Victorian Senator Mitch Fifield will be sworn in as Assistant Minister for Social Services in Abbott’s first ministry.
By Linda Belardi.
Industry and consumer peak bodies have cautiously welcomed the surprise move to include ageing in the new social services portfolio but expressed concern about a possible demotion of aged care from cabinet.
Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott announced on Monday that the former Coalition Minister for Ageing Kevin Andrews would take on the role of Minister for Social Services with responsibility for the administration of aged care, multicultural affairs and settlement services.
Victorian Senator Mitch Fifield would also join the outer ministry of the new Abbott government as Assistant Minister for Social Services with dedicated responsibility for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and aged care.
However, the precise sharing of responsibilities between Mr Andrews and Senator Fifield is still unclear and the lack of a ministerial title for ageing has created some confusion and concern within the sector.
Following the unveiling of the new ministry, Aged and Community Services Australia CEO, Adjunct Professor John Kelly, expressed his strong disappointment over the loss of a separate Minister for Ageing, describing the move as a softening commitment on aged care.
“We would have seen it as a sign of leadership to give the Ageing portfolio its own minister with that position being in Cabinet, particular in view of community expectations of increased residential and community based aged care services in the near and long-term future,” Prof Kelly said.
“This decision does not recognise the tremendous challenges ahead or the Government’s responsibilities for the changes in the community regarding the increasing ageing population,” he said.
However, in his press conference on Monday, Mr Abbott was keen to hose down any concerns that missing or fewer titles meant a loss of emphasis.
“All of these programs will be under strong ministerial supervision and we are going to deliver for seniors. We are going to deliver for people with disabilities,” he said.
“The fact that not all of these groups are specifically enumerated in ministerial titles doesn’t mean that people aren’t going to get a fair go because, let’s face it, there are some things which are so important that in a sense every minister should be concerned about them.”
The Prime Minister-elect also announced that Peter Dutton would continue to represent the health portfolio and would add mental health to his cabinet responsibilities and Nationals Senator Fiona Nash would become Assistant Health Minister.
Senator Marise Payne has been appointed as Minister for Human Services and Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, the former shadow minister for mental health and ageing, will move into the role of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Social Services with special responsibility for multicultural affairs and settlement services.
The anticipated demotion of Ms Fierravanti-Wells from the shadow frontbench had been widely reported in the media in the lead up to the ministerial announcement and is seen as a loss in confidence in the NSW senator following her support for failed candidate for Greenway, Jaymes Diaz.
A clearer picture of the final machinery of government is likely to emerge on Wednesday afternoon with the release of the administrative arrangements orders, which set out the responsibilities of ministers and their portfolios.
Traditionally published with the announcement of the ministerial line up, Mr Abbott said the Governor-General would release the orders after the ministry is sworn in on Wednesday.
Industry reaction
Leading Age Services Australia (LASA) CEO Patrick Reid said he welcomed the opportunity to fully integrate aged care and social services and said Kevin Andrews was an experienced and safe pair of hands to lead the social services portfolio.
“LASA feels that the movement of responsibility into social services acknowledges that age services is far more than healthcare and plays an increasingly significant role in the social and economic fabric of Australia,” he said.
Mr Reid said LASA had already made contact with the offices of Senator Fifield and Mr Andrews and has sought clarification on how the clinical aspects of age services would be managed with Minister Dutton’s portfolio.
CEO of Catholic Health Australia Martin Laverty said he also supported the place of ageing policy in the social services portfolio.
“There is a lot of sense in bringing aged care, which is in the process of moving towards a consumer-directed model, under the same ministry as the National Disability Insurance Scheme, with its focus on ensuring the care recipient is placed in the centre of all decisions,” Mr Laverty said.
The splitting up of ageing from the department of health will represent the end a 15-year departmental arrangement. The Department of Health and Aged Care was first created in 1998 under the Howard government and was later renamed the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) in November 2001.
Minister says NDIS top priority
Victorian Senator Mitch Fifield said he was delighted to have responsibility as the dedicated minister for ageing and disabilities.
Fifield, who held the disabilities and carers portfolio for the Coalition for the past four years, said with that with responsibility for disabilities and ageing under the one minister, the role of carers would now fall within the one portfolio.
“I am looking forward to the added ministerial responsibility for ageing. The sector is the best teacher for an incoming minister and I look forward to getting to know and working on reform with those in this important area.”
Senator Fifield said the Coalition was committed to the full implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and this would be a priority as minister.
Consumer reaction
Chief Executive of COTA Australia, Ian Yates said he was confident that ageing and aged care would be appropriately represented in the new ministerial arrangements and welcomed the appointments of both Mr Andrews and Senator Fifield to the social services portfolio.
He said Mr Andrews who served as Minister for Ageing between 2001 and 2003 was widely regarded as a good minister and has maintained an ongoing interest in the policy area.
Mr Yates observed that a possible rationale for moving ageing into the social services department with social security and disability services could be that the government is preparing to move to a consumer entitlement system in aged care, as is the case in the disability sector.
“It may be that the government is silently flagging that it does intend to continue to move to the full implementation of the Productivity Commission’s recommendation so that entitlements flow to the user rather than the provider. But that is still a question mark.”
Looking to the creation of the new department, Mr Yates said it was important to ensure that much needed resources were not diverted away from the implementation of the current aged care reform agenda during the process. He said COTA would be raising this issue with the new government as a matter of urgency to ensure that the timeline for reform stays on track while the department of social services is established.
Considering its broad impact across a wide range of portfolios, a whole of government approach to population ageing should also be a core priority for the new government, he said.
Alzheimer’s Australia CEO Glenn Rees said the decision to bring aged care and disability together under the one portfolio was an important opportunity to support continuity of access to services and promote the integration of the major care reforms. However, addressing the interface between health and ageing would be an ongoing concern.
“We fought for ten years or more to have dementia recognised as a national health priority and we don’t want to lose that opportunity to maintain a dialogue with Medicare, hospitals and public health,” said Mr Rees.
While he was optimistic about the new ministerial arrangements, he said a lot would depend on the relationships between the senior and junior ministers in the health and social services portfolios.
