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. This morning at Senate estimates Liberal Senator Amanda Stoker repeatedly shut down questions about more than 680 COVID deaths in aged care. Senator Stoker made time for more questions about tweets but said that aged-care deaths weren't relevant. How on earth can the government claim that 680 deaths in aged care are not relevant but Twitter is?

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

Every single death as a result of COVID-19 is a tragedy for every family and every community that has suffered from that death. As we know, the majority of those deaths have occurred to those who have been most vulnerable, and those most vulnerable do live in our residential aged-care facilities. Appropriately, the royal commission on aged care was tasked with also dealing directly with the issues that related to COVID-19 and the management of those matters in our aged-care facilities. The government takes that extraordinarily seriously and that's why we asked the aged-care commission to do that.

The member makes reference to matters that were raised in Senate estimates today regarding the conduct of officers that're employed at the royal commission. It is very important that the royal commission engage in its work in a way that is completely nonpartisan, that is completely independent. I see it as the job of Senate estimates to probe into matters regarding integrity. I do. That's its role. That's the role of this parliament. Questions are raised in this chamber as, indeed, they are in estimates. That is the responsibility of members of parliament and that's what senators are doing, whether it's in their capacity at estimates or other places, and that's what members do here.