Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) | Hansard source

I think that people's lives matter and that this is urgent for older Australians. It is urgent for us and it should be a matter that this chamber is debating. Instead, they've got a median wait time of 36 days to even get an assessment from this terrible tool. This is urgent because there are 98,606 Australians waiting to be assessed and hoping for support that will allow them to stay at home longer, with or close to their loved ones, rather than being forced into residential aged care. What's particularly galling and what also makes this matter urgent is that at-home care is not only what most older Australians prefer; it costs less. On average, the cost to subsidise a person in resi aged care is more than $117,000 while care at home is about $30,000. I'm sure, President, you would agree that judicious use of public money to support people is a question that is both important and urgent.

In its drive to save money off the backs of everyday Australians, rather than making big corporations pay their fair share, Labor has streamlined decisions—