BRIDGET BRENNAN, ABC NEWS: Well, sweeping changes to the way aged care is funded and regulated have passed Parliament. The Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells, joins us now from Canberra. Good morning to you, Minister.
ANIKA WELLS, MINISTER FOR AGED CARE AND MINISTER FOR SPORT: Good morning Bridget.
BRENNAN: How will this transform the aged care system?
WELLS: Well, from 1 July next year, we'll have a whole new system that's designed to keep people at home for as long as possible, which is what people have been asking the Federal Government to try and do for many, many years now. It's also designed to give people better services, faster services, more services and better recognise the complex needs that people need to stay at home. When you have a fall, we're putting in place measures that you'll get more allied health and rehabilitative support to try and get you back home and to stay at home, rather than being forced to go into residential aged care. We're introducing palliative care so that people who want to die at home will now have the ability to do that under support at home. And we're increasing the value of home packages so that you can now get a home care package up to the value of $78,000. All designed to try and keep you at home for as long as possible.
BRENNAN: Yeah, we know that can be really transformative for so many older Australians. But for people who've been waiting to hear when they'll be able to access those services, how will that reform help them?
WELLS: So, come 1 July, there will be 83,000 new home care packages released. That's the largest ever release of home care packages. Previously, the largest ever was 80,000 across two years. That was in the Morrison government. This will be 83,000 in the one year from 1 July, and that's designed to try and bring down that waitlist. People have been waiting on the waitlist for too long, and we've been working as quickly as we can to bring in this very complex and long-term structural reform. And as of yesterday, it passed the Parliament. It's here.
BRENNAN: For providers that have done the wrong thing, I mean, much of this has been exposed in the media over the past few years, what will be the regulatory environment now for dodgy providers?
WELLS: Yeah, there's tougher regulatory powers for the Commission to crack down on dodgy providers and to service providers that are doing the wrong thing. And also, I think the entire new Aged Care Act is based around your rights, your rights and your choices as a person. The previous act was just the way that taxpayer money is guided towards different service providers. That was the extent of it. Whereas, this is a rights-based act. It has a statement of rights. That statement of rights is enforceable. There's a complaints commissioner with new powers at the Commission who will be able to crack down on people doing the wrong thing.
BRENNAN: Can we move to some other issues? Because it's a busy week at Parliament, and I'd like to talk about a couple of other topics, if you don't mind…
WELLS: Yes.
BRENNAN: Social media reform, the potential ban for children using social media, why is this being rushed? Or is it being rushed? I mean, you've got some concerns from people in this area, people who work with children all the time, that say there could be some unintended consequences in terms of rushing this through when a lot of children use social media to access support.
WELLS: And that's why there are still protections in the bill; things like Kids Helpline, who do have an app to make sure that people can still use those support services where it's needed. I mean, that's probably a good example of where a concern has been voiced, and that has been thought of and made provision for in the bills. Ultimately, this is something that parents worry about every single day. We want parents to know that we've got their back and we are taking action as quickly as we can, and that's what we're doing this week.
BRENNAN: What about for parents of children with problem gambling addictions? Why can't that reform be expedited?
WELLS: Well, the 31 recommendations, we're still working through, but I would say that we, of all governments since federation, have done the most to tackle online gambling harm in the past two years. We've got BetStop in place, we've prevented credit cards from going online, we've got the verification process online now as well. Ministers Rowland and Rishworth have been dedicatedly working on that policy area and have put a number of really important reforms in place. Now, with respect to gambling advertising, there is more work to do. Like as I've said, as the Sports Minister, I've got lots of different stakeholders who sit on both sides of the fence on this one, and that's why I'm glad to have the opportunity to continue working with all of them, to try and land something that we can all live with early next year.
BRENNAN: Lots of different stakeholders on both sides of the fence for the social media ban, and yet that's going through really quickly. Why can't the same happening in terms of gambling advertising reform?
WELLS: The social media ban is about trying to protect kids as quickly as we can, and also to give parents tools to empower them in conversations. It's a lot easier to say to your kids, the government has said that they can't guarantee that you're safe online and that's why you and your friends are not allowed to go on the platforms anymore. Gambling advertising has financial impacts for the professional codes, the national sporting organisations. It has impacts for us with respect to sporting integrity on the world stage and what we do in that space.
BRENNAN: [Talks over] Minister, arguably, it has just as many devastating consequences for young people and their mental health when they get caught up in these addictions though, right?
WELLS: But that's why we've already taken strong action on gambling harms through the actions and the reforms that ministers Rishworth and Rowland have already put through the Federal Parliament and enacted through their powers across the past two years.
BRENNAN: All right, then, I'll leave it there. Anika Wells, thanks for your time this morning.
WELLS: Have a good morning.