STATEMENTS BY SENATORS

Senator LIDDLE (South Australia—Deputy Opposition Whip in the Senate) (13:54): Labor was forced to treat older Australians with dignity and respect today. In November last year, Labor introduced an aged-care assessment tool with no ability for professional override and subjected older Australians to a 'computer says no' algorithm to determine their care needs.

It was dangerous and not thought through, and vulnerable and older Australians have suffered ever since. The tool has exposed ageing Australians to the gaping holes in the algorithm's ability to assess malnutrition, elder abuse, sensory impairment and the true severity of frailty. No computer program, regardless of its sophistication, can fully capture the fluctuating, multifaceted circumstances of older Australians living with cognitive decline, social isolation or complex physical concurrent illnesses.

Shame on you for doing that. How did you not realise that? The tool was designed to support, not to replace, clinical judgement.

As a senator for South Australia, my state has one of the oldest demographic profiles in the country, who are trying to navigate your system. Labor, you left many unnecessarily and cruelly desperate and confused. And stop peddling the myth that you are releasing record numbers of packages, because the department confirmed many of these are not new packages but are reassigned or recycled ones from when someone dies or enters a nursing home.

Older Australians have spent their lives building this nation and they deserve better. They've paid their taxes, raised their families and contributed to this country. Labor, you treated them as data points, not as people.

I'm not sure how you thought you could get away with it. The Aged Care Amendment (Restoring Human Override for Aged Care Needs Assessments) Bill 2026 provides for human oversight. It reassesses those already impacted.

Fix the system immediately, in the interests of our elderly. (Time expired)