Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Before I get to my prepared remarks, I want to go to the commentary that we've just received from the former Minister for Aged Care, who seeks in his speech today to absolve himself and three terms of Liberal government from an abomination that manifests itself in Australian aged care. That weak contribution was an excuse. It was as good as saying 'the dog ate my homework' to a teacher. No responsibility was taken by the former government. He says, 'I don't understand.' We knew he didn't understand; he couldn't answer questions here in the chamber. The performance of that minister and the department that was supposed to be supporting him failed the Australian people year after year. He admitted that this is the second bit of legislation. Well, we're getting to this legislation as a new government because the former government failed to do the job of government. They failed to do what Australians need us to do.

I see people here in this chamber. If we're all lucky, we're going to get to be aged. If we're all lucky, we love people who are aged. There is no government responsible for aged care other than the federal government. For nine long, long years Australians buried their family members. They buried people who died in aged care. They suffered watching the struggle of people in aged care because the former government didn't do what Australians expected them to do. They didn't care. They didn't pay attention properly. They didn't consult. We heard Senator Colbeck before saying something about the Aboriginal population and that it's well that we celebrate contributions by two amazing women who have been elected to the parliament. It's a privilege, whether you sit on that side in opposition, whether you sit on the crossbench or whether you sit here in government, as my colleague Senator Jana Stewart is going to. It's a privilege to sit here. But the privilege gives you the opportunity and the responsibility to consult properly with groups.

In a throwaway line, the former minister said, 'Well, maybe the ACCHOs called for it,' that maybe the Aboriginal people called for this change, and he dismissed it. That's what we saw from them in government for nine years—a litany of excuses. He wants to play politics with this, because the truth is that report after report after report after report, from the moment that Tony Abbott was elected, through the prime ministership of—who was the next one? You've got to remember. There were three in a row. Who was the second one?