Current News - ourcommunity.com.au

Myer Foundation to fund review into the aged

TWO of Australia's wealthiest men, philanthropist Baillieu Myer and Arvi Parbo, have teamed up to launch an independent inquiry into the state of aged care in Australia, declaring it will be free from political interference, the Australian reports.

The inquiry is aimed at triggering a new debate on the key issues in aged care over the next 20 years, including who should pay and how much, and whether a more aggressive user-pays system - including the sale of the family home - should be pursued.

Declaring aged care a central issue facing Australia's ageing population, Mr Myer, 76, said the Myer Foundation would underpin the inquiry with a $1 million donation.

Mr Myer said his study would be able to "shed light and not heat" on the subject, saying the philanthropic sector could lead independent debate, free from political interference.

Sir Arvi, also 76 and a long-time friend of Mr Myer, said: "There is no question that it is one of the important issues for this country. I think it is also, to my mind, one of those important issues that should be dealt with on a non-partisan basis."

The inquiry will be headed by University of Queensland geriatric medicine professor Len Gray, who last year gave a controversial tick of approval to former aged care minister Bronwyn Bishop's reforms in what he says was a "constrained" political environment.

"Inevitably that process was constrained and influenced by political issues," he said.

Professor Gray said the Myer inquiry would allow him to investigate "delicate issues" that would otherwise spark "over-reaction" in the political arena.

He said the nine-month inquiry, bringing together key stakeholders including aged care providers, government and academics, would review the state and viability of the aged care system - which spans health services, hospitals, community support and residential care.

It will also revive the controversial debate about whether Australia, like the US and Britain, should embrace a user-pays system. In 1997 the Coalition reversed its proposal to charge an accommodation bond to nursing home residents, after outrage over suggestions that elderly people would have to sell their family home.

The nursing home industry has since said the loudest complaints came from children threatened by the loss of their inheritance.