THE Greens announced their ‘Aged Care for All’ policy in Bulahdelah last week, which they say would see an additional $6 billion a year invested in aged care, to provide high quality, safe and timely care to meet the needs of all older Australians.

Speaking in Bulahdelah, David Shoebridge, Senate candidate for the Greens in NSW, described the policy as “an essential national reform”.

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“The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety found the level of neglect and abuse in aged care is unacceptably high, the system has reached crisis point, and there has been a vacuum in leadership,” said Mr Shoebridge.

Louise Ihlein, Greens candidate for Paterson, commented on the distressing number of smaller aged care facilities being forced to close their doors due to inadequate funding.

“People should be able to age with dignity in their local communities,” she said.

“Aged care is an essential social service that should be provided based on need, not a commodity that can be outsourced and bought or sold at the lowest price. “Older Australians deserve better.

“This policy sits alongside our commitment to extend Medicare to cover Dental Care and Mental Health.

“Both policies can be funded by a wealth tax on billionaires, and ensuring large corporations pay a fair share of tax,” she added.

Mr Shoebridge said, “With the Greens in the balance of power in the Senate we can force the next government to support smaller not-for-profit providers and keep local residential facilities open.”

For further details visit https://greens.org.au/policies/older-people