Labor is facing its first Senate showdown of the new term, with an unlikely political alliance pushing to expedite the delivery of home supports for older Australians languishing on a waitlist. Source: ABC News.
The Coalition, Greens and independent senator David Pocock have teamed up to pressure the government to bring forward 20,000 home support packages, after the Government’s promised release of 83,000 was pushed back from July to November.
More than 121,000 older Australians are waiting to be assessed for assistance to help them live at home, the federal Health Department revealed on Friday, on top of at least 87,000 who have been approved but are waiting for a package or a higher level of support.
The Government needs to pass its bill to tweak existing legislation to bring it in line with the aged care reforms before they are rolled out later this year, but the alliance has seized on it to bring amendments that would require additional packages to be released immediately.
An amendment set to be moved by Opposition Aged Care spokeswoman Anne Ruston demands 20,000 packages be released now and a total of 40,000 made available before the end of the year.
If the changes clear the Senate, the bill will need to return to the House of Representatives, potentially delaying its passage. Debate began in the Senate last night and is expected to continue today.
Senator Ruston yesterday said the Coalition would not stand in the way of the legislation, but urged Labor to bring forward the planned release of home care packages.
“Many vulnerable older Australians are waiting more than a year to access care they’ve been assessed as needing, this is nothing short of a national crisis,” Senator Ruston said.
“The Department is ready, the sector is ready, but the Government continues to withhold critical aged care packages without any reasonable excuse.”
Aged Care Minister Sam Rae has not indicated whether the Government would move to speed up the home-care roll out, but has repeatedly said more packages will available from November 1.
The issue dominated Question Time yesterday, prompting Mr Rae to vow that anyone who is assessed as high priority would get support within a month, once the November roll-out date arrives.
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Labor faces Senate showdown over home supports for older Australians (By Maani Truu and Olivia Caisley, ABC News)
