Aged Care Minister says Royal Commission needs to look at all aged care homes in their COVID-19 investigation – but says the sector has done well

Senator Richard Colbeck has acknowledged Labor’s call for the Royal Commission to examine the outbreak at Newmarch House – but said that the Commissioners need to also look at the sector as a whole.

“Newmarch is a particular case that deserves attention, I agree,” he told Parliament this week.

“But I believe that the royal commission should be looking at all of the aged care facilities and how each of them has managed COVID-19, because some of them have done a brilliant job.”

Labor Senators had also backed Shadow Minister for Ageing, Julie Collins’ calls for an investigation into Newmarch House, but the Minister wasn’t having a bar of it however.

“Can I say, I don’t share the pessimism that’s been expressed by some in the chamber about the capacity of the aged care sector to provide good-quality care. We are extremely fortunate in this country that less than one per cent of aged care facilities have had an incidence of COVID-19,” he said.

“Also, it’s not just about the things that have gone wrong. We also ought, through this process, be understanding what has been done well and acknowledging that and congratulating the sector for that, and I do congratulate the sector for that.”