ELECTION: Candidates share how they would improve aged care

From boosting pensions to helping people stay at home longer, there were many suggestions as to how to make life better for seniors.

The nation will soon go to the ballot box for the Federal Election. Picture: Rachel Lang

AGED care is a critical issue for the Fraser Coast.

That's why the Chronicle has contacted candidates from Hinkler and the Wide Bay, asking each to share their opinions on the issue and what they envision in terms of future development and funding that will assist our ageing population.

From boosting pensions to helping people stay at home longer, there were many suggestions as to how to make life better for seniors.

WIDE BAY

Jason Scanes, ALP

Scott Morrison and the Liberals have not done enough to fix the crisis in our aged care system.

They have been too distracted by dysfunction and division rather than Australians.

Scott Morrison cut $1.2 billion from aged care in his first Budget as Treasurer - backing in a $500 million cut in his first mid-year economic and fiscal outlook.

The ABS predicts that by 2036 the Wide Bay region will be one of the most heavily populated areas in Australia for those aged 65 years and over.

There is significant concern regarding the Coalition Government putting pensioners and our elderly last behind the profits of multi-nationals and big business.

We have seen 2760 people in the Wide Bay losing their pension or part-pension under the LNP and $160m cut from Qld Hospitals.

Their focus is not on pensioners or our elderly.

Labor is the party of aged care reform and older Australians can be assured Labor will always do better for older Australians in residential aged care and those waiting for care at home.

Llew O'Brien, LNP

Since I was elected, the Liberal and Nationals Government has allocated 721 new aged care beds in Wide Bay including 180 for a new Signature Care aged care facility at Tinana, and 144 places for a proposed Infin8 Care centre in Tinana.

Each one of these 721 extra beds means a local senior will be able to access care that is close to their loved ones, and they can remain a part of their community.

These allocations will provide a welcome boost to aged care services in Wide Bay, which has an ageing demographic.

Over the coming decades as the baby boomer generation requires care, demand for aged care services will increase.

Older people want to remain in the comfort, security and familiar surrounds of their own home and community.

To help people achieve this, our Government is placing a greater emphasis on home care, and in our recent Budget we added an extra 20,000 new home care packages as part of our record funding and expansion of aged care services.

The Coalition Government has increased aged care funding by about $1 billion a year since 2013, including an additional $662 million for essential aged care services through the More Choices for a Longer Life program and a $562 million aged care boost in the December Budget update. We are also investing $98 million to fund increased payments for GPs to treat patients in local aged care homes.

This funding demonstrates the Morrison Government's commitment to providing a sustainable aged care system.

Older Australians are the people who defended and built our nation, and cared for us and taught us, and I am committed to ensuring that the Government delivers the aged care policies and resources to meet their needs.

Tim Jerome, IND

It's a real issue in the Gympie area along with the closing down of aged care facilities.

People are really concerned about that.

The report from the government says the Wide Bay region is getting the least back in terms of tax concessions.

The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

I've been door knocking and so many elderly people are struggling to survive, especially in Maryborough.

The public aged care system is not going to be adequate, there needs to be more private facilities. I would definitely push for more development in the aged care space.

If we can't look after our elderly then we are not a supportive society any more.

I just lost my mother and father recently and as a family we tried to support them as much as we could.

When it got to the stage that they needed medical care, they went downhill really quick.

Keeping the elderly in their homes and that familiar space for as long as possible is important.

Daniel Bryar, GRN

Firstly we need to qualify aged care in to two sectors; high care - those that need full time nursing care for daily living, and low care - those that are in an assisted living situation but mostly able to function on their own.

Both require nurses and carers, but one demands much more assistance and much higher carer to patient ratios than the other, and far more sophisticated care facilities.

Both situations require input from medical professionals, allied health and nursing staff, with specific attention being on that of specialised nursing care.

As a pledge to the Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union I fully support ratios for aged care in both high and low care situations for the well being of both our elderly, and their nurses and carers.

Access to the right care and an understanding of the client's care needs based on medical input rather than statistical probabilities or budgetary constraint is far more important in delivering adequate treatment and management of the the client's care in the home.

Research shows that in-home care delivers far better outcomes for the client, the carers and the budget, than the same level of care in a nursing home or hospital, so long as the time and distance to treatment in exceptional circumstances is not a critical factor.

Low care and high care can also be directly related to low cost, and high cost of care, so you know where the private operators are focussed; where the margins and profits are the highest - low care.

What Wide Bay and the rest of Australia needs is a better funding model that reflects the needs of the individual across a broad scale, and the right number of beds to cater for our most fragile senior citizens, especially the ones not in a position to obtain the right levels of care financially.

