The words "aged care" were not uttered once in last Sunday morning's Insiders program on the ABC which featured the Shadow Minister for Aged Care Anne Ruston.
The scene was set when Senator Ruston was mistakenly introduced as the Shadow Minister for Health, ignoring her high profile advocacy for the aged care sector in achieving bipartisan support for the new Aged Care Act and highlighting the number of elderly older Australians on the home care wait list.
The interview with host David Speers veered from the Liberal party's election defeat, to the (then) Coalition's support for net zero and nuclear energy, but never a mention of aged care and the reforms that will affect more than one million aged care consumers and half a million staff.
As the interview drew to a close, Speers asked the Senator if she was looking for a new portfolio, perhaps she would be elevated to Foreign Affairs?
Senator Ruston said she'd be happy to serve in whatever capacity she was asked to, but the implication was that aged care – and health – are only stepping stones on the career paths of ambitious politicians.
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