Source: Aged Care Association
This week’s announcement that Government-backed loans will support the rollout of another 2,500 electric vehicle charging points across New Zealand is, in many ways, good news.
As an EV owner, I welcome the continued investment in infrastructure that supports the transition to a lower-emissions future. It is practical, forward-looking, and demonstrates that when Government identifies a priority, it can move with pace and purpose to enable private investment.
But it also raises a difficult question.
Why can we move quickly to support the infrastructure needed for vehicles, but not for the infrastructure needed to care for our ageing population?
For the past two years, the Aged Care Association has been calling for the establishment of a dedicated infrastructure fund to support residential aged care providers to upgrade facilities and build new beds, particularly for older New Zealanders who rely on superannuation or modest fixed incomes.
We are not asking for anything extraordinary. We are asking for recognition that aged residential care is essential health infrastructure.
New Zealand’s population aged over 65 is growing rapidly. At the same time, much of our aged care infrastructure is ageing, with a significant proportion of facilities more than 20 years old. Capacity is already constrained in many parts of the country, particularly for standard beds and specialist care such as dementia and palliative services.
This is not a future problem. It is happening now.
As the daughter of an 85-year-old, I think about this not just as a sector leader, but as a New Zealander. If my parent, or yours, requires hospital care, we expect that care to be available. But hospitals rely on the ability to discharge older patients into appropriate residential care. When there are no beds available, those patients remain in hospital longer than they need to, placing pressure on the entire health system.
This is where the issue becomes urgent.
A lack of residential care beds is not just an aged care issue – it is a hospital flow issue, an equity issue, and ultimately a system sustainability issue.
An infrastructure fund would allow providers, particularly not-for-profit and community-based organisations, to upgrade ageing facilities, expand capacity in areas of need, and build the types of services our communities require. It would support older people to remain closer to home and whānau and ensure timely access to appropriate care.
Importantly, this is not about replacing private investment. It is about unlocking it – just as the EV charging initiative does – by providing the confidence and support needed to invest in areas where returns are lower but social need is high.
We have seen that Government can act decisively when it chooses to. The question now is whether it will apply that same urgency to the infrastructure that supports our most vulnerable citizens.
Because at some point, this will matter to all of us.
