Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to make a very short contribution to the general business debate this evening. The Australian government is determined to ensure a safe environment exists in aged-care facilities as we work together to contain the spread of COVID-19. This has been an extremely difficult time for Australians as we continue to deal with this contagious virus, and we offer our deep condolences to those families who've lost loved ones. The government is working with aged-care providers and state and territory public health authorities to support arrangements to manage infection control and COVID-19 outbreaks.

This virus is highly infectious, and we have seen how rapidly it can spread through communities when people come into contact with someone who has the virus. We only need to look at the spread through communities here in Australia and see the devastating impacts the virus has had on countries across the world. The Australian government understands that we need to do everything we can to prevent COVID-19 from spreading to vulnerable Australians. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the federal government has announced funding of more than $1 billion in new measurers to respond to the impacts of COVID-19 on aged care. As a government we've been building our response to COVID-19 in residential aged care since January this year. Overall, the Morrison government is delivering record investment across the aged-care system over the forward estimates, from $13.3 billion in 2012-13 under Labor, growing to an estimated $25.4 billion in 2022-23. That is close to double.

The federal government has been working with the aged-care sector along with state and territory governments and their respective authorities to assist with our response to the impact of the virus on aged care. Importantly, we are incorporating learnings not just from our own country's experience but also from looking at what is happening overseas. As long as community transmission is occurring in Australia, we will continue to face significant challenges in aged care and we will continue to do everything we can to stop the spread and protect older Australians.

Debate interrupted.