SCOTT MORRISON GIVES UP ON OLDER AUSTRALIANS

Scott Morrison has turned his back on older Australians waiting for home care with high care needs.

Today’s announcement will not deliver one new home care package to the 121,000 older Australians now waiting for care.

 

It will not deliver one new package of care to the 95,000 older Australians waiting on this list with high care needs, many with dementia.

 

How will today’s announcement help these older Australians?

 

It is the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government attempting to distract from the unfolding crisis in the number of older Australians wanting to stay at home with high care needs. 

 

The Government is planning to pump money into a program that it set to expire in less than two years.

 

In fact, if the Liberals had stuck to the plan it made in 2015, the Commonwealth Home Support Program would already be over.

 

The blow out in the number of older Australians waiting for care means some are waiting for more than two years for the home care package they have been approved for.

 

Older Australians are entering residential aged care or even emergency departments rather than being able to stay at home and receive the home care they have been approved for.

 

How will today’s announcement of low level care help these older Australians?

 

Today’s announcement is also a concession the aged care Budget package that Scott Morrison designed as Treasurer less than six months ago is failing.

 

Labor warned at the time that the 14,000 new home care packages over four years that Scott Morrison promised would be woefully inadequate.

 

The latest data on home care packages released on Friday revealed the list had grown by a further 13,000 in just three months.

 

While any new money for a sector in crisis is welcome, today’s announcement says everything that is wrong with the Liberals approach to aged care.

 

Scott Morrison and the Liberals must do better to ensure older Australians get the quality aged care services they need.