Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In his answer to my question today we saw the minister for ageing, Minister Colbeck, again fail to say exactly what it is that he did not get right. So how can we know he's fixed it, if he can't even say what he didn't get right?

Now, he's admitted he realised he didn't get it right in the experience of St Basil's, but that was months after the experience at Dorothy Henderson Lodge and it was months after Newmarch House. Even still he says he's having conversations, but this week he hasn't been able to point to one action he's taken in response to warnings. He's referred to conversations, to talking, to letters, to webinars. Well, older Australians need a minister who will hear the warnings, who will take real action, who will get it right and who will protect the 200,000 Australians in aged care.

We also saw in the minister's response to my question more self congratulation. When I used direct quotes from the minister, he said I was doing so dishonestly. Well, these were your quotes, Minister. They were your quotes, and I didn't use them dishonestly; I used your words about these exact issues. It may be difficult for you to hear, but they were your words. This morning you walked away from scrutiny again. You turned your back on this chamber and walked out on an issue you know is so critical not just to the people in here but to the people out there, to everyone with a parent in aged care, whether they've lost them or not, because everybody is scared about what's happening in Victoria. They are terrified about what could be coming to them because they have a minister and a Prime Minister who don't act. From not acting, how can they conclude anything other than that you don't care enough? Because you had warnings and time and time again you failed to heed them. And it is not just during this pandemic; how many reports have sat on your shelves, gathering dust? The warnings existed before the pandemic, they continued to flow during the pandemic and you let your hubris get in the way of action. And that is unacceptable.

It is unacceptable for the families who have lost loved ones and lost them in the loneliest of ways. God forbid we ever have to say goodbye to our parents or our spouses or the people we love like that over Facetime, not being able to hold their hand. It is disgraceful. And self-congratulations doesn't cut it. It doesn't cut it. It's not acceptable. You could have fixed the issues with PPE, and instead we saw health workers with one glove. Just let that image sink in for a moment: one glove. What kind of choices are we putting these workers through? What kind of stress are we putting them through?

And I reject the assertion from the ministers that we are questioning the commitment of aged-care workers. Are you kidding me? Labor is standing here for aged-care workers. We are standing here because we know what they are going through. They want to keep the people they care for alive, but they need support. They need help from the arm of government which is responsible for this sector.

So you can save your self-congratulations. You can save the hubris. You can save the words that I quoted to you and you felt uncomfortable hearing again. I wish I didn't have to quote them to you. I wish I didn't have to ask questions. I wish we weren't sitting here, holding the executive to account over this, but we are, and the least you can do is answer to this chamber. The least you can do is stay in your seat and be part of this debate instead of walking off to your office. The least you can do is listen, act and help. It's a simple thing people are asking of you. You owe that to the Australians in aged care. You owe it to every single Victorian. You owe it to every single Australian.