Scott Morrison – Coalition responsible for aged care debacle | The Canberra Times

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Scott Morrison says his government was not solely to blame for the parlous state of Australian aged care. The LNP has been in office for something like 19 of the 25 years since the Howard government, which brought in the disastrous 1997 Aged Care Act, was elected in 1996. The royal commission report highlighted the abysmal failure of the privatisation model and federal governance in the aged care sector. Commissioner Pagone noted that the legislation was much concerned with a priority of cutting costs. That cost cutting motivation continued as late as last tax year when a very valuable tax offset linked to the often considerable cost of residential aged care was quietly removed by the government. It is noteworthy that in response to the report, Scott Morrison has pledged an initial $452 million to boost the sector. This is about the same as the $500 million to be spent on the controversial AWM project. How many billions of dollars were spent on weapons and the war in Afghanistan during the years when aged care was so badly neglected? It is ominous for taxpayers that Scott Morrison has already flagged the possibility of another Medicare-style levy to catch up on reform of the sector after so many years of neglect. So our PM was “appalled” at the $12,000 gifts Christine Holgate presented to her staff as acknowledgement of work well done. But he “doesn’t know” about an alleged rape, makes excuses for widespread sexist behaviour and deems particularly disgusting behaviour by one of his MPs towards women as deserving of leave on full pay to address his problems. Surely, the hounding Christine Holgate out of her job, for such a trivial matter is a terrible case of corporate workplace bullying, harassment and down right misogyny. No wonder there is widespread bullying of women in the workplace when those at the top are hounded out in this way. Are we surprised the Coalition government is incapable of rolling out a national covid-19 vaccination scheme? Not really. Just look at their record. A bungled 2017 census, a trashed NBN, a COVID-19 app best described as useless and a waste of money, defence spending blowouts on inappropriate procurement, Robodebt, a job-keeper scheme designed to boost company profits and so on. Scott Morrison has been spinning the vaccine roll out for the last six months and has had 12 months to plan it. But it has still gone pear shaped. Spin and photo shoots won’t solve the problem. Careful planning and resourcing is what’s required, something which has evaded Morrison and his hapless ministers since they came to office. China’s bellicose posturing near Taiwan (“China escalates Taiwan threat”, April 7, p15) is very worrying. President Xi Jinping’s Communist Party regime is clearly determined to exert its claim to sovereignty by military force if necessary, and it is debatable whether US President Joe Biden would stand idly by and allow a Chinese invasion. Former president Donald Trump may well have been provoked into armed intervention. However, President Biden would be much more circumspect, rightly very reluctant to risk war with the growing military might of China. Taiwan could soon be absorbed into the amorphous mass of China, and Made in Taiwan could be a label of the past. John Cashman (Letters, April 3) wrote about the March 24 Alicia Payne/Chris Bowen “town hall” meeting on climate change. Having been involved in climate policy in the federal government, UN and NGO spheres for decades I have a different interpretation of the event. It was hijacked by young people, mainly of Greens’ political persuasions, starting with two jumping up on the stage and holding climate action banners just as Chris Bowen was about to speak. Following his speech there were two lines of young questioners who seemed intent with their statements and questions on attacking Labor’s climate policy. It was not possible for any other view to be offered from the audience. Labor is not in government. To what extent have these young protesters railed against the eight years of non action on climate change by the Coalition? We are now an international pariah on climate change. It was the Greens who joined the LNP to vote down the Gillard government’s carbon price legislation, one of the best climate action schemes in the world at that time. It is the Greens who need to work cooperatively with Labor so that, hopefully, the next Labor government can return Australia to its rightful place a global champion of climate policy. Excellent observation Bill Deane (“Delays in shouting don’t help”, Letters, April 3). Not only would point in time “roaring” be a powerful tool to immediately call out unwanted inappropriate behaviour, it would also go a long way in preventing avoidable issues which could occur in the time between the alleged behaviour and and its reporting. For example, loss or deterioration of forensic and other evidence, uncontactable or uncooperative witnesses, fading memories, recollections and interpretations and sadly in some cases, death. These can all result in potentially unfair, distressing or, in the worst case scenario, incorrect outcomes for all parties.There has been much commentary on the need for, not only a conversation to deal with workplace