Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing and Seniors) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. In its response to Newmarch House, the New South Wales government said that it had to 'step in' and ensure aged-care facilities had a plan to deal with COVID-19 outbreaks, because of an 'apparent lack of preparedness'. Why was the New South Wales government forced to step in to do the Commonwealth's job, and isn't this just more evidence that the Prime Minister left aged-care residents vulnerable to the deadly COVID virus because he didn't have a plan?

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I tendered to the parliament last week in reading from both the pandemic health plan, which was published on 18 February and activated on 27 February, and also the aged-care plan, which was published on 13 March and activated as of that day following the advice of the Communicable Diseases Network Australia and the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, there is a fundamental pairing of actions here. Firstly, overall responsibility for funding and regulation in aged care sits with the Commonwealth. The overall response for public health, in any circumstance where there is an outbreak, rests with the states, and so therefore there is close cooperation.

In particular, that is why we set up four fundamental pillars in response to this risk to Australians in aged care. Firstly, on 11 March, we set up the surge workforce capacity, with $101 million. Secondly, on 13 March, we set up the public hospitals response and the public hospitals agreement, which has been used widely in Victoria. Thirdly, on 31 March, we set up the National Partnership on COVID-19 Response, which brought 57,000 nurses and 104,000 private hospital staff into the fight to protect our hospitals and our aged-care residents. Then fourthly, in April, we also set up the national testing contract—for every site around Australia with even one positive case to have every worker and every resident tested. As part of that, in relation to Newmarch House, we did work very closely with the New South Wales government and the public health unit, which did take the lead, as per the CDNA and as per the public health agreements—precisely in line with that which had been agreed and precisely in line with the structures. I want to thank them for what they did as part of that work. I also want to thank the independent assessor, Professor Gilbert, who, at our request, inquired into the responses in both Dorothy Henderson Lodge and Newmarch.

In particular, the important thing here is what we have been able to see is a cooperative outcome, and we've been able to build, with those four pillars, on the protections. Every day, we fight to protect these lives and, every day, we recognise that there's a global pandemic which targets the elderly by the very nature of this disease, which is why we've taken the measures which have been so difficult and challenging for Australians. It's also why we have focused so specifically from the outset, with the first of the major actions with regard to aged care occurring on 31 January. We'll continue fighting to help protect and save every life.