❓ Mr Rundle asks the Minister for Health to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for aged care facilities, similar to influenza mandates. The Minister deflects, blaming the Commonwealth government's handling of aged care vaccinations.
AnsweredQoN 162Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS —
VACCINATIONS
162. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Minister for Health:
Minister,
I refer to Graeme Prior's comments on ABC radio this morning and his
call for the state government to implement a public health management
order mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for all people living, working or
visiting aged-care facilities in Western Australia. Will the minister listen to
the needs of the sector and issue a public
health management order for COVID-19, as he has done for influenza over the
past two years; and, if not, why not?
VACCINATIONS
162. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Minister for Health:
Minister,
I refer to Graeme Prior's comments on ABC radio this morning and his
call for the state government to implement a public health management
order mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for all people living, working or
visiting aged-care facilities in Western Australia. Will the minister listen to
the needs of the sector and issue a public
health management order for COVID-19, as he has done for influenza over the
past two years; and, if not, why not?
AnswerView source ↗
I
thank the member for the question. Of course, as we all know in this place, the
government that is responsible for all
funding and all regulation of aged care in this country is the commonwealth
government. The member might well ask his friend Michael McCormack, the
Deputy Prime Minister, and Senator Richard Colbeck, the Minister for Senior
Australians and Aged Care Services, what they think of that particular
question. But I am thankful to the member for Roe for asking me this question
because it allows me the opportunity to point out what an abject failure his
federal colleagues have been in implementing the vaccination program. Because
of their incompetence—this is
something we pleaded with them not to do—they insisted that they take
control of the vaccination of all aged and disability residential care. They said, ''Don't you worry
about that! We'll look after it.'' We said, ''Really? You
don't provide services; all you do is subcontract to private
entities to do stuff on your behalf. We, the state governments, immunise the entire country every year. Why don't
you leave it to us?'' The commonwealth government said, ''No, we'll
take care of that.'' We took them at their word, and we have seen the
debacle that it is ever since! Quite frankly, it is our weakest link in the total
national vaccination program. We thought, ''Okay, we'll continue
to work with the commonwealth on this.'' We worked with the commonwealth
in good faith, hoping to see good progress in
the vaccination of our most vulnerable cohort in the community, only to find
out, to our absolute dismay, that the commonwealth was not vaccinating
aged-care workers or disability care workers, it was vaccinating the residents.
Of course, what is the highest risk factor in relation to age and disability
residential care? It is the workforce that visits them every day.
Dr D.J. Honey interjected.
Mr R.H. COOK : I take the
member for Cottesloe's interjection. I will tell him what we are doing:
we are the ones who are actually vaccinating those workers, because of his
incompetent friends in Canberra. I do not know whether we even have the
capacity to issue an order in relation to the aged-care workforce and access to
aged-care facilities and so on, but, if we do, we would expect the Premier to
take that up at national cabinet. That is the appropriate forum in which this
will take place and, therefore, we can have a national approach to this
important cohort.
thank the member for the question. Of course, as we all know in this place, the
government that is responsible for all
funding and all regulation of aged care in this country is the commonwealth
government. The member might well ask his friend Michael McCormack, the
Deputy Prime Minister, and Senator Richard Colbeck, the Minister for Senior
Australians and Aged Care Services, what they think of that particular
question. But I am thankful to the member for Roe for asking me this question
because it allows me the opportunity to point out what an abject failure his
federal colleagues have been in implementing the vaccination program. Because
of their incompetence—this is
something we pleaded with them not to do—they insisted that they take
control of the vaccination of all aged and disability residential care. They said, ''Don't you worry
about that! We'll look after it.'' We said, ''Really? You
don't provide services; all you do is subcontract to private
entities to do stuff on your behalf. We, the state governments, immunise the entire country every year. Why don't
you leave it to us?'' The commonwealth government said, ''No, we'll
take care of that.'' We took them at their word, and we have seen the
debacle that it is ever since! Quite frankly, it is our weakest link in the total
national vaccination program. We thought, ''Okay, we'll continue
to work with the commonwealth on this.'' We worked with the commonwealth
in good faith, hoping to see good progress in
the vaccination of our most vulnerable cohort in the community, only to find
out, to our absolute dismay, that the commonwealth was not vaccinating
aged-care workers or disability care workers, it was vaccinating the residents.
Of course, what is the highest risk factor in relation to age and disability
residential care? It is the workforce that visits them every day.
Dr D.J. Honey interjected.
Mr R.H. COOK : I take the
member for Cottesloe's interjection. I will tell him what we are doing:
we are the ones who are actually vaccinating those workers, because of his
incompetent friends in Canberra. I do not know whether we even have the
capacity to issue an order in relation to the aged-care workforce and access to
aged-care facilities and so on, but, if we do, we would expect the Premier to
take that up at national cabinet. That is the appropriate forum in which this
will take place and, therefore, we can have a national approach to this
important cohort.
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