Arabic version: رفض خطة الاستحواذ على دار رعاية بروسرباين

According to ABC News, members of the Proserpine Nursing Home Association have voted against transferring ownership of the community’s nursing home to Respect Aged Care. More than 150 people voted on Monday, with about 70 per cent rejecting the proposed deal after ballots and proxy votes were counted.

Proserpine Nursing Home is a 100-bed aged-care centre in the north Queensland cane-farming community, 120 kilometres north of Mackay. Built on a donated cane paddock in the 1980s with fundraising money, it operates as a registered charity led by a general manager, an elected volunteer management committee and the broader association.

Management committee chair Marie Dickens announced in August that an agreement had been reached with Tasmanian-based not-for-profit provider Respect Aged Care, subject to an association vote. The proposal prompted concerns that Proserpine could lose control of a community asset and that care quality or workplace culture could change under an outside provider. A membership recruitment campaign brought hundreds of applications to an association that had about 30 members.

The home will now remain community-owned. Committee member Konrad Kangru said he would step down, citing the level of governance needed to meet legislation, regulation and compliance standards. Ms Dickens had pointed to higher costs, tighter rules and recruitment difficulties when proposing the transfer. Federal reporting cited in the ABC report says aged-care provider numbers fell by more than 16 per cent between the financial years ending 2020 and 2025.

Respect chief executive Jason Binder said he was happy for the community to continue if it was confident it could deliver great care for older people in Proserpine. Former worker Cheryl Raiteri said the association would need its new members to remain involved as it confronts future challenges.