Senate debates

Tuesday, 1 September 2020

Motions

Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians; Attempted Censure

2:54 pm

Photo of Mathias CormannMathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

You are here trying to use and abuse the tragedy of individual Australians as a desperate political weapon, and it is a sad reflection not just on Labor senators in this chamber but on the Labor Party under the leadership of Anthony Albanese. You should collectively be ashamed of yourselves. Our government and this minister will continue to do what we have done every single day during this pandemic—that is, make judgements about the best way forward in very difficult circumstances. I've sat there in the ERC as this minister has come forward with measure after measure to strengthen our capacity to respond to what is a very difficult circumstance. You haven't seen that clearly.

This minister could be walking on water, and you would still be finding reasons to criticise him because he can't swim. The truth is you will try. You've seen an opportunity. There was a clumsy moment captured on television, and the minister has apologised for not having a set of numbers at his fingertips at that time. That is what you have used to pursue a base partisan political campaign. This is not about you genuinely caring about what is right and what is wrong. This is about you pursuing the partisan political interests of the Labor Party, and you should be seriously ashamed of yourselves. On this side of the chamber, we understand that we are dealing with a very serious challenge. We will continue to do the best we can to ensure that all Australians have the best opportunity to get through this period safely. We are sad that some Australians in the context of a global pandemic will sadly—

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