Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny: The crisis in aged care

Abstract

Has a failure to properly value care led to poor decisions driven by profit, and in doing so entrenched inequality for women? On this Democracy Sausage we take a look at the crisis unfolding in Australia’s aged care sector, the gendered dimensions playing out in the pandemic, and why we need to rethink how we value human beings in society. Even before the coronavirus hit, it was clear that the aged care sector had significant problems - a sector largely privatised and governed by profit, and built on the back of low-paid, poorly-valued, and precariously employed women workers. On this episode of Democracy Sausage Mark Kenny speaks to Meegan Fitzharris, Helen Sullivan, and Sharon Bessell about what the crisis in aged care tells us about how governments deliver the services people need, what we value in society, and what we want society to look like after the crisis. Show more