Q: Here in the NT, our most at-risk populations in aged care are First Nations people in remote communities. Why aren’t we investing there?

Albanese:

Good news. We are. Last time I was here, we were in Darwin and then in Maningrida where we announced I think it was $12.6 million to build new beds for residential aged care residents out in Maningrida. That town in particular, I think, is a greatest testiment to the work that we have done in the urgent care clinics to integrate that with other primary health measures that we fund federally because as a health hub there in Maningrida, they have two nurses on call overnight, they found a way to use the urgent care clinic funding to boost access there.

It’s over the road from the residential aged care facility and we’re now investing as part of, I think it’s $800 million, nearly a billion dollars in total in First Nations investment in aged care this term.

But particularly here in the NT. We’re up to hundreds of millions of dollars in investment and in building new beds in particular.

So I think we’re at Pearl because we’re building new beds out there. We’re in Maningrida, Nhulunbuy for the same thing.