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

I would be very concerned if any Australian was turned away from a health service when they were in need. That should not be occurring. It simply should not happen.

I don't accept Senator McCarthy's characterisation that we have in any way abandoned Indigenous Australians. We established very early on in the pandemic—in fact, at the beginning of March last year—a national strategy and an advisory group on COVID-19. That was back on 5 March 2020. There was a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander management plan for novel coronavirus approved on 26 March last year. The implementation of the plan for the vaccine program and for Torres Strait Islander people was finalised on 9 March this year. So we have prioritised Indigenous Australians as part of the program. We have supplied vaccines, as I have already indicated to the chamber today.

The circumstances of the Indigenous woman that have been described by Senator McCarthy should not have happened. Australians should be able to access health services when they need them. We will continue the work that we are doing with the RFDS, the Defence Force, the ACCHOs and all the Indigenous health services that are supporting their own people in managing the pandemic. Whether it be through providing vaccines, as many of them are doing, or providing health services, we will continue to support them in doing that.