Greens Oppose Aged Care Bill, Criticize Labor's Concessions

The Greens will vote against Labor's new aged care reforms after Labor joined forces with the Coalition to block Greens amendments that would have created criminal penalties for bad providers and stopped older people being slugged more for their care.

Earlier in the Senate, Labor and the Coalition rejected a Greens amendment to the Aged Care Bill 2024 to establish criminal penalties for crooked providers which - despite promising them before the election - Labor removed in a dodgy deal with the Coalition. Labor and the Coalition also joined forces to vote against a Greens amendment to remove the chapter 4 funding provisions that will force most older people to pay increased co-contributions.

As stated by Greens spokesperson on Older People, Senator Penny Allman-Payne:

"Once again Australians are left wondering, 'What is the point of Labor?'

"Presented with a blueprint from the Royal Commission to reform a broken aged care system by putting the rights of older people at its heart, Labor has instead capitulated to the Coalition and the for-profit aged care industry with new laws that will bolster the bottom lines of providers at the expense of older Australians.

"Older people and advocates say that older people must have rights that are unequivocally clear and enforceable, and the Greens have long supported a shift to a rights-based framework.

"Yet under laws that seem likely to pass through parliament today, many older Australians will now be required to pay more without any enforceable rights to quality care.

"The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety found that there was an urgent need to improve care, quality and enforcement in the sector. This was never meant to be about so-called 'budget repair' or provider profitability.

"Despite all of the shocking witness testimony about the appalling treatment many have suffered in this broken market-based system, Labor is simply doubling down.

"If greater reliance on a user-pays model is the answer, then we're asking the wrong questions. Older people aren't commodities. It should be an obligation of any moral society for the Government to guarantee high-quality care for all.

"The Greens will continue to push for a phasing out of for-profit providers and for an aged care system that puts the rights of older people first."