Aged-care policies to matter

AUSTRALIA’S shameful neglect of elderly nursing home residents will be a compelling issue in the federal election because the state of the sector damns us as a society.

The number of voters aged over 65 has surged from one in eight to one in five in the past 20 years, so any party that wants to win the election has to court this sector.

It’s not just the elderly that care about aged care, its also their families.

Two in three voters have told pollsters government funding for aged care needs to increase, that rises to three in four voters in marginal electorates.

Australians want aged care fixed, they expect billions more to be spent giving those who helped build this nation a dignified retirement.

A royal commission exposed the shocking treatment of our frail elderly who are being starved, raped and bashed in institutions that remain open even though they fail standards.

Bed-bound residents have been found with maggots in their wounds and they are often tethered to their beds or chairs or doped on antipsychotic drugs.

And government standards agencies meant to police the sector actually cut back inspections as Covid outbreaks tore through homes, turning an already bad situation into a hell on earth.

Governments don’t need any more inquiries to tell them what is wrong, they need to increase both wages and job security in aged care where you get paid less than if you worked at Bunnings.

Aged-care providers must be held to much greater account. An independent authority must be tasked with establishing the true cost of providing quality care and then the funding must match this. A quality-assessment body with enough staff to carry out regular inspections and impose sanctions that bite must be established.