The senate has passed the government’s overhaul of aged care funding after hours of parliamentary debate and months of intense negotiations between the two major parties. Labor ends the week on a high note, having also secured a deal on another bill 0 to ban children from accessing social media.
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00:00No.
00:02Tempers flaring, patience wearing thin.
00:07Order. You're warned.
00:09But for a moment, the two major parties saw eye to eye
00:13on an issue they fear is defining a generation.
00:16We know that social media is causing social harm.
00:20Our laws will enable parents to say no.
00:23The Coalition is saying yes
00:25to the Federal Government's teen social media ban.
00:28It is of totemic significance in our community
00:31and we look forward to working constructively on this legislation
00:35with a view to seeing it passed through the Parliament next week.
00:39The ban will trial age verification systems
00:42to block kids under 16
00:44from using X, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat.
00:48But they'll still be able to use WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger,
00:52YouTube and online gaming, which have all been granted an exemption.
00:56This bill is complex and the approach we are taking is novel.
01:00Age assurance technology is not going to be 100% childproof,
01:04but we should not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
01:08Details are still scant,
01:10but platforms will face fines of up to $50 million
01:13for systemic breaches of the law.
01:16In the Senate, crossbenchers called for more scrutiny.
01:19This bill no doubt could be made better
01:22if we had more time to get it right.
01:25But we're forced to settle for a rapid-fire review,
01:28reporting back early next week.
01:30As the clock ticks down on this final sitting fortnight for the year,
01:34the Albanese Government is gradually clearing its legislative logjam.
01:38Parliament's on its way to passing the teen social media ban
01:41and late today, the Senate approved the biggest shake-up
01:45to aged care funding in decades.
01:47Once again, the Coalition backed the bill,
01:50aimed at curbing ballooning budget costs.
01:53The bill boosts the number of in-home care packages,
01:56cuts wait times and guarantees full government funding for clinical care.
02:01But older Australians with the means
02:03will be asked to pay more towards their non-clinical care.
02:07This is significant reform.
02:09For many, it has been years of work.
02:12The changes are set to kick in mid-next year
02:15and, importantly, won't apply to anyone currently in aged care.