Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to his answer to my previous question, in which the Prime Minister claimed that there was really an aged-care plan for COVID-19, even though his own royal commission, with all its resources, days of expert evidence and access to documents, couldn't find it. After 328 aged care residents have died, why should Australians believe the Prime Minister instead of his own royal commission?

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

I have set out the plan very clearly before this House—it's updating of that plan, the communication of that plan and the implementation of that plan. I am invited to outline the timetable—again. If the members would like me to do that, I will go through it all again, if it would be of assistance to the House. We have set out that plan very clearly. That plan has been available since March of this year and has continued to be refreshed and reported to the aged-care sector and worked through in webinars and other information, including with support by the aged care quality commissioner. Assertions have been made before the royal commission, and we have rejected those assertions. We have set that out in evidence to the royal commission. I welcome the royal commission's investigation of these issues. I welcome the royal commission undertaking inquiries into these matters. In fact, I wrote to the royal commission and asked them to do that very thing. But we're all in a position where we have to back up the assertions that are made. Where an assertion is made, whether it be before the royal commission or any other place that asserts something that the government has not done, when we believe that is not correct we will correct that record, and I have done so here today.

When we reflect again that 97 per cent of the aged-care facilities in this country have had no COVID cases amongst residents—97 per cent. As I said before, there have been 16 where there have been significant impacts and there have been an even smaller number where there has been an unacceptable outcome—and that is indeed true. But in 97 per cent of those facilities I know that residents and families and others know that, even in those facilities where there have been some COVID cases, they have been extremely well managed. That is a tribute to those aged-care workers and all of those who are working to keep those facilities safe, in terms of transferring of residents and providing the care that is needed in those facilities and getting those arrangements in place. We will continue to implement that plan. That plan is supported by more than $1 billion of additional investment in aged-care supports. We will continue to invest what is needed to ensure that our residents in aged care are given the dignity and the care that they deserve.