Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

Minister, I'm really keen to unpack what you've just said. You have just told the Senate that your government's priority over the period leading up to 1 November is to get the system ready. Your priority has not been the 108,924 older Australians that, on 31 July, had been assessed as needing a home-care package and haven't received a home-care package. Your priority has been getting the system ready.

You also made a comment around being focused on making sure the sector is ready. The sector quite clearly told us last Friday that they were ready. The sector told us they could absorb these packages in a very, very short period of time. In fact, they told us that they were already geared up and had staffed up to be able to start delivering those packages from 1 July. And yet the government has just told this place that its priority is getting the systems in place. This is tantamount to having a reform in the hospital sector and saying to Australian patients who need hospitalisation, 'Sorry, we're not taking any new patients into our hospital because we're getting the system in place.'

I am absolutely floored that the government would prioritise a system rebuild over delivering the care that older Australians have been assessed by this government as needing. They're prioritising the system over their care. I find this quite extraordinary. So far we've had the government and the minister blame older Australians. They've blamed the sector. They've blamed their own government departments. They have blamed their own reforms. And now the minister has actually belled the cat that their priority in this process is to get the systems in place.

What I would say to you is that you weren't there on Friday, but Senator Allman-Payne and Senator Pocock were, when Margaret told her story. Her husband, Tony, was assessed as needing a level 4 home-care package, the highest level of package. He waited nearly 18 months to receive that package. The really cruel irony of what happened to Margaret and Tony was that Tony was taken to hospital on 4 May this year. Tony's wife received notification from the department, nearly 18 months after they were set up for assessment, that Tony had been assessed and his home-care package was going to be delivered to him. Tony passed away on 9 May this year and Margaret said she didn't have the heart to tell Tont that he had got a home-care package. So Tony passed away not even knowing that he had a home-care package. This wasn't an isolated situation. We heard of hundreds. I'm sure Senator Pocock and Senator Allman-Payne have other stories of a similar nature where the human face of the tragedy of the waiting list is told around Australia. So, Minister, I have to say that I am quite astounded that you have actually put on the public record that system readiness is your priority, not the delivery of home care.