Alan Jones blasts aged care system: “betrayal of our elderly”
Alan Jones has blasted the Australian aged care system as “simple and straightforward abandonment of the elderly”.
The former radio broadcaster has taken aim at the Federal Government over its handling of the COVID outbreaks in aged care, warning that the Morrison Government could see voter backlash if more funding isn’t directed towards the sector in yesterday’s budget.
The outspoken host said the Government planned to “protect the most vulnerable” during the pandemic, but “that hasn’t happened”.
“Which political leader, yesterday or tomorrow, will put their hand up and utter the certain truth that the elderly and their families have been let down?” he said.
Jones also criticised the Royal Commission’s special COVID report finding that neither the Department of Health or the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) had a national plan for the aged care.
“This is staggering in its incompetence and betrayal of our elderly,” he said.
Taking into consideration the staggering amount of money families spend on residential acre, the host bluntly stated: “What have they bought? Death.”
Jones continued saying the Government’s own witnesses to the Royal Commission had warned the Government aged care homes need a minimum of an additional $3.5 billion a year to provide better care.
“It is a scandal,” Jones concluded.
“The decency of our society can be measured by our treatment of those who most need our help. In relation to the aged, we have to stop running away from the fact that we have failed abominably.”
“And if Government fails, and it gets its chance tomorrow, such failure won’t be tolerated by the electorate.”