❓ Mr Hyde asks about including aged care on the COAG agenda. Premier Gallop expresses frustration with the Howard Government's resistance, highlighting the financial strain on WA and advocating for collaborative solutions.
AnsweredQoN 687Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AGENDA
I refer to the meeting of the officials of the Council of Australian Governments being held today. Can the Premier inform the House whether the Howard Government is accepting Western Australia’s request that aged care be put on the COAG agenda? Dr GALLOP
I refer to the meeting of the officials of the Council of Australian Governments being held today. Can the Premier inform the House whether the Howard Government is accepting Western Australia’s request that aged care be put on the COAG agenda? Dr GALLOP
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. Members of this Parliament will recall that when I attended the COAG meeting last June, I made every effort to get the question of aged care put on the agenda for each of the State Governments and the national Government. There is no doubt that this issue cannot be resolved without cooperation between the federal Government on the one side and the State Governments on the other. We are looking forward to the next COAG meeting, which will be held early next year. The preparatory work for that is going on at the moment. Once again, we will push the point that aged care needs to be considered by all Australian Governments. However, once again, John Howard is resisting that move. He has even refused to have it on the agenda at the officials’ meeting, but we will raise it under other business, as we did at the last COAG meeting. We make this point very strongly: the Howard Government must start taking aged care seriously. It is a major problem facing communities throughout Western Australia, and of course it is a major problem facing our health industry. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Primary responsibility for aged care rests with the Commonwealth Government, but it has enormous implications for the State Government. We went into the last election with a very creative program to join in with some of the aged care providers to assist the state health program to deal with these issues. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Dr GALLOP replied: I thank the member for the question. Members of this Parliament will recall that when I attended the COAG meeting last June, I made every effort to get the question of aged care put on the agenda for each of the State Governments and the national Government. There is no doubt that this issue cannot be resolved without cooperation between the federal Government on the one side and the State Governments on the other. We are looking forward to the next COAG meeting, which will be held early next year. The preparatory work for that is going on at the moment. Once again, we will push the point that aged care needs to be considered by all Australian Governments. However, once again, John Howard is resisting that move. He has even refused to have it on the agenda at the officials’ meeting, but we will raise it under other business, as we did at the last COAG meeting. We make this point very strongly: the Howard Government must start taking aged care seriously. It is a major problem facing communities throughout Western Australia, and of course it is a major problem facing our health industry. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Primary responsibility for aged care rests with the Commonwealth Government, but it has enormous implications for the State Government. We went into the last election with a very creative program to join in with some of the aged care providers to assist the state health program to deal with these issues. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
I thank the member for the question. Members of this Parliament will recall that when I attended the COAG meeting last June, I made every effort to get the question of aged care put on the agenda for each of the State Governments and the national Government. There is no doubt that this issue cannot be resolved without cooperation between the federal Government on the one side and the State Governments on the other. We are looking forward to the next COAG meeting, which will be held early next year. The preparatory work for that is going on at the moment. Once again, we will push the point that aged care needs to be considered by all Australian Governments. However, once again, John Howard is resisting that move. He has even refused to have it on the agenda at the officials’ meeting, but we will raise it under other business, as we did at the last COAG meeting. We make this point very strongly: the Howard Government must start taking aged care seriously. It is a major problem facing communities throughout Western Australia, and of course it is a major problem facing our health industry. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Primary responsibility for aged care rests with the Commonwealth Government, but it has enormous implications for the State Government. We went into the last election with a very creative program to join in with some of the aged care providers to assist the state health program to deal with these issues. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Once again, we will push the point that aged care needs to be considered by all Australian Governments. However, once again, John Howard is resisting that move. He has even refused to have it on the agenda at the officials’ meeting, but we will raise it under other business, as we did at the last COAG meeting. We make this point very strongly: the Howard Government must start taking aged care seriously. It is a major problem facing communities throughout Western Australia, and of course it is a major problem facing our health industry. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Primary responsibility for aged care rests with the Commonwealth Government, but it has enormous implications for the State Government. We went into the last election with a very creative program to join in with some of the aged care providers to assist the state health program to deal with these issues. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Primary responsibility for aged care rests with the Commonwealth Government, but it has enormous implications for the State Government. We went into the last election with a very creative program to join in with some of the aged care providers to assist the state health program to deal with these issues. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Primary responsibility for aged care rests with the Commonwealth Government, but it has enormous implications for the State Government. We went into the last election with a very creative program to join in with some of the aged care providers to assist the state health program to deal with these issues. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Dr GALLOP: Primary responsibility for aged care rests with the Commonwealth Government, but it has enormous implications for the State Government. We went into the last election with a very creative program to join in with some of the aged care providers to assist the state health program to deal with these issues. