❓ Dr. Krishnan questions the Minister on aged care reforms. Minister McGurk highlights funding disparities with other states, criticizes the opposition, and outlines state government initiatives to address aged care shortages and support older Western Australians, emphasizing the need for federal government support.

Aged care—Reform95.Dr Jags Krishnanto theMinister for Aged Care and Seniors:I refer to the Cook Labor government's commitment to ensuring all Western Australians can access health care where we need it, when we need it.Can the minister advise the house how the government is stepping up to deliver nation-leading reforms to ensure Western Australians receive the care that they need?

Ms Simone McGurk replied:It is a great honour and I am very pleased to be the state's first Minister for Aged Care and Seniors, and I am proud of the government's efforts to support older Western Australians. The lack of aged care is directly impacting seniors as well as our hospitals. We have more than 300 older Western Australians stuck in hospital due to delays accessing aged care. We have nearly 8,000 people waiting for a support-at-home package, and residential aged care is 98% full. It is estimated that 28 new aged-care facilities will be needed by 2028–29.If you needed any other way of describing this, here is a graph that describes it in dollar terms. This is every other state—Victoria, South Australia and every other state. This is what Western Australia is missing out on in aged-care funding from the federal government—$200 million. If anyone here needs to borrow that graph, it is very, very clear. I urge you to have a look at that.The Leader of the Opposition has claimed that the state government is blaming the federal government for our woes in what is happening in our hospitals. It is not about blame, Leader of the Opposition; it is about standing up for Western Australia. We continue to call on the federal government to step up for Western Australians and deliver for our state. We make no apology for that because we want to make sure that we get Western Australia's share. I suggest that the Leader of the Opposition steps up and does the same. He should take time—Several members interjected.The Speaker:Members! Member for Bateman!Point of orderMr Lachlan Hunter:I ask that you ask the minister to direct her comments through the Chair.The Speaker:Members! I am not going to uphold that point of order.Questions without notice resumedMs Simone McGurk:I do not make any apology for demanding that the Leader of the Opposition tries to turn some of his attention to standing up for Western Australia. That should be firmly in his remit. It should be firmly in the opposition's remit. When we look at what is happening to older Western Australians in our state, this state government is actually stepping up. We are doing a number of things. Clearly, aged care is the responsibility of the federal government—it funds it, it regulates it—but we are missing out on our share, and individuals and our hospitals are suffering as a result of that. That is why we are saying that we will step up, and we ask the opposition to do the same. I do not make any apology for that. We have our $100 million Aged Care Low Interest Loan Scheme to increase the number of aged-care beds in our state. We have got our nation-leading Time to Think beds. We are investing in transitional care. Of course, we announced our free RSV vaccine for people in aged care.We are stepping up and doing what is right for Western Australians. On this side of the chamber we are doing the work. We are implementing nation-leading reform and we are taking WA's case to the Commonwealth. I suggest that this opposition do exactly the same.The Speaker:The member for Murray–Wellington with the last question. Aged care—Reform