Anthony Albanese unleashes in four-minute spray about aged care crisis

The Opposition Leader unleashed a fiery rant, accusing the government of neglecting Australians, dubbing the issue a national “crisis”.

Anthony Albanese has unleashed on the government’s handling of the aged care crisis in a passionate, four-minute spray as both leaders’ campaigns turn increasingly personal.

At a press conference at a Toll warehouse in Brisbane on Wednesday morning, the Labor leader was asked whether his party would introduce all the recommendations from the aged care royal commission if he was elected on May 21.

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Mr Albanese unleashed a fiery rant about the mishandling of Australia’s aged care crisis. Picture: Toby Zerna.

While he sidestepped that specific question, he launched into a fiery rant about the government’s “neglect” of the sector and of vulnerable, older Australians.

“Aged care workers are despairing,” a furious and animated Mr Albanese said.

“This is tough work. It’s physically demanding. They (are) faced with circumstances whereby they’re in an aged care home and they have three buzzers going at once. Which person do they go to?

“We have people living in their own soil, unable to be changed for days. We have 50 per cent – the royal commission found this, this isn’t Labor Party versus Liberal Party this is the royal commission established by the government – found that over 50 per cent of aged care residents were not getting the nutrition they need. They’re literally starving.

“This is a crisis in this country. This is what this election is about.”

The Labor leader had previously visited the Bolton Clarke Fairways Retirement Living and Residential Aged Care in Bundaberg, Queensland. Picture: Toby Zerna.

Mr Albanese then claimed next month’s election was a choice between a government that “looks after people” – or “whether we have Scott Morrison who goes missing … unless there’s a photo op, unless there’s a campaign”.

This morning’s press conference was also dominated by two other issues – the security pact between China and the Solomon Islands, which Penny Wong described as the “worst failure of Australian foreign policy in the Pacific since the end of World War 2”, and industrial relations.

Mr Albanese attacked the Morrison government for the “massive policy failure”, pointing out the deal posed a threat to Australia given the Solomon Islands were positioned just 2000km from Cairns and Townsville.

“So what we see is a massive policy failure because, once again, the character of this government is on show,” he said.

“A Prime Minister who goes missing on the big questions. A Prime Minister who is always too little, too late, whether it’s the bushfires, whether it’s ordering enough vaccines, whether it’s ordering rapid antigen tests, whether it’s responding to the floods — this Prime Minister is complacent.”

Mr Albanese said aged care residents were being neglected, with workers in the industry also suffering. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett.

He said that a Labor government would have acted far sooner, intervening last August when concerns first emerged about the looming deal between the two nations.

“I would have done it over a period of time. The problem is those relationships aren’t ones that can be done just … when there’s a crisis,” he said.

“What is clear is we’ve dropped the ball here.”

Earlier today, Labor also accused the government of going after wages and conditions, jumping on recent comments from Scott Morrison confirming he would reintroduce the omnibus industrial relations bill, which was shot down in the Senate during the Covid crisis.

While the PM has not yet confirmed whether the Better Off Overall Test would be removed altogether or just watered down if he secures a second term, Mr Albanese said his opponent would be “going back to legislation that was defeated when it was introduced during the last term”.

Mr Albanese’s fiery words come ahead of his first debate against the Prime Minister. Picture: Jason Edwards.

“The only way that you want to get rid of the better-off-overall test is if you don’t want people to be better off overall, it’s pretty simple,” he said.

“And what the Prime Minister wants to do, is to suspend that better-off-overall test.

“What that would do is mean that all of the extra conditions, above people’s basic wage, their leave loading, their holiday leave, all of those things are up for grabs. Their penalty rates, that they rely upon.”

Mr Albanese will make no further public appearances today as he prepares for his first debate against Mr Morrison tonight.

Originally published as Anthony Albanese unleashes in four-minute spray about aged care crisis