Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

What we have are a minister and a government who have presided over neglect in our aged-care system: neglect of aged-care residents prior to COVID-19 and neglect of aged-care residents during this pandemic. And what we've heard today is a minister and a government who refuse to take responsibility for their inaction. They refuse to take responsibility for the neglect that they have presided over in the aged-care system for seven years. Whether it's about the extraordinary number of aged-care homes consistently failing quality and safety checks prior to this pandemic and this minister's inaction, or whether it's about the warnings of COVID outbreaks earlier this year at Dorothy Henderson Lodge and Newmarch House and his inaction, or whether it's about the tragic deaths in aged care from neglect, in addition to the tragic loss of life from COVID-19 and his inaction, or whether it's about last year's royal commission report titled Neglect and his inaction, what we have heard today is a minister who refuses to take responsibility, a minister who has no explanation.

He has no answers. He can't tell us what he did about the 45 per cent of aged-care homes that were failing audits last year, prior to COVID-19. He can't tell us what he did to prevent further outbreaks after the lessons of Dorothy Henderson Lodge and Newmarch House should have been learnt. He can't tell us why mistakes were still being made at St Basil's in Victoria, months later. And he can't tell us why he hasn't acted on the recommendations of the royal commission, which called for $600 million a year in extra funding. He can't tell us what the government's response is to the royal commission's interim report titled Neglect. He can't explain any of it here today. He won't take responsibility for any of it. But he is responsible, and this government is responsible, for aged care in this country. He is responsible for not taking action on the warnings that were there—the warnings overseas and the warnings here in Australia, in New South Wales, earlier this year. He is responsible.

We're talking about the deaths of over 460 people, who have tragically died as a result of COVID-19 in aged care in Australia. We are talking about mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and grandparents. These are real people; they are not numbers in a report and they deserve a better explanation of what has happened than we have heard from this minister and from this government today. I cannot begin to imagine just how difficult it has been for the families of those more than 460 people, unable to see their loved ones as they were dying of COVID-19 in aged-care homes. The stories we hear have been absolutely heartbreaking. It is a tragedy. We are facing an aged-care disaster, and we have been facing this disaster not just for weeks and not for months but for years. We have been facing it and we have had warnings. We have had report after report, and we have had minister after minister in this government refusing to take any action, refusing to put plans in place, refusing to take responsibility, refusing to be accountable and unable to explain to us how it is that they believe that they can keep older Australians safe in our aged-care facilities today.

This is a minister who last week literally turned his back on this parliament. He literally walked out on the questions that he was being asked to answer, that he was being asked to be accountable for. He turned his back on his accountability, on his responsibility to the parliament and on his responsibility to the Australian people. The Australian people have lost confidence in this minister, Senator Colbeck. They have lost confidence, and it is time for this minister to resign—to pack up his office and to resign.