Mr HOWARTH (Petrie—Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services) (15:38): It gives me real pleasure to rise today and speak on this topic of aged care. The member for Franklin and the member for Cooper may not realise it, but parents and family of people on our side of the House age as well. Every single member of parliament in this House has people that age and often need looking after as they get older. My father-in-law, my wife's father, is in aged care right now. He suffers from a form of Parkinson's, and this has been a really tough time. He's only in his early 70s. My mother-in-law is worried at times about how he's being cared for there, and so is my wife. But, I've got to say, he is getting looked after quite well. Last week, he fell over and cracked his hip. It was terrible. I should say that, despite the fact that he did get good care in Queensland Health and at Queensland hospitals, he was at the Mater Hospital, ramped for four hours in the back of an ambulance. My wife and mother-in-law weren't able to go out and see him. That is something that needs addressing by the Queensland state Labor government: ramping has increased. But let me say a little about aged-care facilities. The staff at aged-care facilities play a very important role. Nursing staff and lifestyle staff are really important. Relationships between aged-care staff, the residents and the residents' families are also extremely important. Aged-care facilities, I'm sure, do a very good job on the whole in trying to help those people. I would say to the member for Cooper and others that there are plenty of good places out there, and we shouldn't be coming to parliament and making out that the whole sector is not looking good. Openness and communication, to ensure that all needs are met, is important to families in aged-care facilities. Not all residents have many visitors. We know there are many lonely people, and lifestyle staff in aged-care facilities are important as well. As the Minister for Health said before, an additional 44,000 home care packages from the Morrison government have been announced in the last 12 months, and $2.7 billion in additional funding. Waiting lists— Opposition members interjecting— Mr HOWARTH: The member opposite talks about places. As the Minister for Health said, back in 2013 there were 60,000 places in home care. There are now 150,000. That is 90,000 places more in the last six years, for the member for Jagajaga. I'd say that waiting lists— Opposition members interjecting— Mr HOWARTH: Yes, as the federal member for the electorate of Petrie I can say that we want to make sure that those who need aged care get it. That's why we often talk about the economy and jobs. If we get that right, more money flows in and we have more to invest in this sector. I'm sure there are 151 members in this place who care about this. Last month the Morrison government announced a $50 million grant for aged-care providers to access targeted business improvement resources. This grant program is aimed at directly supporting facilities and improving business operations, because we know that providing quality care comes at a cost, and if some providers require assistance with that, we're here to help. Applications for this fund are expected to open later this month, so all members should let their providers know. Opposition members interjecting— Mr HOWARTH: Absolutely! I can tell you that in my marginal seat my providers will know about it, because as a member of parliament, that's what I do. You may have the luxury of being in a safe Labor seat, member for Jagajaga, but I assure you that my members will know about it. In my electorate of Petrie I celebrate aged-care facilities that are making a difference for people who need care. There's a whole list of them. I recently had awards at Azure Blue at Redcliffe, BallyCara at Scarborough and the North Lakes Retirement Resort, to name a few. There are so many good aged-care providers in Petrie. I want the people of Petrie to know that yes, we've had a royal commission, and yes, there have been some issues in some of those places—and the government is acting—but there are many, many great aged-care facilities, including Seabrook aged care, Opal at North Lakes, Palm Lakes aged care at Deception Bay, Compton Gardens at Aspley, BallyCara and Azure Blue, just to name a few. (Time expired)