Aged care is one of the main losers from the 2022-23 budget, with the sector one of the few to miss out on the government’s largesse of tens of billions. In particular, the government has failed to provide any funding for increased remuneration for aged care workers, despite both unions and employers pleading for a substantial increase.
Even after a myriad of announcements over the past 12 months in relation to aged care, the government’s total forecast spending on aged care services has only increased by less than 1% compared to the 2021-22 budget — though spending on aged care quality does rise by $300 million in 2022-23 before returning to forecast levels beyond that. Total spending on aged care services from 2021-25 in last year’s budget totaled $112.7 billion; for the same period, this year’s budget projects spending of $113.9 billion.
The only initiative of note is just $50 million over two years for 15,000 low-free and free training places in aged care courses using the JobTrainer Fund — which assumes that in a tight labour market, people will be attracted to training for and working in a sector so demonstrably underpaid and one that has suffered a net loss of workers over the last two years.
For those hoping that the funding may yet appear as an election commitment, there’s no sufficiently large unannounced amount in the budget papers — though that doesn’t prevent either side from announcing it as an election commitment after the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook is released by Treasury and Finance once the election is called.
But Australia’s aged care sector has once again been left behind, with the quiet toll of misery and lives lost steadily mounting. It is Australia’s shame.
I often wonder if people realise they will be old one day, and how they treat the elderly is how they will be treated themselves.
Is the system going to magically change when aging Liberal voters are elderly?
No, it’ll be the same system that’s there now.
“Vote for the Liberals. Live in your own excrement at age 90. That’s Australia’s future”.
Any government that appoints – and continues to support – Richard Colbeck as Aged Care Minister clearly holds nothing but contempt for aged care.
It isn’t particularly surprising that the most vulnerable among us have again been left behind by Morrison and his coterie of spivs and geezers. This is the government, after all, who seemed to take delight in torturing refugees, asylum seekers, the unemployed and finally of course the elderly, who died in significant numbers due to covid while Morrison and Colbeck sat on their overpaid, overstuffed derrieres or just went to the cricket or the footy instead of doing their actual job.
Kick them out. We can do a lot better than this.
Are you sure?
Have you seen what is offer on the “other side”?
Different buckets, perhaps, but similar ordure.
Only a strong cross bench of real Independents can stop the rot.
prescient
What’s new? Aged, and Carer’s of ageing mendicants, have no voice, resources . . . ? Better still, as a consequence of commercialisation, privatisation of the ‘industry’ conservative governments have an ideal channel through which monies can be re-distributed to friendly benefactors? Bastards!
Aged care or education for that matter don’t fit the neoconservative position, they are fundamentally opposed.
A successful life is about accruing money and self interest anyone who goes into the health or education sector and doesn’t have ambition to make it to the top is a loser.
The Minister of Home Affairs owns nine or so houses. Many Ministers own multiple properties and are set up for life. They even get $273 a night for staying in Canberra. Liberal MPs who lose their seats get cushy jobs on the AAT or as Governor of New Norfolk. Why should they care about the aged?
Do we have the Coles or Woolies of this pathetic 2 party system… it is a joke.. now they have a national Aunty run by the Nanny state; a self perpetuation of rolling doors dismantling the status quo by using it and substituting with nefarious multinational cartel puppet masters