Coronavirus: Scott Morrison sidelines Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck

Richard Colbeck has been ‘cut out’ of decisions to activate new aged-care emergency measures with Greg Hunt taking over.

Josh Frydenberg, left, and Scott Morrison enter the House of Representatives for the first question time of the new sitting of parliament on Monday. Picture: Gary Ramage

Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck has been “cut out” of decisions to activate new aged-care emergency measures during a COVID-19 outbreak as Scott Morrison used question time to apologise to families of victims for failures during the initial response to the pandemic.

Health Minister Greg Hunt has snatched responsibility from Senator Colbeck for declaring if and when an Aged Care Emergency Response Operations Centre — aimed at suppressing outbreaks in nursing homes — is mobilised.

“The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee will evaluate the need for and recommend the establishment of an operations centre,” the new protocols agreed to at national cabinet and released on Friday say. “The Minister of Health will approve the establishment of the operations centre and appoint a lead.”

As mask-clad politicians descended on Parliament House for the first time in 68 days on Monday after an initial August sitting was delayed due to Victoria’s second wave, Scott Morrison used question time to apologise to the families of elderly COVID-19 victims. He singled out four cases in particular in which the impact of the virus had been “severe and completely unacceptable” and the response had not been good enough.

“Of those facilities that have experienced infections across Australia, the impact has been significant in 16 cases. And in 4 cases, the impact has been severe, and completely unacceptable.

“Again, I offer my apologies to the residents and families of those affected in those facilities. It was not good enough.

“Investigations and reviews are under way as appropriate, including by the royal commission into aged care that I established,” the Prime Minister said.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese seized on the aged-care crisis during question time to repeat calls for Senator Colbeck to resign or be sacked.

“Last Friday, we saw, frankly, a minister appear before the COVID-19 committee who is just not up to this task,” he said. “Just not up to it. I don’t know what it takes to lose your job on the frontbench of this government.”

Mr Albanese said the warnings sounded by dual reports into the failures at Sydney aged-care facilities Dorothy Henderson Lodge and Newmarch House had not been listened to and the Prime Minister had failed to take responsibility for the aged-care crisis.

“No one is responsible. The motto that was used last year, ‘I don’t hold a hose, mate’ is a flexible one for all occasions,” Mr Albanese said.

However, he rejected claims made by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety that there was no federal plan and maintained that the states shared responsibility for the outbreaks.

Richard Colbeck said he took full responsibility for a bungle at an inquiry into the handling of the coronavirus crisis last week at which he was unable to remember how many aged-care residents had died. Picture: AAP

In the upper house, Senator Colbeck also apologised and said he took full responsibility for a bungle at an inquiry into the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis last week at which he was unable to remember how many aged-care residents had died. “I should have had the data on Friday and I apologise for not having done that,” he said.

“I take full responsibility for not having that information available to me at the time.”

He told the Senate 328 people had died in residential aged care, while a further seven had died at home. Under questioning from Labor senator Catryna Bilyk, the Aged Care Minister stumbled again over the death toll figures.

“Every single one of those 385 … 35 … Every one of those 335 deaths is an absolutely, absolute tragedy,” he said.

“Every single one of those deaths is a tragedy.”

The new Aged Care Emergency Response Operations Centre will be similar to the Victorian Aged Care Response Centre, which brings together federal and state emergency management, the Australian Defence Force, clinical support, infection control specialists and medical experts, including geriatricians and specialist aged-care nurses.

Senator Colbeck on Monday told The Australian “the threshold for activation of operation centres will be informed by advice from the AHPPC and national cabinet”.

At last week’s inquiry, it emerged that Senator Colbeck had not once briefed cabinet about the deteriorating aged-care crisis. It heard Mr Hunt was forced to step in and deliver the August 5 cabinet briefing after Senator Colbeck experienced “IT issues”.

Asked about the lack of briefings on Monday, Senator Colbeck said he was constantly giving updates on the aged-care sector.

Opposition aged-care spokeswoman Julie Collins questioned whether Senator Colbeck still had Mr Morrison’s confidence. “Why is the Minister for Aged Care not responsible for this decision in his portfolio?” she said. “The minister is not across basic details, is not in cabinet and has seemingly been cut out of the decision-making process.”

Senator Colbeck said Labor’s hypocrisy “knows no bounds”.

“This government called the royal commission, has record funding in aged care and has committed over $1bn in measures to date to support the aged-care sector from COVID-19,” he said.

Last week, Mr Morrison bolstered the government’s aged-care support by pledging $170m in new federal funding to help aged-care facilities combat COVID-19.

An independent review of the Newmarch House outbreak in April and May, released on Monday, found shortcomings in infection control in the early period of the outbreak, and that the plan to treat COVID-positive patients in the home was compromised by inadequate staffing.