Typically it is these high care patients with no financial backing that end up in the care of the State and only then if there is an available bed.

By funding more independent in home care providers with a model that recognises medical needs and costs based on independent medical assessments, all Australians, not just those in Wide Bay, could live longer, fuller lives in their communities where they are more comfortable, and better looked after.

The knock on effect of this would free up space in our already overburdened homes and hospitals for those with acute needs.

Andrew Schebella, UAP

The best way to resolve so many issues like supporting the elderly as they have worked all their lives and now it's time to enjoy their years into retirement, they deserve to be comfortable and self-reliant for as long as they possibly can.

When it is time to move into care they can.

The best way to achieve this is to create incentive and opportunities to do business in regional and rural Australia. Bring development to the region and allow the expansion of existing businesses.

United Australia Party will create this opportunity in regional Queensland by reintroducing a zonal taxation incentive.

A tax concession of 20% for people living and doing business in rural and regional Queensland.

We will change the way tax is being paid by businesses giving a further incentive to grow.

Instead of paying tax in advance, the tax will be paid at the end of the year based on actual figures not on an estimate.

This means businesses can invest sooner.

HINKLER

Anne Jackson, GRN

The amount of beds available must match the need.

Governments should be investing in not-for-profit infrastructure to meet demand.

Subsidising private developments with a business model based on creating a profit from older Australians is not in the best long or short term interest of our elders.

The Greens will provide funding for an additional 50,000 Level 3 and 4 Home Care Packages over three years to address the huge waiting list for home care packages.

In residential care we will ensure that residents can access quality care by injecting an initial $3 billion into increasing the hours of care a resident receives and supporting more staff with better pay.

Nurses and aged care workers do some of the most important work in our community, ensuring our mothers, fathers, grandparents and loved ones are nurtured and cared for.

Many are overworked and underpaid and we need to value the work that they do.

Our plan includes a 15% pay increase and staff to patient ratios.

We have known about issues such as abuse and neglect, the impact of the cuts to the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) and staff shortages for a very long time and recommendations provided to the Government have been ignored or only partly implemented.

We need urgent reform on the use of chemical restraints including mandatory reporting and ending the use of restraints.

It is time that we ensured that our approach to aged care is based on the human rights of older Australians.

It is widely acknowledged that the ACFI no longer reflects the true cost of aged care, especially following the Coalition's cuts and freezes to indexation. This is having an impact on the financial viability of aged care providers and their ability to increase staffing levels. We must have a full and independent review of the ACFI, alongside a true cost of care study.

There is urgent need for a comprehensive approach to aged care reform to ensure that older Australians have top quality choice and control in their lives and are confident they can access the care they need.

The Greens will guarantee a human rights based approach to aged care and provide funding for an additional 50,000 Level 3 and 4 Home Care Packages over three years at a cost of $5.491billion.

The Greens will also commit $3 billion to increase hours of care provided to each resident in residential aged care to four hours and eighteen minutes per day and require staff to resident ratios that ensure an adequate level of care including a minimum of one registered nurse rostered on 24/7.

We will increase pay for aged care workers by 15% and end the use of chemical and physical restraints in aged care facilities.

The Greens will also review the Aged Care Funding Instrument.

The Greens support respecting our elders, ensuring their varying needs are fully met and not using them as a commodity to profit from.

Richard Pascoe, ALP

Scott Morrison and the Liberals have not done enough to fix the crisis in our aged care system.

They have been too distracted by dysfunction and division.

Scott Morrison cut $1.2 billion from aged care in his first Budget as Treasurer - backing in a $500 million cut in his first MYEFO.

Labor is the party of aged care reform and older Australians can be assured we will always do better for older Australians in residential aged care and those waiting for care at home.

David Norman, IND

The well-being and care of our elderly is paramount and how well we care for them can be used as a test of the moral health of our nation (and the politicians in governance).

Given that in the electorate of Hinkler of about 150,000 people, 33% are aged 60 and over, compared to the Australian average of 21%, our community has a vested interest in making it the best it can be.

Not only for the current aged citizens' well-being, also because we too will all desire quality care, when our turn comes to need aged support.

Our region is in need of more affordable, quality facilities to cater for our ageing population and this in turn creates more jobs in our local communities.

I believe our elderly had better care service when aged care was predominantly provided by government-controlled facilities that were driven by standard of care, and not motivated by profit, like happens with most government services once they become privatised.

I would like to again see more government control and monitoring over service standards.

