The Federal Opposition has demanded the resignation or sacking of Minister for Aged Care Services Senator Richard Colbeck as it seeks to hold the Morrison Government responsible for the crisis in the sector ahead of the election expected in May.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese launched a blistering attack on the Government and on Senator Colbeck in Question Time on Tuesday, placing the blame for problems in aged care – including COVID-19 outbreaks, lockdowns, and staff and resource shortages – squarely on the Minister’s shoulders.
“We have this hand-picked minister who has shown complete contempt for the fundamentals of doing his job. He’s a minister who is too busy to attend committee meetings and be held accountable, and too lazy to know what’s going on in the sector.
“What is his response when he finally turns up to a committee meeting? He says the sector is going ‘exceptionally well’. That’s his response,” he said, pointing to a firestorm that erupted late last month when Senator Colbeck attended a cricket match instead of a committee meeting on COVID.
The Opposition Leader has framed aged care as an election issue, with his speech accusing the Morrison Government of multiple failings across policy areas.
“The aged care crisis is indicative of the way this Prime Minister and this government approach 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,” he said.
Aged care nurses have also denounced the Government’s handling of the sector, with protests outside Parliament House this week led by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF).
ANMF secretary Annie Butler accused the Coalition of abandoning aged care workers and residents.
“Every day that Mr Morrison fails to act on safe, minimum staffing ratios, fails to deliver a decent, permanent pay rise for underpaid workers and fails to show our aged care workers and residents dignity and respect, is another day that elderly Australians in nursing homes continue to suffer,” she said.
Labor has given its support to a pay rise for aged care workers, though it has not named a concrete figure.