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

Yet again, I rise in this place to support bills that have only come about through Labor mismanagement and delays. I rise to contribute to the debate on the Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 and the associated bill. The main bill is essential to the delivery of aged care, the Aged Care Act 2024 and ultimately the implementation of recommendations from the aged-care royal commission, an inquiry instituted under the former coalition government. The coalition supports this legislation. Our support, however, comes with the recognition that it is yet another example of the Albanese government playing catch-up, fixing their own mistakes and trying to cover up their own lack of preparedness.

The Aged Care Act 2024 was Labor's package of reforms. It was not a co-designed act. This government rammed it through without regard to the sector, consumers, carers or the opposition—sounds pretty familiar for Labor. As a consequence, the government has been forced to introduce bills to amend more than 325 items in its own legislation. The coalition always knew that reform of this magnitude could not be implemented in a matter of months. It is why we moved amendments to ensure that the existing Home Care Packages Program could exist on a transitional basis without the need for amendment to the Aged Care Act or delay in its enactment. Our amendment created flexibility, protected older Australians and ensured the promised 83,000 new packages could commence on 1 July 2025. But what did Labor do? They voted it down. Now older Australians have been left worse off and still waiting to access reformed programs and services.

When the coalition was last in government, wait times dropped to under two months. Under the Albanese government's incompetence, they have blown out to nearly 16 weeks. This is the story of Labor's denial, delay and broken promises. The government's refusal to listen has had real, tangible consequences. Older Australians have been denied the care they were assessed as needing because Labor failed to provide the flexibility required for a safe and timely transition into improved care and service options.

Despite repeated assurances that all systems would be ready by 1 July 2025, the truth is that this government was nowhere near ready. This additional delay until 1 November 2025 is a direct result of the government trying to rush through another piece of poorly considered, revised legislation, and these bills prove it. A few months makes a big difference when you're living with the consequences of Labor's failure.

With this delay, departments cannot share critical information and key elements of the act cannot be enacted. Departmental officials admitted as much in the Senate inquiry. They confirmed that the government knew as early as January that legislative change would be required. Yet the government misled Australians through the election campaign, insisting everything was on track. Nothing could have been further from the truth, and now we see the result—an embarrassing backflip, a change of minister, a delayed reform start date and, worse, an attempt to shift blame onto providers and the workforce.

This government has difficulty with understanding that it has held government for three years. It is the Labor government that is accountable here. Minister Rae has said the deferral was about giving more time to providers to prepare, but the evidence was clear: the sector was ready and the Labor government was not.

Debate interrupted.