IT’S TIME TO ACT NOW ON AGED CARE

ANTHONY ALBANESE MP .
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5 years ago
IT’S TIME TO ACT NOW ON AGED CARE
ANTHONY ALBANESE MP 
Older Australians cannot wait for action on aged care and the Morrison Government must act now before Parliament resumes in November to fix our country’s broken aged care system.
 
Labor has today launched a new campaign urgently calling on the Morrison Government to act now on aged care.
 
Scott Morrison has said there might be some action by Christmas, but why is the Government waiting when we know the system is so bad?
 
Labor has set a deadline for the Prime Minister to take action before Parliament resumes in November.
 
The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s interim report this week laid bare the disturbing state of Australia’s aged care system.
 
There is not one part of Australia’s aged care system that isn’t impacted by crisis.
 
While Labor is prepared to work constructively with the Government to progress long-term reform challenges in aged care, there is action the Government must take now.
 
There are three actions the Royal Commission says the Morrison Government needs to do urgently to help fix our country’s broken aged care system:
 
1.    Ensure older Australians are getting the care at home when they need it most.
2.    End the overreliance of chemical restraints in aged care.
3.    Stop the unacceptable number of young people entering residential aged care.
 
Older Australians and their loved ones cannot wait until the final report of the Royal Commission, which is handed down in November 2020, for action on aged care.
 
This includes the 120,000 older Australians waiting for care at home, with waiting times blowing out to almost two years for the highest levels of care.
 
It is shameful that 16,000 people died in a wealthy country like Australia in just one year while waiting for this care.

The Liberals have been asleep at the wheel for six years, with four Ministers and billions ripped out while Australia’s aged care system has lurched from one crisis to another.

It’s time to act now on aged care – for our loved ones who built the country we are rightly proud and for every Australian who wants to age with dignity and autonomy in care. 
 
Health and Aged Care