Having individual companies and their industry bodies just audit and police themselves, has time and time again proven to be ineffective in delivering quality outcomes for the consumer.

Look how well that went in the banking industry, as just one example of many failures.

The Federal Government is responsible for Queensland's around 400 and Australia's around 2000 privately-run aged care facilities.

Since 2015, Australian aged care providers have received more than $50 billion in federal taxpayer dollars and I believe they do not legally have to provide any receipts on how it is spent.

In addition to taxpayer billions, elderly Queenslanders pay a deposit of up to $550,000 to secure a bed in a basic aged care facility and aged care residents pay up to 80 per cent of their pensions or around $700 a fortnight, to receive care. Like health insurance, good aged care is becoming only affordable to the wealthy.

Australian aged care providers recently reported an annual profit of more than $1.1 billion.

You would think with this sort of money going through the aged care system we should have an excellent, world-class system. Instead it is failing, with many reports of substandard and even criminal behaviour taking place.

I suspect the incidences are far greater than ever gets officially reported.

However, there are no federal staffing laws in aged care facilities and Australian aged care facilities are not legally required to have even one registered nurse on site at any time.

Queensland and Australian nurses are campaigning to see this changed.

There needs to be a greater emphasis on thorough academic and skills-based training for staff in aged care to cater for all the types of conditions and ailments that commonly occur in the elderly.

Introducing safe staffing laws to aged care would bring it into line with other industries in Australia such as child care.

As the federal representative of the people of Hinkler I will be relentless in my pursuit of real changes in the aged care sector, to make high quality care affordable to all elderly people, not the wealthy as it mainly is now.

Moe Turaga, IND

I don't think there will ever be enough beds.

I'm for de-institutionalisation of nursing homes or aged care facilities.

The aged care sector needs an overhaul and our elders need better care then what they are getting now.

From employees remunerated properly by providers.

We need a mirror image of NDIS for our elders, give them the dignity of choice and control till they pass on, if they want to live at home till they pass, it should be our obligation as young people to see it through.

By looking after them now we guarantee ourselves a better system to live through.

They have given us life and hope, let's make sure they get at least dignity and respect in their twilight years.

Let's stop treating our elders like cows to the slaughter, lined up for their baths, meals and activities.

We as young people should be disgraced with how we allow that to happen.

Keith Pitt, LNP

Seniors in the Hinkler electorate are the people who built our nation and they deserve the dignity and respect, and the care, that they have earned.

There has been significant investment in aged care residential places in the Hinkler electorate since I was elected in 2013, and several new facilities have opened in the past year in Hervey Bay.

The occupancy rate for residential aged care in the Hinkler electorate was 78.1% throughout 2017-18, and there is funding committed under previous Aged Care Approvals Rounds for facilities which are yet to be built.

"Funding for aged care continues to increase with $118 million in recurrent funding for aged care in 2017-18 in the Hinkler electorate alone

Damian Huxham, ON

I'm quite passionate about the issue of aged care because our region is where many people choose to retire and it's quite an important issue to many people I have spoken to within our region.

I don't expect One Nation to form government or opposition; however what I can do if elected is ensure the government (whichever party it is) is acting in the best interests of the people and not just playing party politics.

For example, as there is currently a Royal Commission into Aged Care, with One Nation on the cross-bench, we can ensure that the government is held accountable for adhering to the findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission.

Contrary to Labor's misleading campaign about cuts to aged care, the federal budget has an increase allocated of $1 billion dollars per year until 2022.

If elected I will ensure that if any party that forms government honours that commitment to aged care especially within our region - I will not let them make cuts by stealth.

One Nation is the only party that continues to fight for a pension increase of $150 per fortnight per couple with a flow through to the single aged pension and the disability support pension, the carer payment and service pensions.

The Department of Health has reported that under Labor's outdated home care plan, over 22,000 more seniors would be placed on the aged care waiting list.

We are an ageing population and we need to ensure the people who have looked after us are afforded every opportunity to enjoy their twilight years and I'm prepared to go into bat for them.

Joe Ellul, UAP

Aged care is really important to me.

I've been working around the world for a couple of years and I've come home to spend time with my parents, who are in their late 70s.

When it comes to aged care, it all comes back to how Australia's being run.

If it is run more successfully instead of running at a loss, it will create more wealth for the country which can then provide better aged care.

Other countries around the world are way in front of us in that regard.

By encouraging the mining industry and small businesses we are generating wealth as a nation.

I also believe people should have access to their super at 55, not 67.

Give people access to their money and let them make decisions with the money they spent their life working for to make Australia great again.