Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley discusses elderly home care packages, migration and Australia’s detention deal with Nauru

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Transcript

00:00Not so much that, Bridget, but a real win for elderly Australians who are on a waiting

00:07list now and 40,000 more aged care packages for the home will be released before the end

00:15of the year.

00:16I'm very proud of all of our team, including our Senate team led by Senator Anne Ruston,

00:21because we pushed very hard for this.

00:23And I asked questions of the Aged Care Minister in the Parliament this week and was told over

00:29and over again that this couldn't happen, because the sector, the workers and the older

00:33people themselves weren't ready for it.

00:36But so many of them stepped up and said, we are ready to help and support older Australians

00:42with these packages.

00:43So, for the Prime Minister, this wasn't a deal, this was a defeat.

00:48And most importantly, for elderly Australians, they are going to start to get more help.

00:54Because if you're 97 years old and you're worried and unsafe and living at home but only barely

01:00managing, to be told that it's okay to wait several months, if not over a year for your

01:05package is not good enough.

01:07So we're going to continue with this issue.

01:09We're going to continue to push and make sure the government does what it promised.

01:13It does sound like there's a fair bit of pressure on the system in terms of skilled workers.

01:18We have to meet some of those staffing challenges by a robust migration intake, don't we?

01:23Well, they're two separate things.

01:26And I come back to the point I made that the sector, which obviously employs the workers

01:31that provide the care in the home, was saying, is saying, that they're ready and that they

01:37have resources.

01:38So let's get this underway.

01:39Let's get more packages out to older Australians.

01:42I do value the contribution that skilled workers make to Australia.

01:47And that is part of our overall migration discussion, which the government has got badly wrong.

01:53They released the permanent migration numbers just this week.

01:57It should have been months ago.

01:58And they're not explaining how we can balance those numbers with the pressures that ordinary

02:04Australians are facing with respect to infrastructure, services, jobs, housing.

02:09Do you fear that this debate, though, is becoming quite fractured and in some cases quite discriminatory

02:15towards some Australians?

02:18I mean, we saw some racist rhetoric at the marches on the weekend.

02:22How do we get the balance right between having a sensible migration discussion and not demonising

02:29good Australians who've been here for a really long time?

02:32Australians want to have a sensible discussion, and they should, because they're feeling that

02:37pressure right now.

02:38And a lot of the people who marched on the weekend were making that point, as well as showing

02:43their great support for the country we live in, including the migrants that come here.

02:47So were there good people at the marches?

02:49Do you agree with the Prime Minister that there were good people at the marches?

02:52Of course.

02:53Of course there were.

02:54Of course there were.

02:55And I know many from my own electorate who marched close by.

02:59Unfortunately, those events were hijacked by extremists.

03:02And put that to one side and look at how we should have a conversation with Australians.

03:08Sure, but some of those marches Susan Lee held signs saying we're full, held signs that

03:15many Australians would regard as being quite racist.

03:18Was there an element of everyday Australians there marching for discriminatory intent?

03:25Many Australians were there with goodwill and showing how much they care about the country

03:32that they either live in or have migrated to.

03:34And can I say, Bridget, as a migrant to this country, I love what Australia has offered me.

03:40You work hard, you take risks, you give back, and you are forever grateful for the country that you live in.

03:49And I meet migrants across this country every day who share those sentiments.

03:54The government, however, does have to address issues such as bringing a million migrants into Australia

04:00in their first two years without a plan to house them.

04:03So it's government policy that is failing here, not migrants themselves that are failing.

04:08The government is not explaining to Australians how they are in fact going to deliver the services,

04:15manage the pressures, deal with the infrastructure, which in many cases in our cities doesn't exist at all.

04:21And they're silent on that conversation and they need to step up here.

04:26How would you characterise the attack on the Aboriginal gathering site we saw in Melbourne

04:31where people were injured and Aboriginal people really fear for what's to come?

04:36Absolutely hideous and, as I said at the time, sickening.

04:41Let's just go to one more issue before I lose you, Susan Lee.

04:44Are you satisfied with the level of detail the government has provided about its deal to resettle

04:49350 people from the so-called NZYQ cohort in Nauru?

04:55It's said to be costing about $2.5 billion.

04:58Well, it is. It's a huge amount of money and our senators, via inquiries and other methods,

05:05are interrogating what that will actually be spent on as they should.

05:09But it looks to me as if the government is spending a huge amount to fix up a problem that they created.

05:16Remember, right now Tony Burke has a preventative detention regime that he's not using

05:22that will keep this cohort, many of whom have committed crimes both before going into jail and after being released,

05:30keep them off the streets and keep Australians safe, which is the first duty of any government.

05:36That's not happening and this is probably the fifth piece of legislation dealing with this issue.

05:42We stand ready to help because they clearly haven't got it right so far.

05:46But we also know that we don't want these criminals in Australia.

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