INDEPENDENT candidate for Calare Anthony Craig stood outside Nationals candidate Andrew Gee's electorate office in Lithgow on Monday with a megaphone in hand condemning government funding cuts to the aged care sector.
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With a small group of protesters gathered in the cold alongside him, Mr Craig shouted down from the top end of Main Street to take a stand on cuts to aged care.
In this year's federal budget, Treasurer Scott Morrison detailed $1.2 billion in cuts to aged care over four years.
The cuts come from changes to the "Aged Care Funding Instrument", a system which determines the level of funding given to aged care providers.
Meanwhile Labor told the ABC earlier this year it was "not in a position" to reverse the cuts but would hold a major review of aged care funding if elected.
Mr Craig said neither major party's strategy was good enough for aged care.
"The Aged Care Funding Instrument pays the wages of our carers and our nurses. If that's going to be cut then what's going to happen?"
One protester said she had voted for the Coalition since she was 21 but this election she would be changing her vote because she didn't know what she would do without aged care.
Mr Craig said it's an issue no one seems to be worrying about.
"We have people desperately trying to get into aged care, they can't look after themselves at home, they're banging on our doors and we can't provide them with a bed because we don't have the funding for it," he said.
In a statement responding to the protest, Nationals candidate for Calare Andrew Gee said spending on aged care is increasing by $1 billion on last year to $17.8 billion, and up 23 per cent since 2013.
"Securing funding for further beds at Lithgow Aged Care will be a top priority for me if I’m elected on July 2," he said.