Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this afternoon to also take note of answers given to questions by Senator Colbeck and Senator Cash. It is indeed a greatly disturbing event: the royal commission's report that has been handed down, in relation to the treatment of people with disability under the COVID-19 arrangements—or, should I say, lack of arrangements. The royal commission chair, Ronald Sackville, has found that the government was responsible for a 'serious failure' in its communications with Australians with disability. The report noted it was the absence of consultation that led to significant failures in the responses of the Australian government. It is the most basic and fundamental task of this government—of any government—to undertake consultation with those affected, in any time of change or need, and especially those who might be vulnerable to those circumstances.

We have seen, in this time, people with disability left stranded at home, without meals, without being able to wash, without being able to move themselves in order to prevent bedsores, and without being able to take required medication and get required support. It was entirely predictable and obvious that these kinds of scenarios were likely to occur—entirely predictable.

We know that disability care workers often need to work across a number of households of people with disability, and we also know they're poorly paid. We also know that those workers had their own fears and concerns at the height of COVID about their own susceptibility to catching COVID and their own caring responsibilities. So it was of surprise to no-one that disability support workers fell away and that the basic care needs of many people with disability went totally unmet. Because of the suspension, because of the lockdowns, we also saw the usual recreational and other outing activities suspended, and that again meant that people with disability were left further isolated and alone.

Australians with disability have been treated as an absolute afterthought by this government during this pandemic. Not only were these outcomes for people with disability entirely predictable; people with disability were picking up the phone. They certainly called my office to ask for help and support, and I'm sure they would have been calling your offices as well. These Australians should have been our first and top priority, not treated as an afterthought.

We also saw an appalling lack of personal protective equipment for disability care workers. This meant that care workers were afraid for their own health and also afraid of spreading COVID-19 to their own families. In that climate of fear, many of them didn't take their shifts, didn't go to work, in many instances because they were on casual employment contracts; frankly, they weren't required to. If you are permanent part-time or permanent full-time, it's a requirement of your job that you go to work or else call in sick or take personal leave. But in these circumstances, where large numbers of workers were concerned for their own wellbeing and safety and were on casual contracts, it was absolutely inevitable that they were going to feel vulnerable. But this government— (Time expired)