Opposition say nothing new from the Minister for Ageing

The Opposition Spokeswoman on Ageing, Margaret May, says the  Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot, has proved that she is out of touch and out of her depth when it comes to the important ageing portfolio.

She accused Mrs Elliot of trying to take credit for introducing unannounced visits to aged care facilities.

“Unannounced visits were initiated under the Howard Government, along with a number of other key initiatives, such as accreditation and certification, to ensure that Australia has a world class aged care system,” Mrs May said.

“The system introduced by the previous government is being eroded because of the poor performance of the Rudd Government and Minister Elliot,” she said.

“In March 2008, Minister Elliot announced that she intended to increase the number of unannounced visits from 4,000 to 7,000 visits.”

“The extra 3,000 visits the Minister claims are occurring are actually a combination of announced and unannounced visits. This is not an increase of 3,000 unannounced visits as claimed by the Minister.”

“Despite nine months on the job, Minister Elliot still does not understand that it is now her job to meet the challenge of our ageing population.”

“Excuse after excuse, press release after press release, ministerial statement after ministerial statement, will not address the issues facing the aged care sector in the 21st century,” Mrs May said.