Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's got to be pretty tough to come in here at the moment as a senator on the other side and stand up to defend what's happening in aged care. It's got to be pretty tough. You know it's pretty tough when colleagues like Senator Stoker have to refer to in-home-care packages as the shining beacon of what the government's done, because we know that rollout has not gone smoothly either and has left a lot wanting. What we've seen in Victoria in aged care over the past few months is nothing short of a national tragedy, and it is nothing short of a disaster for those Australians in residential aged care and for the families who have had to watch what they go through in residential aged care during this pandemic.

I don't think there's a single person in this room who expected the government, the minister or the Prime Minister to predict the global pandemic, but when the pandemic was upon us, when we started seeing the lessons from overseas and when we started seeing the lessons in Australia—of Newmarch House, of what was happening in New South Wales—at that point we did expect them to come up with a plan. At that point we did expect them to go through a process of lessons learned, to look around at what was happening globally and what was happening in Australia, to develop a plan and to do what they had to do to keep Australians safe.

No-one expected the government to predict the unpredictable, but we did expect a degree of ministerial responsibility for the crisis which is happening in aged care, aged care being a federal government responsibility. We expected the Prime Minister to take responsibility for it. We expected the aged-care minister to take responsibility for it. We expected them to do what was required to keep Australians safe. That is not an unreasonable set of expectations for us as the opposition and certainly not an unreasonable set of expectations for the Australians in aged care and for the families who love them. But the government failed on that. The minister said he has a plan, but, if the royal commission couldn't find it, how can the Australians in aged care expect to find it? How does the sector find it? How do the families who have family members in aged care find it? If the royal commission couldn't find it, where is it? What is it? These families expected more from their federal government. They expected a sector which was resilient, but, most importantly, they expected a sector which would be prepared to respond to the things we knew could come, and we knew they could come because we saw them come in New South Wales and we've seen them come overseas.

This government does not take ministerial responsibility when it comes to the aged-care sector seriously. We saw that last time we were here in Canberra, when the minister turned his back on this chamber as we were seeking an explanation about what was happening. In the chamber, he turned his back and walked out. We saw that in question time today when he waffled in answers to questions from Labor senators—serious questions about what's happening in the aged-care sector in Victoria and his responsibility for it. This is not a minister who takes his responsibilities seriously. This is not a minister who takes his responsibility to this chamber seriously, and we see that time and time again.

All we get from this government are excuses. We've seen today in this debate more excuses that it's not the government's problem; it's someone else's problem. You are the level of government responsible for aged care, so, while it's easier to deflect the blame and harder to stand up and take responsibility, that is what is expected of you. That is what is expected of you by those Australians in aged care in Victoria. And it's not just Victorians. I know people in my home state of South Australia are looking at what's happened in aged care in Victoria and they feel scared too. They feel scared because they don't feel like the government, which is meant to be representing them in Canberra, which is looking after this sector, which is meant to have a plan and has been found wanting, will be there for them if a crisis comes to SA. They are scared, and I don't blame them for being scared. So, Minister, instead of standing here and waffling, or trying to devolve yourself of responsibility or trying to attack Labor senators—because that's really all you can do if you don't want to stand up and take responsibility and ownership of what you've been doing—why don't you think of the Australians out there who feel fear, think about the Australians suffering and actually take your responsibility as a minister seriously.

Question agreed to.