Senate debates

Wednesday, 26 August 2020

Questions without Notice: Take Note of Answers

COVID-19: Aged Care

3:07 pm

Photo of Zed SeseljaZed Seselja (ACT, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Finance, Charities and Electoral Matters) Share this | Hansard source

The coalition government—the Prime Minister and the minister responsible, Minister Colbeck, and the entire government—has from day one treated issues around aged care and protection of the community in aged-care homes and in other settings with the utmost of seriousness. That is backed by our record, by the amount of investment that we are putting in, by the way we are responding. It would be a lot easier to take the attacks coming from the Labor Party seriously if they didn't resort to the politics of smear against the minister and if they didn't resort to outright lies in order to make their case.

The minister, the Prime Minister and the government have not only taken this seriously and of course expressed our sincere condolences to those who have lost loved ones. We are working to address these issues and are continuing to work with other governments. When we have Senator Watt come in here and engage in the politics of smear, it needs to be seen for what it is. It would be a lot easier to take it seriously if they didn't have to resort to outright lies, as we have seen on a number of occasions in this space. If the attack was to be taken seriously, if we were to believe they were actually sincere—well, they wouldn't have to tell bald-faced lies in this place and in the other place. We had it in question time again today, where they claim—and they did it in the House today—

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