Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Like many on this side of the chamber and in our community, I take the care of our older Australians very seriously. That's why late last month I asked the Minister for Aged Care about the number of Australians who have, sadly, passed away whilst waiting for an home care package. I and many others in this chamber, like many in our community, were horrified by the interim report handed down by the royal commission on aged care and, in particular, the number of older Australians who were left without the care and support they need so that they can live comfortably in their own homes.

The fact of the matter is that home care packages are drastically underfunded by this conservative government. Thousands and thousands of older Australians, sadly, are dying before they get the chance to receive the care that they deserve. Members of the community are right to demand transparency from their government on this issue as much as anyone else. They have a right to know how many older Australians have died waiting for a package this year, last year and the year before that. But, when I asked the minister a very simple question, the simple answer that we got from the minister at the time was that he simply did not have the latest figures. That is why we are seeking to have those figures tabled here in the chamber, and we gave the minister an opportunity again this afternoon to place on the record what that simple figure is. He has a whole department behind him—thousands of people who could easily provide him with that figure. From the comments that were provided by the minister earlier, I suspect that that figure is slowly making its way through. But, for whatever reason, the minister refuses to provide this chamber with a simple answer to a very simple question.

My community in Victoria deserves to know what the truth is. Every older Australian who is waiting for a home care package, and their family members and carers, deserves the truth. The minister must come to the Senate by the end of the week—ideally today or tomorrow—and provide an answer to my question. The fact that he didn't know the answer when I asked him in late November is outrageous enough. It demonstrated to all of us in this place that he is either uninformed about matters relating to his own portfolio or lacks interest. To delay his answer even further to hide the truth from the Senate and, through us, the Australian people is shameful. One is left to wonder why it is that other ministers, as Senator Keneally articulated earlier, have been able to table answers to questions asked in this chamber a lot sooner than Senator Colbeck has so far been able to do in relation to my question. What is the minister hiding? I think people in the gallery and those who are listening have a right to know why it is that the minister has taken so long to provide an answer to a very simple question.

It is a fundamental responsibility of this place to hold any government of the day to account. The Australian community expect us as senators to ask these very questions. These questions need to be asked. For any minister of the Crown to simply ignore this place—to disrespect the Senate and, through it, the Australian community—is very much unacceptable. I and my colleagues call on the minister to provide an answer to my question as soon as possible.

Question agreed to.