One of these issues is aged care.

The question the Mercury put to the candidates was:

You can read the candidates' responses below.

Our older Australians have been neglected and let down by the Liberal and Labor duopoly.

They spent a lifetime building and protecting this great Nation, injecting millions of dollars in tax each into the economy over their lifetime. And after all of that hard work, the government abandons them to a life of neglect and poverty.

Our older Australians deserve better. So as an immediate measure, the United Australia Party will be increasing the aged care pension by $180 a fortnight to improve the living standards of our older Australians and give them the quality of life they deserve.

We have an aged care system that treats our older Australians like they do not matter. The Royal Commission into aged care only uncovered the disgraceful neglect by Both state/federal governments of Liberal and Labor over many decades but no real solutions have been implemented.

The Labor Party's solution for aged care is not based in reality. They have promised an aged care nurse in all aged card facilities 24 hours a day. We already have a huge nurse shortage.

It takes three years to train a nurse. Fact is absolutely no change to our aged care standards will happen in three years under the Labor plan. It is just smoke and mirrors and hype talk designed to deceive voters.

Even Labor's legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus conceded on ABC Radio Interview that Labor may have to pause its landmark aged-care election promise because of a lack of nurses.

The UAP will be abolishing vaccine mandates to allow thousands of stood down Nurses to immediately return to work. I will also be advocating for funding and wages increase for all staff and aged care facilities in Cunningham out of the UAPs planned $40 billion funding plan for Health care"

Over the last few months at my street stalls, in direct conversations and in my survey of the electorate older residents and their families have been raising their concerns about access to, and the cost, of medicine and the state of our aged care system.

Older Australians helped build this country - working hard, paying taxes and raising families.

But the Morrison government has consistently failed them. In fact, as Treasurer, Scott Morrison cut billions in funding for aged care and took seniors off the Pensioner Concession Card.

An Albanese Labor Government will help to address costs that older Illawarra residents are facing by reducing the maximum co-payment under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) saving people $12.50 on scripts.

If you are taking one medication a month you could save up to $150 a year.

Labor will support expanding the eligibility for the Seniors Health Card to provide cheaper health care and some discounts for people who have reached Age Pension age.

There is deep concern in our community about the state of the aged care system. The Morrison Government's Aged Care Royal Commission found:

An Albanese Labor Government will stop the neglect and put security, dignity, quality and humanity back into aged care for older Australians.

Labor's aged care plan will:

Labor's plan for fee-free TAFE and extra university places will also support more nurses and care workers for the aged care system.

How hospitals and aged care are run by our nation, is a direct reflection on the true health of our economy.

We must focus on increasing PUBLIC aged care options, to improve the quality of care, improve aged-carer wages and ensure that CARE is the main objective and not profit.

Private aged care, which comes under federal government remit, has eroded working conditions and provision for our ageing population. Australia's Coalition has allowed such excessive privatisation, that Australia's aged care is the most profitable in the world. Profitable by four times the rest of the world.

This is an abomination and is becoming "death by a thousand cuts" to our hard-working and exploited healthcare and aged care systems.

The Australian Citizens Party will be conducting an immediate review and in-depth industry consultation into Cunningham's aged care, to future-proof services for aged care workers and clients.

A lot of working practice improvements can be implemented in three years of federal representation. This is one key area that any elected MP locally must be held directly accountable for measurable outcomes. Urgent provision must be made to re-open Bulli hospital to serve our northern Cunningham community and initiate more affordable, social aged care options.

UoW could be of great help implementing world-class aged care innovations. Aged care workers deserve an increase in the living wage, improved working conditions and easily accessible mental health support.

An increase in the pension for those needing it, will ensure less hidden poverty in our aging population. Cunningham's entire aged care community must be better looked after, so our key workers can better look after our community's elders, too.

I see three main issues impacting the Illawarra's ageing population.

Firstly is the ability to maintain one's independence.

The Liberal Democrats are a party based around one philosophy, freedom.

The freedom of choice, the freedom to live your life without government overreach, the freedom to make your own choices, both good and bad.

I have worked in aged care for the last six years, and when a person enters into residential aged care they lose their independence.

I would fight so that any ageing person could remain in their own home through the use of homecare services as long as they chose.

Secondly is proximity to quality healthcare. I believe Illawarra residents are in a fortunate position being close to high quality healthcare services when compared to their south coast counterparts.

It is important we maintain this level of quality and accessibility. I would also propose extending current bulk-billing after hours GP home visits to include daytime visits to older Australians who no longer drive.

Thirdly cost of living pressures are having and will continue to have a major impact on the Illawarra's ageing population.

If elected we would cut the red tape surrounding access to superannuation - this is your money, not the governments.

Finally, I would fight to exempt the family home from means testing.

A rising property market and a home purchased decades ago are not an adequate reflection of current wealth. This can often force people into residential aged care, or to receive less help at home than they may need.

It can also force older Australians to sell their family home, a place they feel safe and comfortable.

There is an ageing person in all our lives - be it Mum, Pa, a friend, Grandad, Oma, Nona, or ourselves.

As our population ages, many more in our community will need the services of a retirement village or aged care home.

Our staff in aged care are really struggling. The COVID pandemic has highlighted how fragile the system is, and how so many people have been neglected by this government. The Royal Commission found that privatisation of aged care centres led to worse outcomes for residents. People under care have a right to high quality and timely care, free from mistreatment and neglect.

The Greens are committed to phasing out companies and organisations that aim to make a profit from this care. We will replace them with not-for-profit organisations, so the well-being of your loved one is first and foremost.

We support an integrated system of care for older people. I will fight for a National Cabinet Reform Committee on Ageing and older Australians.

The Greens want to ensure that every residential aged care facility has a registered nurse rostered 24/7.

To start addressing workforce shortages, The Greens will increase the pay for aged care workers by 25 per cent. We will introduce minimum training requirements and a national registration scheme for all personal care workers and ensure that all necessary training is free.

The Greens will implement an Aged Care Act that ensures that all older Australians receive the care they need, and are granted their basic human rights.

We also support an independent Aged Care Quality and Safety Commissioner. This way we will have a transparent governance of the people and organisations who care for our loved ones.

Many older Australians require support but want to remain in their own home. The Greens will invest $260 million to guarantee that everyone gets their home care packages within 30 days.

In other words, we'll make sure that those in the twilight of their lives are treated with respect and kindness.

You can see what the candidates thought about:

HEALTH: here

CLIMATE: here

COST OF LIVING: here

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