for grandfathering arrangements. It's because of our persistent negotiations that Australians who are already in residential care, are on a home-care package or have been assessed and are waiting for a package will not see their arrangements change. This 'no worse off' principle is critical. It gives older Australians the certainty they deserve. The main bill provides a framework to ensure those protections are delivered. That is a coalition achievement, something we pushed for and we secured.

The coalition has always stood up for hardworking Australians, particularly those who saved for their retirement. It's why we called for a lower taper rate on care contributions. We fought to protect retirees from unfair cost burdens and to hold Labor to account on its commitment to remain the majority funder of aged care. We also fought for the maintenance of a lifetime cap on contributions because Australians should know there is a limit to what they will be asked to pay for in care. Importantly, we opposed Labor's arbitrary caps on access to basic services like cleaning and gardening. Imposing limits in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis shows just how completely out of touch this government is. The main bill removes those ridiculous caps from the legislation.

Labor, this delaying and your delay in home-care packages is a national crisis. Perhaps the most egregious outcome of Labor's incompetence is the impact on home care. The Albanese government promised but then failed to deliver 83,000 additional home-care packages from July 2025. They promised support to help older Australians to remain independent in their own homes. This is an example of another broken promise from the Albanese government.

Right now, more than 87,000 older Australians are languishing on the waitlist. Under Labor, the list has almost tripled in just two years. Many older Australians have been waiting for more than a year for care they have already been assessed as needing. It's not just an administrative burden; it's a national crisis. Behind every number is a person—someone's parent or someone's grandparent—left without the support they need to live safely and with dignity, putting additional unnecessary, unfair pressure on vulnerable Australian families. Behind every number is a family struggling to do the best for their loved ones—often women or elderly partners who need to step in where the government has failed them. It would be different if Labor had just got this right from the start. The coalition condemns this neglect. Minister Rae must urgently deliver the promised packages and address the skyrocketing waitlist, because older Australians and families deserve better.

As a proud South Australian, I must bring to this debate the sobering state of aged care in my home state. According to the Productivity Commission's latest report card, South Australia has recorded the longest wait times in the country for a federal aged-care bed. South Australians: this is more evidence you are an afterthought by this Albanese Labor government. Older South Australians are waiting an average of 253 days—that's more than eight months—to be placed in care. That is almost double the national average of 136 days and is 117 days more than the national average. We also have the highest rates in the country of hospital patient days used by people waiting for an aged-care bed, at 24.4 days. The national average is 13.2 days, which is an increase of 35 per cent in the last two years. And our state has 23 per cent fewer operational aged-care places per capita than when records first began.

Data from earlier this year revealed that 253 patients stuck in metro hospitals are ready for discharge but are unable to move because they are waiting for a federal aged-care place. That's not just a statistic; that's a crisis. It means frail, elderly South Australians are spending months in hospital beds, away from familiar surroundings and away from the care environments they deserve. It also means hospital beds are being clogged, worsening the strain on the entire health system and adding to our record ambulance ramping crisis. This is the direct consequence of a federal Labor government that was not ready, not listening and not willing to take responsibility.

How many South Australian lives have ended while they waited for Labor to get their act together? What about Indigenous Australians who need this care? We know they don't take up packages at the same rate as others. How many of them are being left stranded? We probably will never know. The coalition supports the passage of the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 because it is necessary to prevent further chaos in the aged-care sector. But, make no mistake, this legislation is proof of this government's failure. It proves Labor was not ready. It proves Labor misled Australians. And it proves Labor's refusal to accept coalition amendments during the debate on the Aged Care Act was nothing more than putting politics before people.

The coalition will continue to fight for a fair deal for older Australians and their families. And yes, we will continue to demand that the rights and dignity of older Australians are placed at the heart of every reform decision. Australians deserve better. And South Australians: you deserve better. As a state and as some of the oldest people in the country, you deserved better from both Labor governments, and you don't deserve more excuses.