Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

If this is government putting aged care as their top priority, I'd hate to think what's happening in other areas that aren't top priority. This, supposedly, gets the government's undivided attention. What happens when there's something that hasn't got the government's undivided attention? How did we get to the position where the government is comparing what happened elsewhere to what happens in Australia and is saying that we are doing relatively well? How did we get to the position where people are reporting finding their loved ones with insects and ants crawling over their wounds, where people know that their loved ones are not being fed and that they're lying in soiled nappies?

That is not doing anything but being atrocious. It is not being reasonably well managed. It is just so appalling that, having looked at what was happening overseas, we didn't act to put in place the strongest measures possible to ensure that COVID did not get into our aged-care facilities. At the COVID committee, the minister has a number of times stated, 'The disease is coming in with the care workers, so it was inevitable.' But what we find from the information that's now coming out of Victoria is that in fact the healthcare workers and the care workers are catching it in their workplace.

For years, people have been talking about the poor conditions in aged care. We have a royal commission, so now the Prime Minister says, 'We can't do anything; we can't make too many changes,' and the minister says, 'We can't make too many changes because of the royal commission.' We have a royal commission because the position was so bad. Knowing that very well, we went into the pandemic without the proper plans in place to make sure that we would stop COVID getting in. We know it wasn't inevitable, as the government and, in particular, the minister say, because there are facilities that have managed to keep it out. Yesterday I articulated in this place the measures that were taken in February and March by some providers, and, when a healthcare worker did get COVID, it did not go any further. So it was not inevitable that it would spread. It is another symptom of this government's flawed approach to aged care. I've said in this place a number of times that there have been 35 reports over 40 years.

This government came in seven years ago. They have had that time to take much more urgent action on aged care. But what do they do? Instead of fixing it, we get a royal commission and then we can kick it off even further down the track. We've known for a long time that there wasn't the adequate level of care in aged-care facilities. Residents need four hours and 18 minutes daily; that's what the research shows. We need at least $3.5 billion to be invested. What do the Prime Minister and the minister say? They say, 'We're going to mention that in the budget, potentially.' It's too late then. Invest the money now. You know very well that we need increased care. We know very well that we need workforce. Yes, we need a surge workforce, but we actually need a permanent increase of workforce in aged-care facilities. We know we need to improve clinical care because we've documented that in the last Senate report on aged care. We know that the clinical care in aged-care facilities is not up to scratch. We know that aged-care providers are actually confused about their duty of care. Knowing this, the government does nothing to address the clinical care needs and nothing to address that issue around duty of care.

There are so many faults in our aged-care system. And the government is saying, 'Leave it to the royal commission, and then we'll make a few ad hoc allocations of resources as an issue bobs up.' We still aren't seeing the retention bonus being made available to all workers in aged-care facilities, because apparently aged-care residents only get COVID from the healthcare workers, not from the other allied support workers in there, nor from the cleaners, nor from the cooks—apparently. How many times does the government have to be told that this is a significant issue and that you can't kick the can down the road? You have to deal with it now.

I'm sick of being told we're making this political. This is a government. This is politics. This is a crisis situation, and the government needs to respond. If it takes us standing up every day in this chamber and saying, 'You are not doing it right,' we will keep doing that. Certainly the Greens will, and I'm seeing nods from the opposition as well. This needs to be brought to the government's attention because we need that level of investment. We need those plans from every single provider. This is not just about Victoria. We could see this situation replicated across this country, because this government cannot stand up with its hand on its heart and say that every single aged-care facility in this country is COVID-ready—because they are not. They simply are not COVID-ready. We've seen what's happened in Victoria. That could happen anywhere else in this country if COVID-19, unfortunately, breaks out again, because, as I said, not all of these facilities and providers can say that they are totally prepared. They don't have the workforce. There's not a surge workforce in place. This is not having a go at the workers, because they're working so hard to protect older Australians right now, but they either weren't provided with infectious disease control training—it's not mandatory—or they were given it online. In retrospect, the government sort of think maybe that wasn't a good idea, and they will try to do it face to face.

There have been 74 spot checks in Victoria and, I think, 34 in New South Wales. Spot checks aren't good enough. Random spot checks aren't good enough. Providers all need to be prepared. They need to be following the examples of those topnotch providers who thought about this in February and March, which is when this government should have been out there with every provider.

Our regulator needs more staff. It needs more grunt. We've been calling for that for years and years in terms of improving regulations and improving clinical care. More and more aged-care facilities now are subacute care providers. We know they don't properly understand clinical care.

I have been calling for the list of all the facilities in Victoria that have a COVID-19 outbreak. We still have not been provided with that full list, only with a list of those facilities that have over five cases. Providers are saying they need that list. What is the government's response? 'The Victorian heat maps will tell you where it is.' The heat maps are not detailed enough. Again, the government is not being transparent and not being accountable.

Invest the money that's needed—now. Increase the hours of care—making sure you've got nurses on, making sure that the care is properly provided, making sure that all aged-care facilities are prepared for a potential outbreak. One thing you can do for the loved ones of those who have died is promise that this won't happen anywhere else. But you're not demonstrating that you are learning from this experience. You are not demonstrating that you will commit the funding that is needed or put in place the plans. You are not even demonstrating that you understand the extent of what is happening and what you need to do to fix this crisis. Give older Australians hope that, if they need care, it will be there, and that they are not literally risking their lives if they go into residential care, which is what is happening now. I would not let my mum go into residential aged care at this point, because I cannot guarantee her safety if I did. And I know other Australians around this country will be thinking exactly the same thing. I know that there are providers out there who want to do the right thing by older Australians. Support them to do that. Make sure you've got the plans in place.