Frail aged at risk
The government’s last budget contained massive cuts to aged care targeted at frail older people with complex health care needs such as dementia, diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.
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Uniting Care Australia, Aged and Community Services Australia and Catholic Health Australia commissioned independent modelling of the impact of the cuts on 39,000 people across 501 aged care homes, or 21 per cent of the aged care sector.
The results are stark. The government is removing more than $2.5 billion from aged care, more than $840 million over its stated savings, which will significantly reduce the support for frail older people.
The costs of services currently provided to consumers with complex care needs will no longer be covered, with the consequence that older people soon may not get essential health treatments such as physiotherapy, skin care or non-medication pain management.
Cuts of this magnitude will compel aged care service providers to review their services with the very real risk they will no longer be able to accept clients being discharged from hospitals.
Our clear message to our political leaders is that they need to understand the impact of these cuts on the most vulnerable people in our society – our family members and loved ones. They deserve much better than this, and our acute care system and hospitals are already under extreme pressure.
P. Bicknell and M. Cowling, UnitingCare Australia
Safe Schools not safe
Bill Shorten’s answer to a question raised at the Labor Party rally in Nowra on Wednesday night on the so called Safe Schools program fell short.
Mr Shorten declined to comment or sidestepped the question on features and details of the program, by simply saying there is a lot of misinformation about the program.
Features of the program include: links to adult sex sites and clubs; teaching that we are a genderless society; instructing children how to hide their internet browsing from parents; holding fundraising days to buy books for school libraries on transgender and homosexual living and gay romances; encouraging children to explore and change their gender; assisting children to transgender without the knowledge and consent of their parents – all in the name of anti-bullying.
He also justified Labor's promise to fund the program with a further $6 million by stating that implementation was up to school communities and Labor was providing choice. There are three primary and three high schools in the Shoalhaven listed as on the program. Yet those school communities have not been informed about their signing.
It seems to be hypocritical, on Mr Shorten’s part, to allow public choice on this program, but to deny a citizen’s vote on same sex marriage.
P. Hill, Culburra Beach
State your posiition
I would like the candidates for the federal election to tell us all what their vote would be on same sex marriage should they successfully win the seat of Gilmore. Same sex marriage is coming up as a subject for voting on by both major parties and will probably be a conscience vote, so it will be up to the individual politician as to which way they will vote.
G. Brown, Callala Bay
Can’t do it, sorry
I am sorry Mr Turnbull, as an avid conservative voter I must ignore your calls to support our sitting member Ann Sudmalis at the next election.
We on the South Coast have been ignored by federal,state and local conservative governments for too long. I will not reward such poor performers at election time given their lack of enthusiasm and concern for local issues. An adverse outcome for our sitting member will be of her own making.