The Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, has added to her CV with a 65-page report, National Health Reform Progress and Delivery, but as the aged care and mental health sectors are aware there has hardly been any progress under Labor.

Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Shadow Minister for Ageing and Shadow Minister for Mental Health, said Minister Roxon should have saved the Department of Health and Ageing’s resources.

“The big ticket items in aged care are the release of the Productivity Commission’s report and the delay in the aged care one-stop shops that were meant to be operational on 1 July,” Senator Fierravanti-Wells said.

“The community has the Productivity Commission’s report and is now engaged in a series of conversations with the Minister for Ageing, Mark Butler. There is no indication from him or from today’s report when the government will respond to the Productivity Commission’s recommendations.

“The one-stop shops have failed to materialise but there is a new national 1800 telephone number.

“In mental health the progress report appears to consist of a re-run of budget announcements.”