Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

The opposition does not move this censure motion lightly. In fact, we have been asking questions of this minister and holding him to account for the last five question times, following his appearance before the select committee. We have been holding him to account, and we get accused of base politics. It's not base politics to require that a minister does his job properly. The minister has failed to lead. He has failed to plan. He has failed to protect. He has failed to take responsibility. He has failed to provide an environment where the appropriate level of care is provided to older Australians.

Since this outbreak in Victoria occurred, we have seen the number of cases grow from just a few cases in aged care to its peak at over 2,000 cases across 125 aged-care facilities where older Australians were taken on trolleys, put into ambulances and taken to private hospitals because the system was broken. Older Australians were malnourished, dehydrated and soiled. They hadn't eaten for at least 24 hours. They hadn't had their medication. Their families didn't know where they were. The people providing care to them didn't know who they were. This is the system that this minister oversaw, and this is why we are holding him to account. People are angry. People are upset. People go into aged care because they think they're going to be protected. People think the environment of residential aged care will help their loved ones, will care for them and will keep them safe.

The minister told the select committee that he was first worried about community transmission levels rising in Victoria in mid-June, but action in aged-care facilities didn't happen until cases were well underway and until staff working across multiple facilities had it. The Victorian Aged Care Response Centre wasn't established until 23 July. By then, there were more than 100 outbreaks, with thousands of cases, hundreds hospitalised and the death count increasing. Today, we hear that 462 Australians have succumbed to COVID-19 in residential aged care in a system that this minister is in charge of. That's why we're having this debate today. It's not trivial. It's not base politics. It's real. It's about 462 families who entrusted their loved ones to the aged-care system, and it failed them.

And you were warned. That's the other thing that makes people angry—not just what has happened but the fact that this government was warned. It was warned in October. This minister couldn't tell the select committee whether or not he had briefed the cabinet on a report titled Neglect. He couldn't recall whether he'd been invited to the decision-making table with the people who run this government. He couldn't recall whether he had briefed them on Neglect! You were warned. You were warned in October, and you were warned every three months by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Every three months they told you, 'This system is failing.' More than half of their site audits failed, and 100 per cent of the review audits failed. And what happened? What happened was: 'Oh, well. We'll wait for the next one, shall we? We'll see what happens.'

The standard that was most not met was personal and clinical care. Personal and clinical care for older Australians means showering, getting medication, being cared for, meals. That's care. That's what failed. And this minister did nothing. Then he got Dorothy Henderson Lodge and then he got Newmarch House. Then he saw what happened in the Northern Hemisphere. Still, we just kicked along and waited as community transmission rates grew.

You've blamed the Victorian government. You've blamed the New South Wales government. You've blamed the regulator. This motion today—and hopefully the Senate supports it—is about your actions, your responsibility and your accountability for the job you have. It's hard. No-one's saying it's not hard. But we expect you to be able to do your job. If you can't do your job, get out of the way and give it to someone who can do the job, because older Australians deserve that.