A Budget that has little in the way of one-off, special measures that benefit pensioners specifically, but a solid lead-up to the May 2023 Budget with many measures announced previously now funded and lined up for implementation.
In NSW spending on social housing is down, social housing as a proportion of total housing is down but the waiting list for social housing is also down, how is that possible? Some moves by the NSW Government play a large part.
CPSA's response to the 2021 Budget.
The Government's initial response to the Royal Commission's final report shows the Government isn't taking problems in aged care seriously.
After years of campaigning and despite everyone agreeing a meaningful increase to Newstart, now called Jobseeker, was needed urgently, the Australian Government has come up with a miserly increase of $50 a fortnight.
The NSW COVID-19 Budget brings a lot less social housing to the state than needed, but there are some good things as well.
Delays and inaction by the Australian Government have got aged care to where it is today: in crisis. The Australian Government should break with this tradition of prevarication and immediately release the Aged Care Royal Commission’s report on COVID-19 in aged care.
“CPSA urges the Australian Government to provide an additional permanent Pension Hardship Supplement for the poorest pensioners, singles without assets and without private income. The living standard of single pensioners with the pension as their sole source of income hovers just above the poverty line.", said CPSA Policy Manager Paul Versteege.
The only sure way of stopping new infections at Newmarch House is by transferring COVID-19 positive residents to hospital and by giving the home a deep-clean so that residents not infected can safely stay at a place that had a good reputation locally before the virus got in.
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission has suspended its regular compliance monitoring of nursing homes, replacing it with a ‘risk-based approach’, which appears to depend heavily on telephone contact and contact via Skype and Zoom with nursing homes. This means that the ACQSC to all intents and purposes has stopped entering nursing homes to do its statutory job of protecting nursing home residents when arguably their needs are highest given the coronavirus crisis.
“Now is the time to give the poorest of the poor a meaningful rise in their Newstart Allowance, which tracks 40% below the pension for singles and 27% for couples”, said CPSA Policy Manager Paul Versteege.
Pensioners call on the Australian Government to act immediately to fix the crisis in nursing home staffing following the recommendations of Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
The Aged Care Royal Commission’s Interim Report published today is very clear about the fact that successive Governments have done nothing to fix the very serious and grave problems afflicting aged care for well over twenty years, but the Interim Report fails to identify the reasons for Government inaction. While those reasons remain hidden, the problems in aged care cannot be resolved
Minister John Barilaro has suggested the Federal Government reconsider their position on Newstart today at NCOSS’s 'Putting Regional Needs on the Map' event and he has CPSA's support.
Who needs action movies, when Australian residential aged care offers cliff hangers like this: Bupa is reaccredited hours before it was to lose its accreditation!
The official accreditation of the Bupa Eden nursing home expires on 16 August 2019, with Bupa Eden set to continue operations without regulatory oversight.
It seems to be a little known fact, but the family home is already included in pension means testing.
Pensioners have one simple message to their federal politicians: raise the rate of Newstart, because it’s too low for everyone, including 185,000 Australians over-55, many of whom will never be able find work again.
Pensioners are calling on Federal MPs and Senators to support the Private Member’s Bill to be introduced into Federal Parliament today by South Australian Independent Rebekha Sharkie. The Bill makes it compulsory for nursing homes to publicly disclose their staffing ratios.