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

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Health and Aged Care, Senator Colbeck. How many residential aged-care workers have tested positive for COVID-19 this year? How many-aged care residents have been hospitalised with COVID-19 this year? And how many have tragically died?

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

[by video link] There were a number of elements to that question. I don't have the number of aged-care workers who were positive at the end of December last year to give you. I'm not able to do that at the moment.

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

Senator O'Neill?

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

The question was: how many residential aged-care workers have tested positive for COVID-19 this year?

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

I will allow you to restate that. The minister has been speak very briefly, so I am listening very carefully. It was a very factual question, so I will call the minister to continue.

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

I have the total number of infections among aged-care workers through the pandemic, but I don't have the number at the end of December last year. So I can't give you the difference. But across the pandemic there have been 2,278 staff who have been infected with COVID-19. As of today in New South Wales, there are 33 workers who have contracted the virus. Tragically, there have been two deaths in aged care, one a home-care recipient who, from the advice I have, contracted the virus from a family member, and one—

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

Senator O'Neill on a point of order.

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

I am pleased that Minister Colbeck has been able to deliver some numbers, but he is not answering the questions that have been asked, which were very specific. The claim is on a point of relevance. They're interesting facts, but they are not facts that answer the question that was asked.

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

The minister is actually talking specifically about numbers. He outlined at the beginning why he can't answer in the terms you requested. I am reluctant to rule out of order a minister who is specifically talking about infections and the unfortunate deaths of staff and residents. I have allowed you to restate the question. There is an opportunity to debate the merits of the question afterwards. But I believe the minister is very narrowly confining himself to the information he has at hand and he is therefore being directly relevant.

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

I'll just indicate that the questions are specific because there is information that we seek. While I'm interested in what the minister has to say, because it is a matter of such importance, if the minister can't answer this question he really should take it on notice and provide us with the correct facts.

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

Again, Senator O'Neill, I allow some flexibility to people, particularly remotely, being able to restate the question. I say again that there is an opportunity to debate the merits of the answer and whether something should be taken on notice or otherwise after question time. The minister is very narrowly confining himself to the facts he has at hand. In fact, at the start he went to explain why he couldn't answer it in the terms requested. These facts, I believe, are directly relevant to the question.

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

So there's been one recipient of home care who has tragically passed away, and all our condolences go to the family of that person. And there has been one person who lived in residential aged care who passed away, and again our condolences go to that person's family. That person, who died in recent days, was an unvaccinated resident of a residential aged-care facility centre in Sydney. I will take the details of the other information on notice and report that back to the chamber.

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

Senator O'Neill, a supplementary question?

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

Mr Morrison committed that all aged-care workers would be fully vaccinated by Easter. Why have only 36 per cent of aged-care workers been fully vaccinated?

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

[by video link] We've been through this a number of times in the chamber now. When the Prime Minister made that commitment the intention of the government was to vaccinate the workforce and the residents at the same time. We did, however, take the health advice, which came from evidence out of other jurisdictions, other countries around the world, that it was not safe to do that. So, based on that advice, we were forced to change the way that we were vaccinating the workforce.

We continue to provide opportunities for the workforce to get vaccination. We continue to focus our attention on doing that. As Senator O'Neill quite rightly says, 36.6 per cent of the aged-care residential workforce have received full vaccination and 56.8 per cent have had their first vaccination. (Time expired)

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

Senator O'Neill, a final supplementary question?

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

Minister, will Mr Morrison take responsibility for failing to establish national quarantine and bungling the vaccine rollout, which has left vulnerable older Australians in residential aged care at risk of COVID-19?

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

[by video link] I reject the assertions made by Senator O'Neill. Her blatant politicisation of the vaccine rollout and the Labor Party's blatant politicisation of the vaccine rollout has done absolutely nothing for the confidence in the national program. You could say that the Labor Party have been deliberately attempting to undermine this process all the way through.

Of course the government takes responsibility for making available vaccines to Australians across the country and we have reinforced and reaffirmed that responsibility on a number of occasions. We continue to adapt the rollout to meet immediate concerns and to provide more opportunities for Australians to access a vaccine as soon as possible. We've said that we'd like every Australian who wants a vaccine to have one by the end of the year, and we are well and truly on target to meet that objective. (Time expired)