Senator CRANE(3.21 p.m.) —I would like to speak on this particular issue to bring some balance to the debate. I accept there is fear out in the community but that fear has been generated by the campaign run from the other side, particularly in the House of Representatives. There is so much misrepresentation around in terms of what is occurring that it really is quite a sad day for Australia, I believe, that we should see this happening.

I wish to place on record a couple of points. In a lot of ways, the need to deal with the issue of aged people and the necessity for nursing homes and what they require in their later years is not dissimilar, in a sense, to what we were confronted with when we had to deal with the $10 billion deficit when we came into government. It was the Labor government which left nursing homes in such a mess. We should never forget that when dealing with this issue.

We have heard many quotes but one worth commenting on is that of Maureen Lister of Aged Care Australia, who said, `We'll be able to see quite significant improvements in the building of nursing homes, and everyone knows that is gravely needed.' As I understand it, she is involved with 45 per cent of nursing homes in this country.

I will endeavour to put to bed a few of the furphies that we have heard. With regard to better access for concessional residents, we have just heard Senator Bob Collins's comments with regard to the financially disadvantaged. I want to put on the record the fact that financial disadvantage will not affect a person's ability to get the care they need. That is a very important point. Every facility will be required to set aside a minimum number of places for those who cannot pay an accommodation bond. In the hostel sector now, the average national target for places for financially disadvantaged persons is 23 per cent. The concessional resident target under the new scheme will be 27 per cent of places nationally—in each region, according to local need.

This will ensure that all older people, whether concessional residents or not, have an equal chance of getting a place. I want to emphasise that point: they will have an equal chance of getting a place. It is a very important point in the context of this debate and the necessity to get the facts on the table.

Also, concessional residents will not wait any longer to get a place. There will be equal access. Experience with hostels shows that people who are financially disadvantaged wait no longer for a place. Let us remember that the hostel policy is almost identical to the policy adopted by the previous government.

Providers will receive an extra subsidy of $7 a day for each concessional resident and $12 if their number of concessional residents totals more than 40 per cent. This is a big improvement on Labor's $3.50 a day extra for financially disadvantaged residents. In fact, according to my sums, it is double. We are confident that, with higher government subsidies and better protections, the new arrangements will provide greater assurance that older people will have access to the care they need.

I would like to deal with one other aspect in the time remaining to me—that is, the sale of a resident's home. Under these arrangements, residents do not have to sell their home to pay for a bond. From everything we heard during the campaign that was run a week or 10 days ago, we would have believed that that was the case. Let me assure everybody that it is a concern that is shared not only by elderly people but by people who accept responsibility for their mothers, fathers or members of their families—in some instances it could be their aunts and uncles or their friends. People need to understand that they do not have to sell their home to pay for a bond. They may prefer to pay from other assets or income, from borrowing against the home or other assets, or from rental income.

One of the big furphies is this scaremongering campaign—I cannot describe it as anything else—that aged people will have to sell their home. You can understand why they would get upset about that. (Time expired)