Question time – too much focus on aged care?

Above: Shadow minister for seniors, Brownyn Bishop.

By Stephen Easton

The question of whether aged care provision unreasonably dominates the national ageing agenda featured in an interesting question-and-answer session at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday, part of an all-day forum organised by the National Seniors Productive Ageing Centre (PAC).

The Minister for Menrtal Health, Ageing, and Social Inclusion, Mark Butler, and the shadow minister for seniors, Bronwyn Bishop, each gave a short speech before taking questions from the audience on the subject of what their respective political parties would do to ‘meet the challenges of ageing’ – in a more broad sense than simply through the lens of the aged care industry.

Some participants at the forum said they were surprised to hear from Ms Bishop – who was Minister for Aged Care from 1998 to 2001 – that “only 8 per cent of people over the age of 70 will ever need residential aged care”.

“Another 12 per cent will need some form of service at home, and the other 80 per cent are going to have a damn good time till they fall off the perch,” Ms Bishop quipped.

Ms Bishop confirmed she would sit in cabinet as the Minister for Seniors if the Coalition won the next election, and said it was her aim to make ageism “as unacceptable as sexism or racism”.

“There are barriers that have to be removed and we have to purge the legislation of discriminatory provisions,” she said during her opening remarks, in which she also pointed out that 40 per cent of voters are over 50. 

“No [party that hopes to form] government can win without that voice,” she said. “I don’t care whether you agree with me or disagree with me, I want your voice to be heard. Don’t be pushed aside. Don’t be told you’re a burden; don’t be told you’re not a taxpayer and therefore, not supporting other folk. Everyone pays the GST.”

The first question came from Professor Hal Kendig, head of the University of Sydney’s Ageing, Work and Health Research Unit, who asked the two politicians how a “national plan on ageing, across portfolios, to benefit an ageing country” could be pursued, given that “aged care is the tail that wags the dog in this portfolio”.

“I think you’re right, and I’m sure this was Bronwyn’s experience [as Minister for Aged Care],” Minister Butler replied.

“As the Minister for Ageing, a lot of your time is spent on aged care which, as Bronwyn has pointed out, is really just an experience of a year or two out of twenty five or thirty years of retirement.

“… Generally, at a Commonwealth level, it has framed that national discourse at a political level around ageing. We want to change that.”

He pointed out the Gillard government had convened the Advisory Panel on the Economic Potential of Senior Australians, and said that it was difficult to engage in a broader discussion at the same time as managing a “multi-billion dollar program that is essentially an aged care program”.

“Although the government can do some things to break down the barriers that Bronwyn’s just talked about, there are frankly some cultural issues in workplaces that we can’t legislate away at a Commonwealth level that really need an open and frank discussion with employers about their view of the value that older workers bring to their workplaces,” Mr Butler said.

Above: Minister for Mental Health, Ageing and Social Inclusion, Mark Butler.

The minister also agreed that as the proportion of the Australian population made up by older people grew, the louder its voice would be in the national conversation.

In her reply, Ms Bishop indicated the opposition had different priorities to the government, with her position as Minister for Seniors being on the front bench of Tony Abbott’s shadow cabinet, and aged care being the responsibility of shadow minister for ageing, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, who sits in the junior shadow ministry.

Concerns about the cost of care

Another question from the audience centred on data presented earlier that showed serious concerns among many senior Australians about the cost of aged care, should they require it at some point.

“The challenge we have, as a country, is how we build an aged care system in the future that is going to be fair and sustainable in terns of its financing arrangements, but also sustainable for the broader community, given the demand we’re going to have for aged care services in the future,” Mr Butler said.

“I think we’ve got that balance right, after the release of the PC report, and [in discussions] with provider groups, consumer groups and such, to get that fair balance. 

“Reasonable people will disagree about where that fair balance will be but I think we got that balance right with the mix of [user contributions and] government funding, which will still be the overwhelming source of aged care funding for everyone, whether you’re a self-funded retiree or a full pensioner.”

Bronwyn Bishop insisted on her right to a quick reply, making three points critical of the government’s approach to aged care funding.

“The govenrment says it’s going to spend $3.7 billion, but only $577 million of that is new money,” Ms Bishop said.

“Two: it’s taking 1.6 billion out of the ACFI, the funding tool, to say that it’s going to go to somewhere that will serve us better; heaven only knows [where] that is and the industry is very confused. 

“The third thing is, individuals will have to pay more. Already there’s a statement that services at home, which are currently 84 per cent subsidised, will drop to 76 per cent subsidised, so under the government’s proposal, everyone will have to pay more. And there is going to be a whole lot of new bureaucracy; you’ve got three new bodies which are going to be interposed between you and the carer.”

The National Seniors PAC organised the ‘PAC Meets Parliament’ forum to launch a new report, Financial Wellbeing: Concerns and choices among older Australians, that reveals many older Australians are not confident they can afford to retire, and that many do not want to.

PAC director, Jeromey Temple, went back over data from the December 2011 report, Ageing and the barriers to labour force participation in Australia, which described 14 interrelated barriers to people aged 50 and over participating in the workforce, and the economic and social reasons for breaking down those barriers.