Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of answers given by the Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services (Senator Colbeck) to questions without notice asked by Senators Gallagher, Bilyk and Watt today relating to aged care.

The crisis facing elderly Australians in our nursing homes is hardly new. For years now, since well before the royal commission into aged care, we've been hearing heartbreaking and harrowing stories from constituents about exactly what it's like for residents and workers in these facilities. Twenty-two reports and a royal commission on, however, and Australia's most vulnerable find themselves in the aged-care sector's deepest and most profound crisis yet, and we have a minister in charge who simply doesn't turn up and do the job that the aged-care sector need him to do. I've been getting constituent feedback, people reaching out, telling me exactly how difficult it is in aged care at the moment and how the response from government has been completely inadequate.

The government would have you believe that nobody could see this coming, that there was no way we could have protected people in residential aged care. That is simply not true. I accept that this crisis hasn't been made by COVID-19, because the structural weakness in aged care exists beyond that. For the last eight years—heading into their ninth year—the government have paid lip service to aged care. They have refused, following review after review, to do anything. Then, when it was reaching crisis point, this Prime Minister called a royal commission. In a way, it bought him another year not to fix the issues in aged care. Throughout those hearings we heard story after story about how the aged-care system wasn't able to deal with the pressures that exist. One of the fundamental issues is workforce—the fact that the government refuse to acknowledge that the aged-care workforce is undervalued and underpaid. They would rather point the finger at Labor, accuse us of spending more money than they do by supporting aged-care workers, than actually stump up and put a submission to the Fair Work Commission arguing for better wages for aged-care workers. It is simply not tenable to retain a professional workforce and pay them less than you would pay my teenager to work on the weekend. They do the caring in these facilities. They are the ones that provide the meals, that clean the rooms, that clean older Australians—and this government thinks it's completely acceptable for them to exist on $22 per hour, to do the work of angels and to be the heroes of this pandemic. That is one of the biggest pressures facing the aged-care system and one this government refuses to accept. It is one of the pressures that has caused the most challenges for elderly Australians living in aged care during the pandemic—because, the minute the workforce is out, the quality of care suffers.

And that's what we've seen in thousands of aged-care facilities right around the country: as workers got sick, this government's response was to change the criteria for how long they had to isolate. It was: 'Oh well, get back to work sooner, once you've got rid of COVID if you could, because we really need you in the workplace.' It wasn't to deal comprehensively with the issues these workers or facing or the stress they feel when they can't provide the care to the people they look after. I've heard deeply distressing stories from workers who have worked 16-hour shifts and been unable to spend time with people who are lonely and isolated and scared. The nature of the workforce means it attracts extremely caring people. For that situation to be there every single day as they work extended shifts and double shifts and come back the next day after five hours sleep is deeply distressing to them.

This government is disingenuous when it says it is dealing with the issues. It is not dealing with the issues. The sector has been in crisis for years. It's in complete crisis now and the government doesn't have a long-term plan about how to address those challenges. As long as they keep their head in the sand about workforce and the pay rates for aged-care workers, nothing is going to improve at all. The people who pay that price are older Australians who rely on those services. (Time expired)

Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I guess we can't expect anything different as we enter into an election year. The politicking, the smears, the constant creation of fear by all those on the other side is set to continue and, most likely, escalate. The last 45 minutes has demonstrated what all Australians who want to see this place achieve things can see is going to happen over the next couple of months. Stunts, smears and fear—it's all they've got, it's all the other side have to offer Australia. Australians are looking to come out from under the doona. Australians want government to get out of their lives. They want their lives to go back to normal. Australians are desperately hoping that their businesses can start to function as normal, that their kids can go to school as normal. They are hoping that their job security, their social lives and everything that goes on around their kids and the sport that they play—the dance lessons, the rugby season, the cricket—all goes back to normal and parents can start to participate again.

