CHESTER CALLS FOR AGED CARE MINISTER TO RESIGN

FEDERAL Member for Gippsland Darren Chester has called on the Minister for Aged Care and Seniors Sam Rae to resign for his failure to support the needs of older Australians seeking support at home packages.
Speaking in Federal Parliament, Mr Chester said more than 4800 older Australians had died while waiting for support over the past 12 months, and the Minister had failed to respond to more than 30 letters from his office seeking assistance for older Gippslanders since November last year.
"We have an absolutely delusional Minister who is clearly out of his depth and should be removed from his portfolio," Mr Chester told Parliament.
"This Minister is dealing with matters of life and death, and he is clearly completely and utterly out of his depth.
"We have a junior Minister who has repeatedly demonstrated no empathy for older
Australians and no urgency in fixing the problems in a system that is failing hundreds of thousands of people every year."
Mr Chester said his office had repeatedly written to Minister Rae on behalf of older
Gippslanders with urgent needs experiencing long delays, since November 1, 2025, but had not received a response.
"Without any shadow of doubt, this is the worst-performing Minister I have dealt with in my time in office," Mr Chester said
"I don't know whether it is arrogance, incompetence or the sheer workload of complaints reaching the Minister's office, but it is simply not good enough to ignore genuine requests from older Gippslanders who are concerned about their Support at Home packages."
Mr Chester said older Australians were waiting more than a year to receive support at home packages, leaving vulnerable people and their families under enormous pressure.
"The Albanese Government has tried to hide the full extent of the crisis facing older Australians," Mr Chester said.
"The Government tried to bury the wait times report by releasing it in Budget week
because it showed older Australians are waiting more than a year to receive their support at home packages.
"That is a disgraceful way to treat the people who helped build this nation."
Mr Chester accused the Albanese Government of failing its most basic responsibility to protect vulnerable Australians.
"The Albanese Government has declared war on older Australians and is treating them with complete contempt," Mr Chester said.
"This is hurting their health, it is hurting their finances and retirement income in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, and it is hurting the people who love and care for them.
"Families are being traumatised by a government that is failing its fundamental duty to keep Australians safe, and then has the audacity to try to hide the facts from the nation with sneaky political tactics.
"Older Australians deserve dignity, respect and timely care. They deserve a Minister who will respond, take responsibility and fix the system.
"This Minister has failed, and he should resign."