On the hunt for the grey vote

Mary Wood writes: Re.”Poll Bludger: Libs’ election hopes hinge on the grey vote” (Friday)

If Labor wants a go at the grey vote they could have a campaign pointing out the disaster that is aged care in this country. Like a lot of services, it has been completely privatised and the remorseless search for profit is the rule. Hence nursing homes (they were called that because the people there need proper nursing care) or aged care facilities as they are now called, have been progressively ridding themselves of actual nurses and employing carers, who have minimal training, and even with the best will in the world, which is not always the case, they are unable to provide the level of care required.

It is a system designed by bureaucrats for bureaucrats who have no actual knowledge apart from accounts and the ability to make ever more ridiculous policies and procedure requirements. The staff are overworked, underpaid, and totally unappreciated even when, as many do, they go the extra mile every shift. If it were up to me I would be putting emphasis on the many failings of a system that needs a complete re-vamp. Get the discussions out of boardrooms and onto the floor where the people who actually do the work can provide good input. We spend more money each day to feed a prisoner in one of our jails than a frail elderly inmate of a nursing home. 

On Tony Abbott

Richard Thompson writes:  Re. ” Rundle: Abbott is a joke, a backbench gargoyle seemingly addicted to failure (Friday)

It would seem with the close proximity of Easter, and his religious purity, Tony should get off his bike pick up a large wooden cross and a whip and wander around the bush flagillating himself, now that would really attract attention.