David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move amendments (1) and (2) on sheet 3413 (revised):

Clause 2, page 2 (at the end of the table), add:

(2) Page 171 (after line 30), at the end of the Bill, add:

Schedule 4 — Release of 20,000 home care packages

Aged Care Act 1997

1 At the end of section 23B-1

Add:

(7) The Secretary must make such determinations under subsection (1) as are necessary to ensure that before the commencement of the Aged Care Act 2024 there are available and released to recipients a number of home care packages under the Australian Government framework known as the National Priority System that is equal to or greater than the number worked out as follows:

(a) the number of such home care packages available and released to recipients immediately before the commencement of this subsection; plus

(b) 20,000 such home care packages.

Statement pursuant to the order of the Senate of 26 June 2000

Amendments (1) and (2)

Amendments (1) and (2) are framed as requests because they amend the bill to provide for the release of 20,000 additional home care packages in accordance with the Commonwealth aged care system.

This will increase the amount of expenditure under the appropriation in section 96-10 of the Aged Care Act 1997.

Statement by the Clerk of the Senate pursuant   .to the order of the Senate of 26 June 2000

Amendments (1) and (2)

If the effect of the amendments is to increase expenditure under the standing appropriation in section 96-10 of the Aged Care Act 1997 then it is in accordance with the precedents of the Senate that the amendments be moved as requests.

Minister, I'm interested in the government's approach to this, given that yesterday I was effectively told by Minister Farrell in question time, when asking about the secrecy of the Albanese Labor government—which is the second most secretive in the last 30 years, if you look at FOIs, OPDs and the claiming of PII—that you are a very transparent government. Yet when we have a question about a number, which you have in front of you, which the department said they could give us on Friday, with all the usual caveats, as they do at estimates, you haven't given us that number. How is that transparency from a government?