But not over there—no, no, no. There is no way they want Australians going back to any sort of normal life. So today the fear campaign is centred around aged care. Aged care has always been an incredibly difficult area of public policy. It is a sad part of the Australian experience and the Australian community. When people enter aged-care facilities—in particular, high-need aged-care facilities—it is not because they're in a great state of health. They don't go into these sort of situations because they're entering the prime of their lives. They are not. It is absolutely at the sunset of their lives. That's why it's called 'the sunset time of life'. I know this because my mother's in an aged-care home and has been in a high-needs facility for four years. Because of the pandemic, I haven't been able to see her for over 12 months, because no-one is allowed in.

As of today, 100 per cent of aged-care facilities have been offered a booster clinic and have had a booster clinic. But one reason why some people haven't had a booster shot is that their health wasn't able to take it at that point in time, or they were on other medication and they were advised not to receive the booster shot. But never let the truth of a situation get in the way of a smear campaign from those opposite.

We do want Australian families to be together. We do want Australian families to be able to spend time with their loved ones in aged care. We do know that omicron is spread far more easily, but we also know that, when people got omicron, they showed very few symptoms, if any at all. In fact, the vast majority of people didn't even know they had it; they didn't even know they were positive with COVID.

This is another problem that we've got with a lot of the state governments and their reporting. They're obsessed with how many daily cases of COVID there are. Then they start to talk about how many people are in hospital. Then they talk about the deaths from COVID. What they don't talk about is the fact that lots of women go into hospital every day to have a baby. When they go into hospital they're tested for COVID, and a remarkable number of them didn't even know they were COVID positive, but they are then counted in the numbers. We do, unfortunately, see people who have COVID die—and I know those opposite might have forgotten that, ultimately, every single one of us in here is going to die—but they may not have died from COVID. They could have died from cancer or from a gunshot wound to the stomach, but, if they had COVID, they're counted as a COVID death.

This is just continuing to perpetuate the fear that those opposite want to see Australians live under, because you don't like small business and you don't like family-run business. You love a government handout. You love boosting your union mates, making sure you can pay them all as much as possible and shutting down any entrepreneurship or Australian spirit of having a go. You want everyone hiding under the doona. We know that because the world's longest lockdown in history was overseen by your mate Dan Andrews, Premier of Victoria. In terms of federal government responsibility, guess what we also saw last year? It was only in Victoria that we saw the mass outbreak of deaths. The largest number of deaths occurred in Victoria, but no way was this in relation to Victoria! It had nothing to do with Premier Andrews! He was probably too busy trying to deal with Adem Somyurek and what happened with the red shirts, making sure IBAC and the Victorian police never looked into anything. You lot opposite won't ever look into anything if it involves a Victorian premier or a Labor premier. Palaszczuk had Queensland locked off. We know Western Australia can't even handle—

Sue Lines (WA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hughes, please refer to leaders in other parliaments by their correct titles.

Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Premier Palaszczuk can't handle it; she just wants to lock down, as does Mr McGowan—shutting off the world. (Time expired)

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I speak again today on one of the most serious issues that's confronting our country right now, which is the ongoing aged-care crisis that we see on the watch of Minister Colbeck and the Morrison government as a whole.

As I was saying earlier, this is not a new crisis that we have seen. The system has been in crisis for years, and it is a direct result of the cuts that Prime Minister Scott Morrison imposed on the aged-care sector when he was the Treasurer only a couple of years ago. Tragically, the chickens are coming home to roost from the decision to cut aged-care funding. We see every night on our nightly news programs the neglect, the ill-treatment, the staff shortages and the disgraceful situation which so many older Australians face each and every day. Of course, it has got worse following the COVID pandemic, following this government again dropping the ball and failing to take responsibility for an area that is 100 per cent their responsibility: being aged care.

