On Tuesday 15 February, Aged Care Reform Now (ACRN) members Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Barton, Cecilia Webster, and Amina Schipp met with Senator Patrick Dodson via Zoom. Senator Dodson is from Broome and represents Western Australia for the Labor Party.
The meeting began with personal introductions. Liz, Cecilia, and Amina talked about their professional experiences providing historical context of when the aged care crisis began and answered Senator Dodson’s questions of how things were handled before changes to the Aged Care Act.
The meeting presented an opportunity to discuss ACRN’s Workforce Strategy, the Aged Care Royal Commission response n.2 Bill, and promote the current campaign from Alwyn Blayse and the team at Allied Aged Care.
Senator Dodson appeared genuinely supportive. He expressed interest in helping ACRN including an offer to arrange a zoom meeting with the First Nations Caucus – mentioning that Ged Kearney, Senator Louise Pratt, Senator Sue Lines, and other politicians ACRN have spoken to or met, are also part of it.
Our aim is to talk to every Parliamentarian to ensure everyone is aware of the aged care issues. Meetings such as this encourage us to keep going and keep advocating for reform.