Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Gallagher for the question. I didn't brief the cabinet in that period of time, but I have been participating in a daily call with the Prime Minister, senior colleagues and the health minister—effectively, a subcommittee of the cabinet—every day all through, particularly, the Victorian circumstance, and sometimes twice a day. This is not, as the Labor Party might try to play it, some sort of frivolous process. We have been working very closely on a daily basis to address the circumstances, particularly in Victoria. I've been working with the PM, the finance minister, Senator Ruston, the Treasurer, the health minister and a number of other colleagues and senior departmental officials across agencies every day to bring to bear the resources that we require to manage what has been a growing outbreak in Victoria. We needed to inject significant resources to assist both the Victorian government and the aged-care sector in Victoria to deal with what was a growing situation. And we continue to do that. We continue to meet on a regular basis. I have a separate meeting every day with the Victorian aged-care recovery centre to get a situation update on the circumstances in Victoria in particular, given the continuing situation that is there.

So the government is not—as is attempted to be portrayed by the opposition—doing anything other than putting its full attention on this. At the highest levels, on a daily, and sometimes twice-daily, basis— (Time expired)