Nobody held back. Nobody left behind. Remember the Prime Minister’s promise? Older Australians remember and can plainly see Labor’s word was not its bond. Labor has broken faith with the very people who built this country.

Older Australians worked hard, paid their taxes, raised families, volunteered in their towns and did the right thing all their lives. Many went without so they could keep private health insurance for, say, a future hip or knee replacement or procedure, so they are not left waiting in pain.   They acted responsibly to avoid being a burden on the public health system.

Labor’s reward for this diligence is to attack these responsible Australians, taxing those over 65 to pay more for their private health cover.  Over three million older Australians will be hit, many paying hundreds of dollars more a year. Some older couples could be forced to find well over a thousand dollars extra.

There is nothing fair about telling someone in their seventies, who has paid premiums for decades, that they are now a drag on Labor’s spend-happy federal budget.  There is nothing fair about pushing people out of private health and then pretending our public hospitals can simply absorb the pressure.

While Labor is putting its hand deeper into older Australians’ pockets, an aged care system Labor described as a ‘national disgrace’ from Opposition is also failing older Australians.   Since Labor took office, older people are waiting longer to get the support needed to stay at home safely.  Home care is not a luxury. Help with showering is not a luxury. Help getting dressed is not a luxury. Meals, transport, cleaning, nursing and basic personal care are not extras. They allow an older person to stay in their own home, in their own town, close to the people they love.

Elderly mothers, fathers and grandparents are being pushed through phone assessments and computer systems when they need is a compassionate human being to listen.  Labor might not be listening, but I assure you I am, and I am very happy to advocate for your family – just reach out on email to anne.webster.mp@aph.gov.au.