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

The comment that I made was with respect to the question that was asked to me about withholding of PPE. The report made comment, in relation to that question, with respect to the actions of providers in withholding PPE, not with respect to what the government had done. My reference—and, again, the dishonest misrepresentation of comments I make in the chamber and applying them to a completely different context continues—was directly answering and being directly relevant to a question that I was asked with respect to the provision of PPE. In the context of the question with respect to PPE, the comment of the royal commission was related directly to the actions of providers in withholding PPE from staff. I agree with the royal commission that it was deplorable if that's exactly what happened.

With respect to other elements of the royal commission's report, we have said that we don't agree with the royal commission with respect to the plan. We've always maintained that we have a plan in place that we will continue to update as we learn more about the virus, how it operates and how we should engage with the residential aged-care sector. We will continue to do that. So it's dishonest for the Labor Party to come in here and misrepresent both what the royal commission said and what I've said here in the chamber. We accepted all recommendations of the royal commission's report on COVID-19. We have said that we will respond to them on 1 December in this place, as the royal commission recommended. It would be nice if the Labor Party were actually honest— (Time expired)