We know that this Prime Minister and this minister do everything they possibly can to blame-shift—to blame other people, particularly state governments—whenever a problem arises. This is one that they can't blame on other people because the federal government is 100 per cent responsible for aged care. They are 100 per cent responsible for their failure to make sure that we have the aged-care workforce that we need as a country and to make sure that aged-care workers are paid a decent wage, so they are attracted to working in the sector and remain in the sector for years to come. It is 100 per cent this government's responsibility that they did not provide the PPE or the rapid antigen tests that aged-care facilities needed as we opened up as a country and as omicron raged across the country, particularly in aged-care facilities. Tragically, we see the result of this government's failure to do its job in aged care in the form of the 587 deaths that we have seen in aged-care facilities just since 1 January this year.

This minister's performance in question time today, I think, made clear why he is not the man for the job. He seems to be living on another planet when it comes to what's happening in aged care at the moment. He tells us on the one hand that we have had 587 deaths since 1 January, but he won't admit that this is a crisis, even when his own Prime Minister does so himself. Minister Colbeck chooses instead to reel off all sorts of statistics to assure us that the situation in aged care is not as bad as we all think it is. Well, hello? As I say, what planet is he living on? Does he seriously think that 587 deaths in aged care since 1 January this year is an acceptable result, especially when so many of those deaths arise from failures of this government to do its job, to get the PPE into aged-care facilities, to get aged-care residents boostered, to get masks and to get rapid antigen tests into aged-care facilities for residents and workers? That didn't happen, and we now see the consequences.

We focused in question time on one particular example: the Jeta Gardens aged-care facility south of Brisbane. That is something I've been paying close attention to, as we've seen an outbreak rip through that aged-care facility and it has now cost the lives of 15 residents of that home. There are about 180 residents and staff in total at that one home who have tested positive for COVID. There are alarming reports that have surfaced today in the media in Queensland that there is a severe shortage of masks for staff. Even now at the end, as this outbreak has been going for over a month, we have reports in the media today that staff have been told to only change their masks if they need to, because there is such a shortage of masks there. We learnt from the minister today that booster shots didn't even start in this facility until 31 January, one month after the outbreak began—one month of people catching COVID and dying from COVID before booster shots even started. If that is not a great failure of responsibility from this federal government, I don't know what is.

What possibly makes what we're seeing in the Jeta Gardens facility right now even worse is that this government knew that there was a problem. Just last year, the government's own aged-care regulator prepared two reports which said that this aged-care facility was non-compliant in meeting aged-care standards. It raised serious questions about the safety of residents. It raised serious concerns about the lack of a COVID outbreak management plan. But what happened? Again, this minister was asleep at the wheel, and we see the tragic consequences in 15 people dying. He has got to go. This government has got to go once and for all.

Andrew McLachlan (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can I start my contribution to this debate by thanking the , Minister Colbeck, for his outstanding leadership in this difficult time in Australia and by pushing back on the arguments made by my honourable friend Senator Watt. From the outset of the pandemic, aged care has always been a key focus of this government, and it will remain so. The government fully accepts that it is distressing for families who have their members in aged care, particularly with the consequences of state laws or state directives preventing their loved ones from giving support.

The Australian government has been using rapid antigen tests in aged care since last August, having delivered 9.5 million, and there are further deliveries underway to all facilities. This is in addition to over 1.5 million PCR tests that have been conducted. From the National Medical Stockpile, 42.9 million masks, 15.7 million gowns, 43.7 million gloves, 12.5 million goggles and face shields, and 190,000 bottles of hand sanitiser have been provided to aged-care facilities. The Australian Defence Force is providing strategic logistical support to assist with the increased distributions to the aged-care sector. Supporting the aged-care workforce has always been a priority of this government, with more than 80,000 shifts having been filled by a surge workforce provided by this caring and well-led government, particularly under Minister Colbeck. One hundred per cent of facilities across the country have received a booster clinic. More than 76 per cent of eligible aged-care residents have received a booster, which is above the national booster rate by more than 20 per cent. These are startling statistics which demonstrate, brutally and clearly, the commitment of this government to support those in aged care.

