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

My question is to the Prime Minister. Why has a government senator claimed that 680 aged-care deaths are not relevant on the very same day the aged care royal commission heard that one in five Australians in residential aged care has received substandard care and levels of abuse are 'a national shame'? Why has the Prime Minister racked up $1 trillion of Liberal debt and $100 billion of new spending in the budget but not fixed this broken aged-care system, which, according to the royal commission, is characterised by neglect?

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

It was a wideranging question, and I refer the member to my previous answer regarding the matters raised in the Senate. That is why the government invested more than $1½ billion in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the area of aged care. The shocking news we knew would come forward out of a royal commission into aged care—when I initiated that royal commission, I said Australians needed to prepare themselves. I said we would need to prepare ourselves for some difficult and horrifying news on the practices that have gone on in aged care over generations, over decades. That matter was referred to by the royal commissioner himself outlining what we would expect to see come forward and the areas that would be investigated over these many years.

Every year, our government has continued to increase our investment in aged care by $1 billion every single year, and more. In this most recent budget, we have the single largest increase in in-home aged-care places. We have more than tripled the number of in-home aged-care places since we came to government. In-home aged-care places was one of the key recommendations made in the interim report of the royal commission that we responded to last year. We said we would respond again in this year's budget—and we have. Again in the midyear statement and again in next year's budget we will have a comprehensive response to the royal commission recommendations when they are handed down again next year. I thank the royal commission for the work they are doing. I thank all of those Australians who are coming to that royal commission.

Earlier today the Leader of the Opposition and I joined together to speak on the work that has been done since the very important Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and what has flowed from that. I believe the same thing will flow from the royal commission into aged care, which is why I initiated it. This is a matter that we have to deal with as a parliament and as a government. We are dealing with it is a government but there is more to do. I think the royal commission will greatly aid us in that quest to join together to focus on the matters that need to be addressed in aged care. That's why I called the royal commission. That's why I'm looking forward to its recommendations. The news that comes from is difficult for all of us. So many of us in this place have sat around cabinet tables on either side of politics and dealt with the issues of aged care, and all of us know there is more to be done.

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

Just before I call the member for Lyne, I obviously allowed that last question, and the one before, but in terms of the scope for questions the reason I allowed it was that it had a number of elements to it. But the Practice does make clear that ministers and the Prime Minister can't be asked about the statements of members—that is, nonministers. So, whilst there's a way those statements can be referred to in a question, it does offend the standing orders to ask why a private member said a certain thing, because they're not part of the executive. I'm just pointing that out to try to be helpful.