Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The commissioners presiding over the aged-care royal commission said today:

Had the Australian government acted upon previous reviews of aged care, the persistent problems in aged care would have been known much earlier and the suffering of many people could have been avoided.

Are the royal commissioners correct? Prime Minister, what Australians are seeing in aged care could have been avoided. Why didn't the government and you act?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will await the findings of the royal commission and the recommendations of the royal commission before the government responds to the royal commission, just as we have already responded to the interim report of the royal commission, which has dealt with, particularly, in-home aged-care places, and we will have the opportunity to provide further responses to those items that were raised in the interim report of the royal commission in this year's budget and, if need be, the midyear statement as well. The royal commissioners should be allowed to continue to do their work. Having commissioned it, I am keen for them to deal with all of the issues that need to be addressed and for those to be sifted through and the royal commission to be able to come to its set of findings and to provide its recommendations. But I don't propose to undertake a running commentary on the commission's hearings and commentary that is passed along the way. I think it's important that we just let the royal commission do its job, and I would ask that all members of this place would join me in supporting the royal commission to get on with its work—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on my left.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and to not seek to partisanise its activities and to adopt positions that would only seek to undermine—

Opposition members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on my left.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

But what I would encourage people is to do just as our party did when we were in opposition and we were dealing with difficult issues in aged care. We supported the then government. The reason I called the royal commission is that there have been failings in aged care going back over decades, and, in the interim report, that was made clear—that the failings that they are dealing with go back over many, many years—

Ms Burney interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Member for Barton.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and all governments have failed to measure up to the mark, including those who were members of governments previously who now sit opposite. So we are quite prepared to get the recommendations—

Mr Bowen interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Member for McMahon.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

of that report and its findings and to respond to those at the appropriate time.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just before I call the next question, members on my left who've been interjecting: I made clear in a statement this morning that I was going to be less tolerant of poor behaviour. If it was too subtle for people, let me just be very clear. We're here in parliament and there's important work to do. I'm not going to tolerate a wall of interjections, for a whole range of reasons. If members can't work that out now, they'll work it out back in their office. The member for Bonner.