Kristina Keneally (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Senator Colbeck. An aged-care manager in Victoria who has been forced to work 80-hour weeks due to staff shortages has said:

During our recent outbreak I requested isolation gowns and N95 masks from the national stockpile. Instead, we received latex gloves and hand sanitiser. I laughed, then I went into my office and cried. It's like a bad joke.

More than two years into this pandemic, why is the Morrison-Joyce government still failing aged-care workers?

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

I don't accept the premise of Senator Keneally's question. As I indicated to the chamber yesterday, we have acknowledged that there were some issues with supplies out of the national stockpile. That's one of the things that we've been working on. Coles, Woolworths and a whole range of organisations indicated that they had supply-chain issues because they had workforce out of their logistics chains, and that impacted on their capacity to deliver.

I'm advised that, in respect of this particular facility, the size and scale of the delivery—and this happened with a number of facilities—meant that the deliveries were split into a number of different packages, a number of different deliveries. So things would have arrived at different times because of those issues we had with the logistics chain. The government has acknowledged that we've had issues with deliveries out of the national stockpile. That's what we have spent all of January working on to fix, because the logistics operators that were supplying and moving the products had staff effects from COVID. That's why it happened, as in so many other logistics chains around the country. For the Labor Party to expect that one part of the economy and one part of the community won't be impacted by COVID when the rest is is just completely naive, and it shows how much they're prepared to play politics with the pandemic rather than actually deal with the pandemic. They're not interested in finding solutions. They're not interested in actually dealing with the issues that are real—and they are real for that provider, who's made comment to the local media. We're interested in dealing with the problems, and that's what we'll continue to do.

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

Senator Keneally, a supplementary question?

Kristina Keneally (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A nursing manager in New South Wales said:

I have never felt pressure like this … The reality is, this government has made a huge amount of mistakes. My staff should not be on the pittance they are being paid. I don't think anyone in aged care is OK.

Will the minister say sorry to this nursing manager for the mistakes he and his government have made?

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

(—) (): The first thing I'll do is acknowledge, again, the magnificent work that aged-care providers and their workforce have done during COVID. We know that they've doubled up on shifts. We know that they've worked really hard in the interests of the residents that they're caring for. We understand that, and we've supported the aged-care sector with PPE, with rapid antigen tests, with surge workforce and with a program to cover the additional costs of managing a COVID-19 outbreak within a facility. A whole range of measures have been in place right through the pandemic. At certain points of time during the pandemic, there have been circumstances that have arisen that have impacted on the capacity to appropriately deliver those services. I've just been telling the chamber about the issues we've had with supply chains. (Time expired)

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

Senator Keneally, a second supplementary question?

Kristina Keneally (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Aged-care nurse Sue has asked:

Mr Morrison, do I go to Mr Smith who is in pain, or Mrs Jones who is on the floor, or John who has got behaviour problems and is intruding into other people's rooms? I have floor alarms going and buzzers going. What would you like me to do?

What does the minister for aged care services think Sue should do?

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

The question is an example of how cheap the Labor Party are really trying to be in relation to the delivery of aged-care services. It's impossible for me, from the question, to try and interpret the decisions that Sue has had to make, but I acknowledge how difficult they are. I acknowledge how difficult they are, and we have provided over 80,000 shifts of surge workforce around the country and we have provided additional resources wherever we can. We have not spared any expense with respect to supporting the sector with those workforces. I know that the choices that Sue has had to make are going to be difficult, and they are the stresses that all Australians have felt through the healthcare system, through the aged-care system, through the NDIS and through a whole range of workplaces in managing COVID-19. (Time expired)