Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Aged Care and Senior Australians, Senator Colbeck. Page 3 of the royal commission's special report into aged care and COVID-19 states:

… the Australian Government should publish a national aged care plan for COVID-19 and establish a national aged care advisory body.

How, then, can the minister claim, as he did earlier in this question time, 'The royal commission made no comment about what we said or did'?

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

The comment that I made was with respect to the question that was asked to me about withholding of PPE. The report made comment, in relation to that question, with respect to the actions of providers in withholding PPE, not with respect to what the government had done. My reference—and, again, the dishonest misrepresentation of comments I make in the chamber and applying them to a completely different context continues—was directly answering and being directly relevant to a question that I was asked with respect to the provision of PPE. In the context of the question with respect to PPE, the comment of the royal commission was related directly to the actions of providers in withholding PPE from staff. I agree with the royal commission that it was deplorable if that's exactly what happened.

With respect to other elements of the royal commission's report, we have said that we don't agree with the royal commission with respect to the plan. We've always maintained that we have a plan in place that we will continue to update as we learn more about the virus, how it operates and how we should engage with the residential aged-care sector. We will continue to do that. So it's dishonest for the Labor Party to come in here and misrepresent both what the royal commission said and what I've said here in the chamber. We accepted all recommendations of the royal commission's report on COVID-19. We have said that we will respond to them on 1 December in this place, as the royal commission recommended. It would be nice if the Labor Party were actually honest— (Time expired)

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

Senator Gallagher, a supplementary question?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, earlier in question time you said, 'The royal commission made no comment about what we said or did.' Page 4 of the royal commission special report states, 'There was not a COVID-19 plan devoted solely to aged care.' Was the minister intentionally misleading the Senate, or has he not read the special report?

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

Again, the opposition should listen to the answer to the primary question before they just read out the supplementary question that they've been given. I specifically answered that question. The previous question that was addressed to me was relating to the actions of a provider, not the government. In every respect of the comments that were made by the royal commission with respect to the government and the recommendations that have been made, we have said we agree with those recommendations and we will implement them. That's what we've said and that's what we will do.

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

Senator Gallagher, a final supplementary question?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

) ( ): Page 25 of the royal commission's special report labels the guidelines provided to workers as 'deplorable'. Will the minister now correct the record and admit that the special report made specific comments about his failure, or will he continue to deny responsibility and mislead the Senate and the Australian people?

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

The Labor Party again misrepresents what the royal commission has said. They have so little respect for this place not only do they misrepresent what we have said but they misrepresent even what the royal commission has said. We have said that we will accept every recommendation of the royal commission's report that was tabled last Thursday. That's what we will do. We will report to this place by 1 December, as recommendation 1 has said. We are well on the way to implementing four of the six recommendations, and we have applied $1.6 billion to our plan to support the aged-care sector through the COVID-19 outbreak, a fact that was acknowledged by the royal commission in its report. So we will, as we said in our response to the royal commission report last Thursday, accept all of the recommendations. We will report to this parliament by 1 December.