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

My question is to the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Senator Colbeck. How is it that the minister's strongest defence of the failure to listen to the warning of Dorothy Henderson Lodge is, 'We talked'? Why did the minister fail to listen to this warning and take real action to ensure that the events at Dorothy Henderson Lodge were not repeated?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wouldn't agree with what Senator Sheldon has just said, because we actually did start very quickly implementing around issues raised at Dorothy Henderson Lodge. I actually have answered this question before, in question time earlier this week. We very quickly learnt the issues around workforce, and at Dorothy Henderson Lodge we didn't at that point in time have our surge workforce provisions in place, and we had to rely on some capacity from New South Wales Health, which they provided. But within a week of the Dorothy Henderson Lodge outbreak we actually did have our surge workforce processes in place. Our contracts were in place very quickly. So, as I've said—and I said it this morning—as this pandemic has progressed, as we've learnt things that we need to address, we've continued to do that. We actually did put surge workforce into place. We announced the $101 million on 11 March, which was only seven days after the Dorothy Henderson Lodge outbreak commenced.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Sheldon, a supplementary question?

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

Senator Fierravanti-Wells, the former shadow minister for ageing, has said:

The aged care sector committee has effectively only been a 'talkfest' committee with little progress made over the years since it was established in 2014.

Did the minister fail to listen to the warning of Dorothy Henderson Lodge and take real action because the Morrison government is all talk and no action?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think for Senator Sheldon to try to diminish the work that's been done by people who are serving the sector is unfortunate. One of the reasons we called a royal commission is that we wanted to have a forensic look at the entire sector. If Senator Sheldon had been watching the royal commission closely he would have seen that one of the questions the royal commission is actually asking us is the relationship between the sector and government, and I think it's a very appropriate question. So, I support the comments of Senator Fierravanti-Wells in that context, because the relationship between the sector and government is an extremely important one. I look forward to the recommendations of the royal commission in that sense, and I don't agree with Senator Sheldon with respect to the circumstances that came out of Dorothy Henderson Lodge, and I've— (Time expired)

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Sheldon, a final supplementary question?

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

The Morrison cabinet failed to listen to the interim report of the royal commission titled Neglect, to the warnings from the northern hemisphere, to the warnings from experts and unions and to the warnings of Dorothy Henderson Lodge in March and Newmarch House in April. How many of the more than 360 older Australians who have died in aged care would be alive if this minister had done more than just talked?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I clearly reject the premise of the question that Senator Sheldon has just put, because this government has continued to act and build its response to the COVID-19 pandemic in aged care as that response has required to be grown. I've mentioned that a number of times this week. So I reject the premise of the question put to me by Senator Sheldon. I have seen those actions put in place every single day as I have worked alongside health officials, officials from the Victorian Aged Care Response Centre and officials from the caseworker team that looks after every facility that has a COVID-19 outbreak. We have consistently looked at the circumstances in every other facility and we have looked at what we might learn and what we might do differently. We consistently ask ourselves what we might do differently. We have acted on the advice of the AHPPC and health professionals to ensure that we do the best that we can for senior Australians— (Time expired)