30 June 2007

Pledged Aged Care funding welcome but ALP addresses only half the problem

The ANF also supports what would be a further investment of $158 million over the next five years to provide more additional transition care places for older Australians, assisting them in their move from hospital to more appropriate care and recovery.

Acting Federal Secretary, Gerardine (Ged) Kearney said, “The ALP has indicated a strong commitment to aged care and this pledge of extra funding will certainly go some way to assist older Australian’s. While we would welcome the funding we reiterate that this is only half the solution. Aged care also requires appropriate numbers of qualified nurses to deliver the care and there is currently a critical shortage of those very nurses.”

The ANF says that there is increasing evidence of rapidly rising numbers of older Australians requiring care with a decrease in the number of qualified nursing staff.

“The numbers of qualified Registered Nurses and Enrolled Nurses employed in aged care has dropped by 21% since 1995 despite an increase in resident numbers and dependency.” Ms Kearney explained;

The ANF says that although useful, increased bed numbers will not equal safe delivery of quality care without access to adequately qualified nursing staff.

Although the ANF welcomes Mr. Rudd’s pledge they reiterate it is only half the solution and are calling for improvements in the aged care workforce through;

·          the establishment of dedicated funding to close the wages gap where nurses in aged care currently earn up to $20,000 per annum or $250 per week less than their colleagues in other areas;

·          the licensing of all direct care staff; and

·         the establishment of minimum nursing staff levels and an appropriate skill mix of direct care staff, and registered and enrolled nurses throughout  the aged care workforce. 

27 June 2007

National Coalition calls for election focus on affordable housing

On the third anniversary of its National Affordable Housing Summit, a broad national coalition of housing and community groups has strongly criticised the lack of national action to address the creeping crisis of housing affordability.

During the last 15 years or so,

·          house prices relative to household income have almost doubled; 

·          the proportion of first homebuyers has fallen by about 20%;  

·          average monthly payments on new loans have risen more than 50%;  

·          the proportion of low-rent homes has dropped by at least 15%;  

·          opportunities to rent public housing have fallen by at least 30%.

The National Affordable Housing Summit calls on both the Government and the Opposition to make major policy commitments on affordable housing as part of their platforms for the Federal election.

The coalition is led by the Housing Industry Association, Australian Council of Trade Unions, Australian Council of Social Service, National Shelter and Community Housing Federation.

Its chair, Prof Julian Disney, said today that the Summit accurately predicted in 2004 that affordability would get even worse unless governments acted quickly and vigorously.

"House prices are higher than almost every other OECD country and affordability is the worst on record. Rental vacancies are lower than for at least 20 years and rents are climbing fast. Housing construction has fallen far below the level of demand.

There is a desperate need for stronger national leadership and assistance from Canberra as well as greater contributions from the States. The problem will not be solved by simply 'leaving it to the market' or by more tinkering and buck-passing."

The coalition called for a 5-year program focusing especially on helping homebuyers in newly-developed suburbs and boosting low-rent housing by at least 10,000 per year. The Commonwealth's annual investment would need to reach at least $1 billion over the period, accompanied by substantial State contributions, and expand further in subsequent years.

The new program should include

·          a Commonwealth Minister for Housing and Urban Development;  

·          a new National Affordable Housing Agreement to improve the supply of public and non-profit housing for lower-income households;  

·          a National Affordable Rental Incentive to boost investment by superannuation funds and other large financial institutions in low-rent housing;  

·          a Residential Infrastructure Fund to help States meet the cost of infrastructure in high-growth areas.

COMMENTS BY COALITION MEMBERS 

HIA Managing Director, Dr Ron Silberberg:

"A new National Affordable Housing Agreement with specific commitments by all governments to boost supply of low-rent housing has become even more crucial  since the Summit. So has a special Commonwealth fund to help provide adequate infrastructure in high-growth areas."

ACTU Secretary-elect, Jeff Lawrence:

 "Housing costs are putting increasingly severe pressures on workers' finances, health and families. They are forcing more and more people to live very long distance from work opportunities and community facilities." 

ACOSS Director, Andrew Johnson:

 "More than three-quarters of a million lower-income households are in unaffordable housing. Housing costs are a major factor in the growing gap between people who are comfortable and those in distress."  

National Shelter President, Adrian Pisarski:

"The decline in public housing needs to be reversed and major incentives must be   provided to lift private investment in low-rent housing. Non-profit housing associations should be encouraged to play a much larger role, as they do in the UK."

Community Housing Federation of Australia Executive Director, Carol Croce:

 "Safe, secure and affordable housing fosters family stability, allows tenants to better integrate into their communities and contributes to improved health and well-being.  The Call to Action provides sound policy responses that will increase the supply of affordable housing throughout Australia."

25 June 2007

NSW Nurses welcome appointment of experienced nurse to top health job

The appointment of a nurse as director-general of NSW Health is a sign of how far the nursing profession has come in the last thirty years, the NSW Nurses Association (NSWNA) said today.

NSWNA general secretary, Brett Holmes, said Debora Picone is a very experienced clinical and administrative nurse, as well as being an experienced general health administrator.

“Given nurses are the largest occupational group in health care and at the frontline of providing patient care, Ms Picone’s nursing experience should be very helpful as we continue to overcome the nursing shortage and deal with ongoing issues such as excessive workloads, safe clinical care and the role of nurses at all levels of healthcare and its administration.

“I have spoken with Ms Picone this afternoon and welcomed her to the job. I told her the NSWNA looks forward to working with her and having a constructive relationship as we tackle these and other issues.

“Despite appearances at times we generally have a good relationship with the department and I expect that to continue under Ms Picone’s leadership. We will not hesitate to have a dispute if and when that is required. However, a lot more gets sorted out around the table through negotiation than people might think,” Mr Holmes said.