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Dr GALLOP replied: I thank the member for the question. Members of this Parliament will recall that when I attended the COAG meeting last June, I made every effort to get the question of aged care put on the agenda for each of the State Governments and the national Government. There is no doubt that this issue cannot be resolved without cooperation between the federal Government on the one side and the State Governments on the other. We are looking forward to the next COAG meeting, which will be held early next year. The preparatory work for that is going on at the moment. Once again, we will push the point that aged care needs to be considered by all Australian Governments. However, once again, John Howard is resisting that move. He has even refused to have it on the agenda at the officials’ meeting, but we will raise it under other business, as we did at the last COAG meeting. We make this point very strongly: the Howard Government must start taking aged care seriously. It is a major problem facing communities throughout Western Australia, and of course it is a major problem facing our health industry. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Primary responsibility for aged care rests with the Commonwealth Government, but it has enormous implications for the State Government. We went into the last election with a very creative program to join in with some of the aged care providers to assist the state health program to deal with these issues. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
I thank the member for the question. Members of this Parliament will recall that when I attended the COAG meeting last June, I made every effort to get the question of aged care put on the agenda for each of the State Governments and the national Government. There is no doubt that this issue cannot be resolved without cooperation between the federal Government on the one side and the State Governments on the other. We are looking forward to the next COAG meeting, which will be held early next year. The preparatory work for that is going on at the moment. Once again, we will push the point that aged care needs to be considered by all Australian Governments. However, once again, John Howard is resisting that move. He has even refused to have it on the agenda at the officials’ meeting, but we will raise it under other business, as we did at the last COAG meeting. We make this point very strongly: the Howard Government must start taking aged care seriously. It is a major problem facing communities throughout Western Australia, and of course it is a major problem facing our health industry. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Primary responsibility for aged care rests with the Commonwealth Government, but it has enormous implications for the State Government. We went into the last election with a very creative program to join in with some of the aged care providers to assist the state health program to deal with these issues. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Once again, we will push the point that aged care needs to be considered by all Australian Governments. However, once again, John Howard is resisting that move. He has even refused to have it on the agenda at the officials’ meeting, but we will raise it under other business, as we did at the last COAG meeting. We make this point very strongly: the Howard Government must start taking aged care seriously. It is a major problem facing communities throughout Western Australia, and of course it is a major problem facing our health industry. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Primary responsibility for aged care rests with the Commonwealth Government, but it has enormous implications for the State Government. We went into the last election with a very creative program to join in with some of the aged care providers to assist the state health program to deal with these issues. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Primary responsibility for aged care rests with the Commonwealth Government, but it has enormous implications for the State Government. We went into the last election with a very creative program to join in with some of the aged care providers to assist the state health program to deal with these issues. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Primary responsibility for aged care rests with the Commonwealth Government, but it has enormous implications for the State Government. We went into the last election with a very creative program to join in with some of the aged care providers to assist the state health program to deal with these issues. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Dr GALLOP: Primary responsibility for aged care rests with the Commonwealth Government, but it has enormous implications for the State Government. We went into the last election with a very creative program to join in with some of the aged care providers to assist the state health program to deal with these issues. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Dr GALLOP: Key issues need to be developed between the States and the Commonwealth. The first issue is the adequacy of capital funding to assist in the cost of upgrading or replacing small, residential care facilities in rural and remote regions. I am sure many members of the House will acknowledge that is currently a problem. At the moment, small stand-alone, low-care rural facilities may have fewer than 10 beds, and their ongoing viability is certainly on the line. Secondly, we need to look at the adequacy of current subsidy arrangements to cover the actual cost of delivering high-quality residential aged care outcomes. Thirdly, there has been a lack of investment in step-down care and rehabilitation services and infrastructure. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Dr GALLOP: My Government has been in power for nine months and we have had one budget. I recall the battles that we had over, for example, Mount Henry Hospital when I warned the then Government that if it closed that hospital without establishing adequate replacement facilities, there would be a major crisis in our acute care hospitals. Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
The SPEAKER: The member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Dr GALLOP: The response from the then coalition Government not only showed no care for the individuals concerned, but also was not based on a proper assessment of health. I was right and Ministers Foss and Kierath were wrong. Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Mr Day: Have you been to the Brightwater Care Group facilities? Do you know they exist? The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
The SPEAKER: I call to order the member for Darling Range for the first time. Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Dr GALLOP: On any given day - Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Mr Day interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Darling Range! Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Dr GALLOP: On any given day there is an average of 130 to 150 people who have been waiting an average of 52 days for residential beds. This has caused restricted access to rehabilitation services for the elderly as well as put enormous stress on our public hospitals. The cost to the State is estimated at between $20 million and $30 million a year. Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
Aged care is a fundamental issue for families all over Australia. The problems can be solved only with the state and federal Governments working together. I will continue to press the federal Government on this issue until it is treated properly and with the seriousness that it deserves.
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