Transcript: Interview with Sally Sara, ABC RN Breakfast - 3 September 2025

TRANSCRIPT

INTERVIEW WITH SALLY SARA, ABC RN BREAKFAST

3 September 2025

Topics:  Aged Care Bill, skyrocketing home care wait list, Labor’s refusal to release new home care packages, new rights-based aged care framework

E&OE…………………………………

SALLY SARA: Anne Ruston is the Shadow Minister for Health and Age Care and joins me now. Senator, welcome back to Radio National Breakfast. 

ANNE RUSTON: Thanks, Sally. 

SALLY SARA: What's being moved in the Senate today on this issue? 

ANNE RUSTON: Well, there will be a number of amendments moved to the legislation which most particularly go to forcing the Government, hopefully, to actually release the packages – Because as you said, 200,000 older Australians waiting for care, nearly 100,000 of those that have been waiting for care that they've been already assessed as needing, is completely unacceptable. And the fact that the Government has not released one new home care package this financial year – I think it's just disgusting. And so, we'll be seeking to move today to force the Government's hand to immediately release at least 20,000 packages, but also hold them to account for the fact they promised 83,000 in the election campaign and straight after the election campaign they deferred those packages. We want the Government to actually be forced to commit to when they're going to be releasing all of those packages they promised. 

SALLY SARA: In your view, how urgent is it to sort this issue out? 

ANNE RUSTON: I think it is of the utmost importance. I mean, I have had thousands of people contact my office and spoken to many, many people and the stories that they tell of the, when they haven't been able to receive the care package that they need. You know, we had a story on Friday where a gentleman had received his package three days before he died. He'd been waiting over 12 months for that package, and the cruel irony is that he was in hospital three days before he died when his wife found out that he'd been awarded his package. I mean, this kind of thing should not be happening in Australia. 

SALLY SARA: The Coalition though did agree that reforms in aged care should be pushed back to November. So why the change of heart about the timing of the implementation? 

ANNE RUSTON: Well, let's be really clear, I never agreed to the withholding of the packages. And let's be very, very clear, and this is something the Government doesn't want you to understand or doesn't want Australians to understand, the releasing of packages is not dependent on the legislation. The legislation merely puts in place the new framework for how we deliver aged care into the future. There is nothing at all stopping the Government from releasing packages right now. The sector is entirely able to do it. The Department says they're more than capable of getting them out the door. The only thing stopping older Australians getting access to the care they need is a decision of the Government not to provide that care. So, the Government's been very disingenuous in suggesting the two things are tied. 

SALLY SARA: So the delay that you were talking about was to reforms, but what you're saying is under the current arrangements, more packages should go out now. Am I understanding correctly? 

ANNE RUSTON: That's exactly what I'm saying. There is nothing to stop existing [additional] packages going out the door today. 

SALLY SARA: How many of these packages need to be fast tracked now? Do you have a figure in mind? We've seen the figure of 20,000 being put around. What do you think is the number? 

ANNE RUSTON: Well, we're obviously supporting Senator Pocock's amendment for 20,000 immediately, which the sector has told us they can absorb over the next few weeks without any problem at all. The sector's also told us that they can at least absorb another 20,000 before Christmas, and they can also absorb the whole 83,000 that have been promised by the end of this financial year. But we will not be satisfied until every older Australian who is assessed as needing care gets the care level that they need when they're assessed.

And the other thing that we found out last week that I think was really, really damning is the wait time that people are having to wait before they even get their assessments. So instead of it being 87,000, we actually find it's probably well over 200,000 people are waiting somewhere in limbo while they're waiting for the process to actually occur for them. And until everybody is getting the care that they need, we won't have a system that I think reflects the expectations of Australians and what older Australians deserve, quite frankly. 

SALLY SARA: On Radio National Breakfast, my guest is the Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care, Anne Ruston. In the Senate, there's an amendment to the aged care reform package to ensure the early release of home care packages. If the Government doesn't want to accept this amendment, do you risk delaying the substantive legislation and holding up the entire process?

ANNE RUSTON: Well, this is something that I think the Government needs to answer to Australians. I mean, are they going to defy the will and the vote of the majority in the Senate who are asking for older Australians to get access to care, just to be belligerent about this? I mean, I would be horrified, Sally, absolutely horrified if the Government, when they are quite capable of doing so, refuses to release these packages. It would send a very bad message to older Australians. This government cares more about its budget than it cares about their care. So I'd be putting that one on the Government and saying to the Government, are you really going to stare older Australians down and say, 'we are going to continue to withhold the care that we could quite easily give you today, just because we don't wanna agree to the majority will of the Senate'? 

SALLY SARA: Given the rollout of the new aged care framework has been pushed to November, are you confident that's enough time for providers to adequately deal with those reforms and have the proper systems in place ready to go? 

ANNE RUSTON: The providers are all telling us that the only thing that's standing in their way is the Government is not providing them with the necessary ICT infrastructure updates. We still haven't seen all of the rules. The Government has absolutely promised us in hearings, but the sector particularly, that they will have that information. That's what this legislation seeks to do.

The other thing that the Government's hiding is the fact they knew in January that they were not going to be ready to deliver the new reforms by the 1st of July, hence the reason they've been pushed out. And yet they didn't say anything about it until after the election. So I'd be saying to the Government, you made promises in November that you'd be ready in July. We trusted you then and we were let down. So I would say very clearly to the Government, you've promised not just us but older Australians you'll be ready to go on the 1st of November - Don't turn up on the first of November and blame the sector like you have been.

The Government seems to be blaming everybody for this apart from themselves. And quite clearly, it's the Government's lack of preparedness that has been a problem. So I very much hope so, Sally, because I think older Australians have waited too long for a rights-based system with which care should be delivered, but we will be holding the Government to account every step of the way for the promises that they've made to older Australians. 

SALLY SARA: Anne Ruston, thank you for your time this morning. 

ANNE RUSTON: My pleasure, thanks Sally.

ENDS