The minister, in his answer, made reference to the $18 billion which the government has committed to the aged-care sector following the royal commission. The government is supplying information to the Fair Work Commission to assist in its deliberations and has not yet been directed to clarify its position in relation to a wage increase. It is not fair to characterise the government as not committed to aged-care workers. The government will provide $210 million to support the aged-care workforce to continue to care for older Australians during the pandemic. A bonus of $800 will be made in two payments of up to $400 each and will be paid to aged-care workers in government subsidised home care.

The government took the courageous decision to instruct that a royal commission be established, and it has committed itself to the findings. The $18.3 billion committed is a once-in-a-generation change. No government before this one has committed any more into aged care. The government will be delivering record investment over the forward estimates. From $13.3 billion in 2012-13, this is such a significant amount and out-matches anything even conceptualised by the Labor government when last on the treasury bench.

The royal commission, as referenced by the minister in his answer, made 148 recommendations. The vast majority have been accepted, and implementation is underway. The government's response includes a five-year implementation plan underpinned by five key pillars: home care, supporting Australians who choose to remain in their home; residential aged-care services and sustainability, improving and simplifying residential aged-care services and access; residential aged-care quality and safety, improving residential aged-care quality and safety; workforce, supporting a better skilled and growing workforce— (Time expired)

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

In question time today, Senator Colbeck again failed to acknowledge that there is a crisis in aged care. He has failed to acknowledge that we are in a state of emergency in aged care today. He has failed in his most fundamental and basic duty, and that is to keep our most vulnerable elderly Australians safe. He has failed. He has failed and he should go. This minister has ignored report after report and warning after warning from experts for too long. He has ignored the calls for help from workers, from residents, from providers and from families for too long. He has simply ignored his responsibility as a minister for too long. Australians have waited far too long for the Prime Minister to sack this incompetent minister.

Never forget that, as this crisis unfolded—when aged-care residents were locked in their rooms, when aged-care residents were going without food and going without water, when aged-care residents were going without basic care—this minister took himself off to the cricket for three days. For three days, he enjoyed the cricket while aged-care residents suffered. While aged-care workers worked back-to-back 14-hour shifts, this minister thought it was appropriate and acceptable to take himself off to the cricket not just for one day but for three days—right at the time when aged-care residents were going hungry, right at the time when aged-care residents were dying. It is a complete disgrace. This minister must go. He must resign, and if he won't the Prime Minister must sack him today.

There is one thing I can agree with in Senator Colbeck's comments in question time today—it is that this is no longer a crisis, because we've gone past that; this is an absolute catastrophe. It is a full-blown catastrophe. It is not just a catastrophe that has occurred during the COVID pandemic; it is a catastrophe that has been nine years in the making. It's a catastrophe that aged-care workers have been warning us about for years. You only need to talk to those workers to know exactly what is going on in aged care today.

That is why Senator Colbeck and the Prime Minister should have gone outside and spoken to the ANMF members who are here today to tell their stories. These are the workers who were trying, in the most difficult of conditions, to protect and keep safe our vulnerable aged-care residents—unlike Minister Colbeck and the Prime Minister. I listened to their stories today. I listened to what they've heard and seen over the past few months. They said that they are simply drowning. They said they've been underwater in aged care for a long time under this government, and today they are simply drowning. They were treading water last year; right now they're underwater and overwhelmed. There are no staff to fill the shifts that need to be filled. They are exhausted, burnt out and heartbroken, because on a day-to-day basis they are running between rooms trying to make decisions about who to help—whether to get someone off the floor or whether to go to a dementia patient who's in distress. These are the decisions that are facing aged-care workers today because the minister will not do his job, because he can't make the right decisions to keep our aged-care workers and our aged-care residents safe.

Our aged-care workers are making heartbreaking decisions. What they want is time. They just want the staff. They just want to be there for people. They want to hold their hands in their last moments, to listen to their stories, to give them the care and dignity they deserve. Instead, people are being locked in their rooms, isolated, lonely and distraught, because of the failures of this minister and this government.

Question agreed to.