Aged Care Reform Passed
27 June 2013 at 11:29 am
Social services Not for Profit, UnitingCare Australia has hailed the passage of the Living Longer Living Better package of aged care reform bills through Federal Parliament as an historic moment for older Australians.
Speaking after the Bills were passed, UnitingCare Australia National Director, Lin Hatfield Dodds, gave credit to all parliamentarians who recognised Australia’s aged care system was broken and resolved to reform it.
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“The passage of this legislation is a significant achievement. We commend Minister Mark Butler who worked closely with older Australians and the aged care sector to deliver a very solid reform package,” she said.
Hatfield Dodds said the reforms had been the result of consultation dating back to the release of the Productivity Commission’s Report Caring for Older Australians in 2011.
“Today Australia has made a significant step in implementing key recommendations of that report, ” she said.
“Australia’s growing ageing population is engaged and informed. Regardless of frailty or disability, they expect to have access to the services that allow them to maintain their health, their autonomy and their dignity.
“It makes good social and economic sense to invest in the wellbeing of older people so they can remain healthy, active members of their communities.”
The UnitingCare network provides social services to over 2 million people each year in 1,300 sites in remote, rural and metropolitan Australia and employs 35,000 staff and 24,000 volunteers.
Quite odd the Hatfield Dodds should hail the passing of the aged care reform through the parliament when she appeared before the Senate Committee on 30 April voicing great concern over the detrimental impacts of user pays on part pensioners. It is also odd that she lauds investment in the wellbeing of older people, when the reform is mostly funded by users (the elderly) and clawed back income from nursing homes of which Uniting Care is one.