Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Aged Care Services, Senator Colbeck. When former New South Wales Liberal Premier and current CEO of HammondCare Mike Baird called for the ADF to be deployed to aged-care homes to assist with the staffing crisis, Mr Morrison rebuked this suggestion, saying Defence Force personnel weren't a 'shadow workforce'. Just 26 days later, Mr Morrison backflipped. Isn't this just another example of the Morrison-Joyce government doing too little too late?

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

It's a pity that the good senator wasn't listening to what the Prime Minister said yesterday, because yesterday the Prime Minister reaffirmed that the Defence Force is not a shadow workforce for any workforce in this country but particularly for the aged-care workforce. The announcement that we made yesterday was to pull together some targeted support for aged-care facilities that were in significant distress—that's what we announced yesterday—and to build teams in each state to support providers in each state. The Defence Force is not a shadow workforce. It is not a shadow workforce. The Prime Minister said that when the proposal was first put on the table, and he repeated it yesterday. So it would be nice if Labor senators opposite actually took notice of what was happening rather than just playing politics. They are exploiting the pandemic rather than doing what we're doing, which is dealing with the pandemic.

We continue to work with the sector to provide them with the resources that they need in support of their management of the pandemic: important decisions like the advice that the Chief Medical Officer made early in January so that more staff could go back to work quickly and safely in support of the residents in the residential aged-care facilities, a significant decision that has made a real difference to the capacity of the aged-care sector and facilities in particular to maintain their workforce and support residents; the supply of rapid antigen tests, which are now going to every aged-care facility in the country, with 2.5 million of them dispatched last week in support of the facilities that have an outbreak, the facilities that have contact and the facilities that require them for screening; the supply of PPE, where there were some issues coming out of the national stockpile, which we acknowledged, and we provided additional resources to support the sector in respect of those. (Time expired)

The:

Senator Ayres, a supplementary question?

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What a disgrace! How many older Australians in residential aged care died in the 26 days it took for the Morrison-Joyce government to listen to the warnings and to finally act?

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

I completely reject the premise of the question, in the context that the Prime Minister said that it wasn't a shadow workforce, it isn't a shadow workforce and we still say it's not a shadow workforce. The measure that we introduced yesterday was a targeted approach to support particular facilities that are at significant levels of stress with respect to workforce. That's what we're doing. We are not providing a shadow workforce, as that lot over there dishonestly try to imply. That's not what we're doing. Yes, unfortunately, over the course of the pandemic—

Slade Brockman (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, resume your seat. Senator Ayres on a point of order?

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The point of order is on relevance. The question was very direct: over the course of the 26 days, how many older Australians died in the residential aged-care system for which the minister is responsible?

Slade Brockman (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister directly addressed your question at the start of his answer. I believe his answer has been directly relevant to the question. The minister has 18 seconds remaining. Minister, I am listening to the remainder of your answer. You have the call.

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

I haven't done a calculation based on who died on what day and who died on another day. As I told the Senate committee last week, there is actually a lag in the data. Unfortunately, there is a lag in the data, and that's been demonstrated by some jumps in figures over the period of time. But we continue to work closely with the sector in support of them through the pandemic. (Time expired)

Slade Brockman (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Ayres, a second supplementary question?

Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

AYRES () (): If the minister can't answer that question, how many older Australians were locked in their rooms without a wash for days, how many were left in soiled pads, how many were left with untended wounds and how many were left unfed and neglected in the 26 days it took for the Morrison-Joyce government and this minister to listen to the warnings and finally act?

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

If anyone ever wants an example of how the Labor Party are exploiting the pandemic—rather than dealing with the pandemic, which is what we're doing—there's an example of it in that question. What a disgrace! What a complete disgrace! You should be ashamed of yourself, Senator Ayres.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Slade Brockman (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order on my left!

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

The aged-care sector are under extreme stress in this country. We've acknowledged that. All of us from the Prime Minister down have acknowledged that, and we continue to work with the sector in support of them and, most importantly, the residents that are in aged-care facilities. The approach that the Labor Party are taking, demonising the sector, and the effects are making it very, very difficult for us to strike the appropriate balance between residents having visitors and residents not having visitors and being locked in their rooms. Their approach is actually hurting residents in aged care, not helping them.