Australia’s Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) says aged care residents in regional and remote parts of the country will benefit from this week’s federal budget – but warns more should be done for those living outside capital cities who need better housing access.
BCCM chief executive Melina Morrison said the extension of the Care Together aged care programme will allow the co-op sector to expand its reach in regional Australia, helping facilities remain open and giving residents confidence that they can continue to live close to family in towns where many have resided for many years.
“Further funding for this program means the co-op sector can deliver business resources and professional support to the aged, disability and veterans’ care sectors,” she said. “This is an integral part of the ongoing delivery of aged care reforms and the implementation of recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.”
Care Together is currently overseeing 10 projects across regional Australia in markets where traditional models of care delivery have previously failed. The programme includes piloting a shared services co-operative to bring back office efficiencies and support for geographically spread out services through a member-owned and operated platform.
Morrison said the AU$2.4m expansion of the programme will mean aged care co-ops, disability worker co-ops and community directed primary healthcare can be established in more towns and regions, as well as allowing them to secure their long term viability by widening their services and developing their own revenue streams.
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Among the Care Together projects is the Murrumbidgee Aged Care Network, which has brought together nine residential aged care operators across south western NSW to share the burden of back office and regulatory compliance costs that were threatening their long term viability; and a community led aged care co-op in the West Australian wheatbelt town of Wagin.
“The significant expansion of aged care and housing policies unveiled in the federal budget will ensure many Australians can now rightly expect a better quality of life,” said Morrison.
“The co-op sector looks forward to expanding the Care Together program with a particular focus on providing more comprehensive aged care services around the nation and particularly in regional areas. Accessing high quality aged care and health services shouldn’t come down to where you live.”
While the BCCM welcomed the government’s commitment to expand the Housing Australia Future Fund as a direct way of addressing the national housing affordability crisis, Morrison said it was unfortunate that the economic and community benefits of rental housing co-operatives were yet to be fully recognised when the fund made allocation decisions.
“Government recognition of rental housing co-ops as a distinct and important model is growing but to date has not yet translated into any dedicated policy measures for the sector,” she said.
Morrison added that there should be bipartisan support to adequately fund alternative housing models that will help ease the rental crisis. An extra $200m to $250m over three years would build 500 new houses a year, establishing the co-op model and helping ease the housing crisis as a proven and empowering build to rent model that provides resident with secure housing for life.
“Improved funding will help resolve the issues of supply and affordability in the housing sector while delivering rents that are fair for those who otherwise struggle to put a roof over their heads,” she said.
Melina Morrison has also welcomed a report by the Australian competiton watchdog which acknowledged consumers’ need for better outcomes, especially in regional and remote areas where the major supermarkets are dominant – and recommends action to incentivise more community-owned and co-op stores.
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“With cost of living issues likely to be front and centre during the election campaign, this ACCC report will put the spotlight on Canberra’s response and how it plans to make life just a bit easier for those who vote but don’t live in metropolitan areas,” she said.
“Consumers outside the big cities will continue to suffer when it comes to their shopping bill on food and groceries because of the clear oligopoly in the supermarket sector.”
She added: “The slow attrition of mum and dad stores, smaller supermarkets, independent stores and co-operative shops is also the result of policies failing to support different corporate structures like co-ops and mutuals. In many countries the secret to the flourishing of independent stores, co-op supermarkets and farmers’ markets is the fact that business policy settings enable these types of businesses to compete on a level playing field.”
The BCCM says Australia has at least 72 co-ops active in grocery retail, with an estimated combined turnover of $500m and 75,000 members. While not a large part of the overall market, most co-ops operate in regional and remote markets where they are crucial in securing the supply of groceries for their members.
Co-operatives are motivated to keep prices lower, increase choice on the shelf and treat suppliers ethically, said Morrison. “In regional areas, where co-ops play a vital role in thinner, or less profitable markets, co-operatives are an excellent choice for retail, holding investment in the community, employing locally and facilitating shorter and more localised supply chains. This means the communities served by retail co-ops are better served in times of crisis when decisions are made close to home.”
In its report, the ACCC noted that choices for consumers outside key cities are limited and recommended that community-owned stores receive greater support.
“In remote areas where choice is limited, community-owned stores (which may be run as co-operatives) are reported to offer better prices and quality than privately owned supermarkets. As such, supporting existing – and new – community-owned stores in remote areas that would otherwise be unserved or underserved may be an effective way to address some of the issues that result from lack of competition in those areas,” it said.
“Consumers in remote Australia often have no choice of supermarket. While much of the Australian population lives in urban areas which are well served by large supermarkets, many Australians live in the regional and remote areas with one or no large supermarket.”
