Imagine you are an economic consultant engaged by the Australian Prime Minister to advise him and the Cabinet in a 15-minute presentation on the following.

• Every aged care facility is required to have a registered, qualified nurse on site, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Every Australian living in aged care gets at least 215 minutes of care per day.
• Support for the aged care workers' pay case in the Fair Work Commission, and a commitment to fund the outcome. (Note: The previous Coalition government declined to support aged care workers' case of a 25% pay rise referred to by the Labor Party.)
• Better food for aged care residents
• Accountability: more powers for the Aged Care Safety Commissioner and a requirement for aged care providers to report publicly what they are spending money on."

Instructions

Your presentation should cover the following aspects:

a) The impact of Labor's proposed aged care package on the demand of aged care services: (i) changes in

demand; (ii) changes in quantities demanded, in the short-run, and in the long run, respectively.

b) The impact of Labor's proposed aged care package on the supply of aged care services: (i) changes in supply;

and (ii) changes in quantities supplied, in the short-run and in the long-run, respectively.

c) The impact of the proposed aged care reform on employment in the aged care sector and flow-on effects on

other sectors (be specific on these sectors) based on your analysis in a) and b).

d) The "winners" and the "losers" in the aged care reform as recommended by the Royal Commission, from the

perspective of business activities, in view of your analysis in a), b) and c).

e) Specify ALL your assumptions and their limitations where appropriate.

"The newly elected Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, proposed the following aged care package in his reply as Leader of the Opposition to the 2022-23 Federal Budget:

Use of these Assessment Documents:

Assessment Documents

1.Opposition Budget Reply to Parliament 2022 (Excerpt)

Tonight, I'm announcing Labor's plan to put security, dignity, quality and humanity back into aged care.

Put simply: to put the care back into aged care.

The global pandemic and a Royal Commission have confirmed what so many Australians already knew - our aged care system is in crisis.

More of us are living long enough to need extra care in our later years.

But currently that thought fills a generation of Australians and their families with dread.

Older Australians fear that the final chapter of their life will be an aged care facility where they are not properly cared for, let alone afforded real dignity.

Their children wrestle with the dilemma of sending them to a place that might not be good enough, versus the risk of leaving them at home when it's becoming unsafe for them to be on their own.

We've all been chilled by stories of unforgivable neglect.

Maggots in wounds.

People going days without fresh air, a shower, or a change of clothes.

Stories of residents lying on the floor, crying out in pain, and nobody is there to help them.

It goes against everything we are as Australians. And while our loved ones suffer... ...and their carers, mostly women, are underpaid and overworked... ...some of the operators running these places are doing very well.

It's no coincidence that COVID swept through some aged care facilities with such deadly force - because for far too long the Liberals have turned a blind eye to operators who put profit ahead of the people in their care.

The simple truth of it is this: the Liberals have had a decade to do something about Aged Care.

Even an Interim Royal Commission Report - with the searing title "Neglect" - wasn't enough to spur them into action.

If they are left in power, nothing will change - and the bleak present they have created will be the bleak future awaiting so many more Australians.

I know aged care workers show up every day and do their absolute best with what they have, showing love and respect for those in their care.

And they will be the first to tell you that the system is at breaking point.

If we want to change aged care in this country for the better, then we need to start by changing the government.

Tonight, I announce five concrete, practical measures a Labor Government will implement to ensure older Australians receive the aged care they deserve:

One.

Under a Labor Government, every aged care facility will be required to have a registered, qualified nurse on site, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We are going to put nurses back into nursing homes.

This will save thousands of stressful, expensive and ultimately unnecessary trips to hospital Emergency Departments, for issues a nurse could solve on the spot.

Because every Australian living in aged care should get the medical attention they need, the moment they need it, day or night.

This is just common sense - and it is common decency.

Two.

We are going to raise the standard of aged care across the board - by ensuring there are more carers, who have more time to care.

We will mandate that every Australian living in aged care receives a minimum of 215 minutes of care per day, as recommended by the Royal Commission.

That means more care for every resident, every day.

So, if you have a loved one in aged care, you can be certain they will get more time with a registered nurse and more time with enrolled nurses and personal care workers.

Not just for essential medical treatment - but basic, important things like helping people take a shower, get dressed, eat a meal.

And - also - the time to talk. The chance to have a conversation that isn't about medication or hygiene or a sudden emergency.

2

Some company and human interaction, especially on those days when family can't visit.

A reminder that our older Australians aren't a just number, they aren't a burden. They are people who deserve respect, courtesy, and the best possible attention.

Three.

A Labor Government I lead will back a real pay rise for aged care workers.

At the start of this year, the Prime Minister announced a one-off, pre-election payment for aged care workers.

This week it was reported that over 90% of them still hadn't received a cent.

That is this Government in a nutshell. A big announcement, no delivery. Too little. Too late.

Labor knows that these carers - who work long hours doing such important and often back breaking work - are underpaid and undervalued, with some earning as little as $22 an hour.

Unlike this Prime Minister who won't take any responsibility, a Labor Government won't muck around.

We'll support the workers' call for better pay at the Fair Work Commission. And a Labor Government will fund the outcome of this case.

Because if we want higher standards of care - we need to support higher wages for our carers.

We know if we want to recruit and retain more carers to look after a population that's growing older...

...we need to treat their vital and essential work with respect...

...and reward it with better pay.

Four

Better food for residents.

A really hard part of growing old and losing some of your independence, is not being able to cook for yourself, let alone visitors or family.

For most of us, meals are something we look forward to. A daily ritual that brings us together, gives us moments of joy.

This makes it all the more outrageous when the food served up to some Australians in aged care is a scandal itself.

3

The interim Royal Commission report found that over half of aged care residents were not getting enough nutrition. They are literally starving.

We're going to change that.

A Labor Government will work with the sector to develop and implement mandatory nutrition standards for aged care homes to ensure every resident gets good food.

Tasty and nutritious meals which respect cultural, religious and dietary requirements.

Five

Part of our plan to fix the Aged Care crisis is about integrity and accountability. Labor will deliver new funding, more staff and better support to the aged care sector.

And I am determined to see that every single dollar of that investment goes to better care for people.

We will work with multicultural communities to support culturally appropriate care, because we know that many older people revert to the language of their birth in their later years.

We will give the Aged Care Safety Commissioner new powers.

And we will make residential care providers report - in public and in detail - what they are spending money on.

The days of residents going without decent food and clean clothes will come to an end.

Registered nurses on site 24/7

More carers with more time to care.

A pay rise for aged care workers.

Better food for residents.

Dollars going to care.

That's how a Labor Government will solve the crisis in aged care.

2. Research Report 11: Royal Commission Aged Care Reform

Note: It is mandatory to provide demand, supply, and other graphs where appropriate to support your presentation.