Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to take note of answers by Senator Colbeck. As I go to those answers, I'll address some of the matters that were raised. Quite clearly the government learnt nothing from Newmarch House and the overseas experience of what was happening in aged care. They learnt nothing from the deaths that were occurring right around the world and were on the front page of every newspaper before this crisis got hold to any degree in our aged-care system.

There's the consistent position from the royal commission, as the counsel assisting the commission, Peter Rozen, pointed out, and it is that there was a very clear degree of hubris and self-congratulation by the government. They failed to turn around and listen to what had happened. They failed to act. They failed to take responsibility. Even now they won't take responsibility for a sector they are responsible for funding, oversighting and implementing arrangements for. They still fail that test after these many months.

Let's look at this a bit closer. We're starting to get to know how the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, operates. We know he likes a flashy announcement. Of course we also know there's never follow-up. He likes to not show up when responsibility has to be taken. He famously excused himself from responsibility for the safety of Australian people during the bushfire crisis—remember that? He took himself secretly off to Hawaii and then, in his own defence, said, 'They know I don't hold a hose, mate.' What a great defence! Then he wouldn't take responsibility for the Ruby Princess cruise ship debacle. We now know that in March, three days after he said that cruise ships would not be admitted to enter Australia except under the 'bespoke arrangements under the Australian Border Force', hundreds of infected passengers flew all over Australia, taking COVID with them, and more than 20 people died, even after airlines' pleas for passengers to be identified fell on deaf ears.

Now the Prime Minister would like to deflect responsibility for the aged-care crisis in Australia, when aged care has always been and will continue to be a Commonwealth responsibility. The special Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety report on COVID-19 was released last week, with the failure of this government to take responsibility for aged care laid bare. There can be no excuse, because we all knew what had happened to aged-care facilities in other countries and to Newmarch House. As I said, the government failed to protect the most vulnerable in our community and they continue to fail. They have no specific plan to protect people in aged care. We now face a national tragedy at their hands, at their feet, but it's our loved ones who are paying the price. It's our families and communities paying that price. It's the workers in those industries paying the price, not the minister and not the Prime Minister. Thousands of family members have been forced to say goodbye to parents, grandparents, loved ones, uncles and aunts without being able to hold their hand.

The royal commissioners, it should be noted, cannot so easily be sidelined by the Prime Minister or by his minister, since he chose those commissioners. The royal commissioners have slapped down the claim by the minister that there was a plan for aged care. They said:

… there is a clear need for a defined, consolidated, national aged care COVID-19 plan.

It's clear that, at the peak of the pandemic, the aged-care regulator was missing in action and provided no written guidance to the aged-care sector in the period between 20 June and 3 August. There it is in black and white.

My message to this government is this: implement the six recommendations before the pandemic hits even worse. Implement arrangements that will improve conditions for working people, and make sure not that one in three are trained but that all are trained. (Time expired)