Put your money where your mouth is, Minister

Above: Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells.

By Stephen Easton

The Opposition has accused the government of trying to hide bad news about the state of the aged care system, by waiting until the Easter break to release two reports based on community consultations conducted by Minister Mark Butler .

The two reports, one by COTA Australia and another by Alzheimer’s Australia, both represent “a sobering indictment on the failings of the Rudd-Gillard Governments on ageing and aged care matters”, according to Shadow Minister for Ageing, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells.

The COTA Australia report was released on Easter Saturday, which was also World Health Day, used by the World Health Organisation this year to encourage discussion and action by governments of the world around the theme of healthy ageing. The Alzheimer’s Australia report was released on Monday.

Senator Fierravanti-Wells also repeated her chief criticism of the Conversations – that 87 per cent were held in electorates represented by Labor or Independent members.

According to the senator, the Labor Party criticised the Coalition government in 2007 for not providing enough aged care beds, and promised to improve the system if elected, but has so far failed to act.

“Five years later and [after] over 20 reviews, reports and inquiries, including three by the Productivity Commission, Labor’s neglect and broken promises have left a system in crisis that cannot provide the needs of our older Australians,” Ms Fierravanti-Wells said.

Minister Butler’s opposite number also attacked the government for removing dementia’s status as a national health priority, and said the Coalition was committed to restoring it. 

The national director of Uniting Care Australia, Lin Hatfield Dodds, has also welcomed the release of the report on behalf of the National Aged Care Alliance (NACA), a group of 28 aged care organisations including care service providers, unions, professional bodies and seniors advocates.

NACA is currently running the ‘Australians deserve to age well’ campaign to attract wider support for aged care reform, particulaly focused on lobbying the government to deliver an overall increase in funding for aged care providers, many of whom feel they have been consistently short-changed by the Commonwealth through insufficient indexation.

Without increased government funding, aged care employers and unions agree that it is impossible for wages to go up significantly for aged care staff, who are some of the lowest paid workers in Australia. 

“Despite the best efforts of many aged care providers, Australia’s current aged care system was designed for 1960s Australia and often falls short of catering to the needs of today’s seniors,” Ms Hatfield Dodds said. “COTA’s report further reinforces why reform the sector has been calling for is so urgently needed.”

“Within the next forty years almost a quarter of us will be aged 65 and over and demand on services will more than triple.

“Australia’s current aged care system is complicated and inconsistent and the pressures on the system are growing each year reform is delayed. 

“Last year the Productivity Commission gave the overnment a road map for reform which will ensure the system is simplified and can meet the demand of the ageing population. These reforms must be given priority in the upcoming Federal Budget.”  

Sue Lines, assistant national secretary of the union United Voice, which is also a member of NACA and a supporter of the ‘age well’ campaign, emphasised the parts of the COTA Australia report that demonstrate older Australians want a skilled, respectful workforce that is able to spend time with them, and recognised the need for higher pay to achieve this.

“Right now we struggle to recruit and retain our aged care workers due to the extremely low wages paid to the sector,” Ms Lines said. “The government must improve the opportunities for our aged care workers in any reform agenda so older Australians can be supported to age well.”