The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has come under fire in parliament for the government’s handling of the aged care crisis as Labor sharpens its attack on the Coalition’s pandemic response.
In the first question time of the parliamentary year on Tuesday Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, targeted the government’s response to Covid outbreaks in residential aged care, demanding Morrison admit responsibility for the crisis that has seen about 600 aged care deaths linked to Covid this year.
The aged care sector has been reeling from the impact of the Omicron wave of the virus, with a quarter of all shifts going unfilled during January and concerns that carers have been left to work in dangerous conditions with a lack of government support for testing and personal protective equipment.
Albanese, who attempted to suspend standing orders to debate the government’s response and to call for the aged care services minister Richard Colbeck to be sacked, said that Morrison needed to take responsibility.
He also demanded Morrison apologise to aged care residents and their families “for his failure to listen and act on countless warnings about the continuing crisis in aged care.”
“The aged care crisis is indicative of the way this prime minister and this government approaches every issue – it’s always too little, too late and it’s always the case that they ignore a problem until it becomes a crisis,” Albanese said.
“The problem is … their distractions, their dishonesty and their disunity is stopping them looking after the interests of Australians, particularly those people in aged care,” he said.
In response to questions, Morrison said that the pandemic had taken a heavy toll around the world and in Australia, but said only 10% of those who had passed away in nursing homes had died with the virus. More than 4,000 people died in aged care homes in January.
“It has been an incredibly tough time for those who have been working in those facilities, with the onset of Omicron, and it has been incredibly tough for those families who had to say goodbye to loved ones over that period of time,” Morrison said.
“At every moment of this pandemic, we have sought to provide every single support we possibly can to ensure we can be assisting both the workforce and those who are engaged in providing that care.”
Morrison said that Australia had one of the lowest mortality rates in the world, and accused Labor of trying to politicise the pandemic.
“He (Albanese) has constantly been negative when it comes to the serious challenges that our country has faced,” Morrison said.
“He can seek to downplay Australians’ efforts, in how we’ve come through this pandemic, with his constant negativity, snarling and growling, but the facts are these: on each occasion, we have worked to address the situation that we have had before us.”
In the Senate, Labor senator Kristina Keneally said the situation in the aged care sector was an “utter disaster” as she singled out Colbeck for criticism.
“Disease is running rampant through facilities, too few staff to care for those living there, our greatest generation left unwashed and without food. Have you no shame, have you no responsibility, have you no care?” Keneally said.
Colbeck, who was criticised for attending the cricket rather than front a Covid committee, acknowledged there had been “some issues”, but defended the government’s response.
“The Labor party can play their dirty, nasty personal politics but they have no plan,” Colbeck said.
The Coalition begins the parliamentary fortnight under pressure on a number of fronts. It faces internal division over the religious discrimination bill which Morrison has prioritised for the current sitting fortnight, but which the Tasmanian Liberal MP Bridget Archer has said she will not support.
Morrison has also faced calls for the government to get on with introducing its Commonwealth Integrity Commission bill after the attorney general, Michaelia Cash, suggested there was no time to fulfil the election promise made before the last election.
Morrison’s character has also been targeted after the revelation of text messages sent by Liberal colleagues that questioned his trustworthiness, including from his deputy, Barnaby Joyce.
There are just seven sitting days in the current session of parliament, before budget week in late March.
