Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I'll ask the Minister for Health to add to this answer. What we know is that, because Australia has been so successful in ensuring that fatalities resulting from COVID-19 more broadly across the population, then clearly those in residential aged-care facilities, who are the most vulnerable, are going to have a higher proportion. The only figure I need to point you to to demonstrate that is that in New Zealand that rate is even higher, at over 70 per cent. And I don't think anyone in this House would be suggesting that in New Zealand, as opposed to Australia, they have had a worse experience or they have had a less-prepared arrangement than we have here in Australia. So, if the member opposite wants to make that allegation, we've made this point very clear to the royal commission. The evidence provided by the secretary of Health was very clear that that was a use of statistics which was highly misleading, and for the member to repeat it here in this place I don't think reflects well on her understanding of these issues. But I'll ask the Minister for Health to add to that.

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