Shadow Minister accuses Government of aged care policy inaction
Margaret May, the Shadow Minister for Ageing, has accused the Rudd Government of inaction in the area of aged care policy.
She was speaking at the Aged Care Association Australia (ACAA) national congress in Hobart, which the Minister, Justine Elliot, did not attend.
“I believe the Minister for Ageing, Mrs Justine Elliot, by her words and by her actions, is not supporting the industry,” Mrs May said.
“The Minister is talking the industry down at every opportunity and this is causing significant damage.”
The opposition spokesperson described Mrs Elliot’s as a “policy vacuum” at a time when reform is “not negotiable.”
“The way things stand, I foreshadow an unravelling of the system and a snowballing of shutdowns,” Mrs May said.
“It’s not what you want to see and it’s not what I want to see.”
Noting that the industry is finding construction costs unmanageable, Mrs May called for bold reform, and said she had the backing of Opposition Leader, Malcolm Turnbull, to develop alternative policy directions, committing to work in partnership with the industry.
Mrs May acknowledged the difficulties aged care providers are facing in attracting and retaining new staff.
“The shortage of staff in aged care has reached a crisis point,” she said.
“There needs to be a concerted effort to ensure that aged care nurses receive adequate remuneration, training and resources.
“And the same applies to carers.”
She suggested that the worsening economic conditions and the ensuing rising unemployment rates could have a ‘silver lining’ for the sector.
