ADJOURNMENT

Ms CLUTTERHAM (Sturt) (19:35): In my role, I meet with lots of people from all walks of life doing many different things for the community and for others. Last Friday was Aged Care Employee Day, and I had the opportunity to meet—happily, not for the first time—with two incredible women who are doing things for others. Firstly, at Bupa Campbelltown, I met with Megan McNaughton, the general manager.

Secondly, at Amber Aged Care, at Paradise, I met with Dominique Evele, the chief executive officer. Aided by fantastic cupcakes, slices and other sweet and savoury treats, both women were celebrating the contribution that their colleagues make. Day in and day out, they turn up to work to not only functionally care for the residents of their respective aged-care facilities and their families but provide support, compassion, empathy, security, company and love.

Strikingly, at both facilities I visited, the aged-care employees I met were almost exclusively made up of migrants—mainly women, but a good strong cohort of migrant men as well. Megan and Dominique don't realise how amazing they are—that they always have a smile on their faces, the way they connect with their teams, how they empower their teams and how they treat their team members with dignity and as partners in the never-ending journey to provide love and care to the residents.

I saw this firsthand. Not only do Megan and Dominique respect and care for their team members; their team members respect and care for them. The teams at Amber Aged Care at Paradise and Bupa at Campbelltown are two of the most tight-knit and caring teams I have had the privilege to meet.

Aged-care work is hard. Firstly, it's physically demanding. Lifting and transferring patients; assisting with daily activities, including intimate personal care tasks; being on your feet all shift; and operating medical equipment is hard work.

It's also repetitive: being told the same story repeatedly; the same daily routines; the same sadness; the same feeling of being understaffed, run off your feet and completely overwhelmed; the same sentiment of never quite being able to do enough; the same emotional challenges, grief and loss that aged-care workers experience, having established close relationships with those they care for; the same emotional challenges and exhaustion that arise from talking to and supporting families who are often frustrated, angry and sad; the challenge that comes with watching the physical and emotional suffering of families and of residents with chronic illness, with dementia or who are in the final stages of life; and those same feelings of sadness and helplessness.

Aged-care work is hard. Yet, despite this, some sections of society continue to undervalue aged-care workers. They are dismissed as being part of the care economy, which in turn is dismissed as something unproductive—something worth less than a contribution from a lawyer, a business owner or an investment banker because it doesn't produce a monetary return.

These people always ignore the fact, of course, that there are only so many efficiencies you can make before you start to compromise on the quality and dignity of care that you can provide. This dismissal and this attitude towards the care economy and aged care workers are unacceptable. Imagine your elderly loved one alone in a room, unable to eat or to move, communicate, go to the bathroom or even scratch an itch that is driving them crazy.

Then, in contrast, imagine your elderly loved one not alone in a room but sitting with the support of their aged-care worker, who is helping to handfeed them, gently stretching their limbs, holding their hand, covering them with a blanket, talking to them and giving them a hug. Imagine that and then tell me that the care economy is not worth investing in. If the care economy has exploded, it has done so in parallel with this government's appreciation of those who work tirelessly within it in service to others.