Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on another unjust, entirely short-sighted and altogether cruel decision by this government—the axing of the Dementia and Severe Behaviours Supplement. On Thursday, 26 June, in this chamber—on what I note was the last question time of the previous Senate—the Assistant Minister for Social Services Mitch Fifield announced that his government would scrap this vital supplement. It is a supplement which is just one year old and which provides a payment of $16 a day for those dementia patients who meet the strictest of criteria.

Sadly, the number of people who need this supplement is growing as our population ages. It is a reality that we need to face up to. It is a responsibility that we, quite simply, cannot neglect. It is true that the demand for the payment has outstripped initial departmental projections, but this oversubscription demonstrates how vital this supplement is and how many providers rely on it to provide adequate care and support for those with dementia. Put simply: the modelling underestimated just how big a challenge it is caring for these people at the most vulnerable point of their lives.

The aged-care sector, the minister's department and the minister himself knew oversubscription was an issue from late last year. The minister had every opportunity to act before it reached this level and before the budget was announced, but he did not act. Not only that but he did not consult with the sector. They were given precisely zero warning. They were given no warning whatsoever. Such was his intent to keep this decision a secret, that a document concerning the supplement sent to members of the Aged Care Sector Committee was delivered only the evening before his sudden announcement—that is night before—and it did not actually specify that the cessation, or even suspension, of the supplement was imminent. This was axing by stealth. It is what we have come to expect from a government that is not committed to aged care and has no vision for the sector or the challenges that it faces.

It also goes without saying that this move has overwhelmingly been met with shock and resentment by the aged-care sector. Last Friday in Melbourne I was fortunate enough to meet with several aged-care providers, as well as representatives of Leading Age Services Australia. They are stunned that this change has been thrust upon them without warning. Many providers now have to recalculate how they will care for those in their facilities. It is not surprising that last Thursday over 40 aged-care representatives met in Melbourne to vent their outrage at this decision. The message they conveyed was clear: they feel as if this government has abandoned them. This is particularly the case given that many providers have acquired extra specialist staff, planned for new buildings and facilities, and invested in other support resources based on the very existence of this vital supplement. They relied on this supplement and now it has been ripped away from them without any warning.

This government should be ashamed of itself. I call on Minister Fifield to stand up, show some leadership and tell us exactly what he plans to do now, because providers are completely in the dark and those with dementia are facing an uncertain future. We as a community have to face the fact—as the rest of the world does—that we, in fact, are facing a tsunami of people who will be suffering from dementia over the next two to three decades. This is another attack on those who can least afford to not have support. Our parents, our grandparents and our neighbours may very well end up with dementia and need this specialist care.

It is outrageous that again this government has shown no foresight; it has shown no plan; it has no strategy for aged care. The reality is aged care does not get the support from this government that it deserves. We should have a minister for aged care—and it is not just me calling for a minister. The sector itself is outraged that this government does not give any priority to aged care. Australia deserves better from this government but, unfortunately, as always, Australians have been left off the map as far as this government is concerned. (Time expired)