and other inappropriate behaviour and culture, but action. The sooner that starts the better. Why should residents, resident groups and community councils have to be on the alert for development applications and amendments that break the planning codes? ART GROUP has had three amendments for visitor parking to be reduced on its massive development on Northbourne Avenue in Dickson. In this area only community councils or residents groups can take the matter to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and then only if submitting an objection or comment. Applications for a review of decision would have to lodged for each amendment at a costing $366.55 each (and time and effort). Do we believe that if no one objected or commented such proposals would be passed by ACTPLA? Do we believe claims these applications are properly considered, and that if they did breach the codes they would be rejected? Could it be some development applications are compliant at approval and then subsequently amended to what everyone agreed and expected? I’ve heard developers complain that approvals take too long. Maybe if they stuck to the codes the process would be swifter. I find it interesting, indeed puzzling, how the banks are able to make withdrawals from my bank accounts on any day of the week including Saturday, Sunday, Good Friday or any other public holidays, but are only able to deposit funds into my accounts from Monday to Friday. Perhaps the banks could update their computer software so deposits can be made any day of the week. If, as the senior Minneapolis Police homicide officer Lt. Richard Zimmerman said in his witness testimony at the George Floyd trial, that putting the knee on his neck for nine minutes when he was already handcuffed behind his back and lying face down was “totally unnecessary” why did former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin do it? Where was he coming from if he was not doing his job as his professional police training required him to do? This included protecting a person in his custody. It was strange to be in my home for much of Easter. Normally I would spend almost all the time at the National Folk Festival; going to concerts, dancing, and at the Woodcraft Guild stall demonstrating wood turning. For many thousands of people this was a strangely new experience. There are some friends I only get to see at the Folk Festival, and I expect for many of us the long weekend seemed a bit empty. Still, I hope they too caught up with other friends, and enjoyed other hobbies. Life always brings changes, but they don’t all have to be bad. Our property prices are skyrocketing and defying the global pandemic expectations. I can only blame the Morrison’s government for this. Enough stimuluses please. Trevor McPherson said in a recent letter Scotty couldn’t lead a leap of lemmings over a cliff. Lemmings face extinction because of lack of leadership on climate change. As Tim Flannery put it: “the real tragedy will be that the lemmings didn’t jump. They were pushed.” Alison Hutchison (Letters, April 6) is clutching at straws when she hopes that Minister Mick Gentleman will find a way to deliver a much needed community hall for the residents of Wright and Coombs. She has two chances of that happening, Buckley’s and none. To date Mick’s contributions have been as useful as boobs on a bull. If the ACT government wants to spend money on transport infrastructure (“ACT government underspends on infrastructure by $250 million,” canberratimes.com.au, March 27) it need look no farther than the West Row interstate bus station. For one per cent of that money it could provide the station with weather protection, and quadruple its capacity to 30 seats. The ACT government and developers don’t seem to want restaurants and cafes in the next stage of Whitlam. (“Next stage of Whitlam to go gas-free”, canberratimes.com.au, April 7). Their preferred method of cooking is generally gas. My mother-in-law recently passed away before receiving a COVID-19 vaccine jab. Now my 91-year-old mum wants to know if she will receive a telegram from the Queen before she has her inoculation. If the federal government could manufacture vaccines with the same proficiency that it can create excuses then the entire country would have been inoculated months ago. Municipal services have been squeezed if the dump heap in my suburb is any indication. Despite repeated messages to fixmystreet, housing, Access Canberra, and ministers’ offices, the eyesore on Wattle St continues to grow. Each agency points to another. Is this a by-product of the tram? Frank Breglec (Letters, April 7) will back the bookies against The Canberra Times’s commentators on Scomo. But surely there’s no need for him to threaten suicide by eating haggis if he’s wrong. Whatever the issue, this is how Scott Morrison and the federal government seem to respond every time: deny; discredit; deflect and delay. Anyhow, that is how it seems to me. Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message field, not as an attachment. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610. Keep your letter to 250 or fewer words. References to The Canberra Times reports should include date and page number. Letters may be edited. Provide phone number and full home address (suburb only published).

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