In case you missed it, this crisis riddled government recently released the Aged Care Royal Commission final report entitled ‘Care, Dignity and Respect’, which included 148 recommendations for change to ensure that our older family members get the care, dignity and respect they deserve, but in large part have not received.

Across the ACT and the nation, many of us have loved ones in the Aged Care system. I know my late father received compassionate care at his nursing home and it brings me great comfort to know that the he received this care in his vulnerable years.

Unfortunately, this is not the reality for so many others across both the ACT and Australia. After the Royal Commission revealed the harrowing stories and experiences endured by our older Australians, it is fair to conclude that the state of Australia’s Aged Care system can only be labelled as in crisis. It is a system that is systemically under-funded and under-resourced.

It is up to the government to take up the recommendations of the Royal Commission and fix the system. This is a fundamental question of respect and decency. Change is needed now so that the 1.3 million Australians currently in the aged care system and the aged care workers get the support and resources they need.

This report was shocking and harrowing in its contents, but unfortunately it was not unexpected. The government received the interim report from the Royal Commission in October 2019. The title of that report was Neglect. That report described the awful treatment of so many older Australians. You would think that if you received a report entitled Neglect, you would be moved to act. 16 months later we are still waiting for action from this government.

We cannot continue with the current, under-resourced, under-valued model of aged care. After eight years of this government: a third of aged care recipients are receiving sub-standard care; two-thirds of current aged care residents are either malnourished or at risk of becoming malnourished; Home Care packages have a waiting list of 100,000 with an average wait time of 36 months.

The words and descriptions of older Australians and their families’ experience of the aged care system in Australia rings loudly in my ears.

“disappointed, sad and hollow.” “Overwhelming, isolating and infantilising.” “Heartbreaking, frustrating and expensive.”

This simply should not be the experience for our older Australians in a wealthy nation like ours. We need action now so the descriptions of our system become words like:

caring, loving, comfortable, easy, relaxing, affordable, accessible, supportive.

This is not a conversation that is happening in a bubble. Every Australian will age. Every Australian has a parent who will age. This is something that will affect every single one of us at some stage.

There are currently 1.3 million Australians in the aged care system. These are men and women that have rebuilt our country in the post-war years and transformed it into the country we have inherited. They served their communities in countless fields and raised the next generation of Australians.

For the sake of the Australians currently in the aged care system and the people who will need the aged care system in the future; we need real policies backed up by real funding for more home care packages, more workforce development and training and more oversight of quality and safeguards. This work can and should start now.

Whilst Treasurer, Mr Morrison oversaw a $1.7 billion dollar cut in the aged care budget. Today we are seeing an urgent need to increase spending, with the Australian Aged Care Collaboration calling for $55 billion dollars over the next 10 years just to meet the expected increase in demand.

The current state of our aged care system is not the fault of the workers. The vast majority of people who work in aged care do so to make a difference. They are caring people who want to assist older Australians to live with dignity. They need the support and resources to give these workers the time to care. We need to back the United Workers Union’s calls for assistance for these workers. It is a simple request: “Older Australians need a guaranteed amount of care time that is legally enforceable and meets their need for quality care.”

Labor has a plan to start to fix the aged care system. This includes:

1. Minimum staffing levels in residential aged care.
2. Reduce the home care package waiting list so more people can stay in their homes for longer.
3. Ensure transparency and accountability of funding to support high quality care.
4. Independent measurement and public reporting.
5. Ensure every residential aged care facility has adequate PPE.
6. Better training for staff, including on infection control; and
7. A better surge workforce strategy.

I, like millions of other Australians have had enough of waiting around for the care that our loved ones deserve. I commit to keeping the pressure on this government to do right by the seniors in our community.

I urge you to write to me and share your stories, and I will work with you and your family to put the pressure on the government to get the care that all older Australians deserve. As a community we can and must do better. This government needs to make sure they get on with fixing this system now.

I also urge you to sign the petition from my colleague, Clare O’Neil for the government to fix the aged care system. Over 24,000 people have already signed. Also, please sign the petition from the United Workers Union to help aged care workers get the support they need to look after our family members.

Together we will keep up the pressure on this eight-year-old government to provide caring, dignified and supportive aged care.

David

I also encourage pensioners and seniors in my electorate to request a copy of my Pensioners and Seniors Information Kit. The kit will assist you and your family to connect with relevant supports, services and community groups. It also provides information about the government financial support available in retirement.