COVID-19
Mr DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan—Leader of the Opposition) (12:06): My question is for the Minister for Workplace Safety. Minister, today at the St Basil’s inquest they have heard that the Victorian Department of Health did not require aged-care homes to return self-assessments used to identify gaps in infection control procedure. A member of the outreach team that visited St Basil’s before the first COVID case was identified last year is under close questioning at that inquiry, with shocking revelations. I therefore ask: given the failures that have been identified, will WorkSafe investigate the Department of Health and its failure under the workplace safety act?
Ms STITT (Western Metropolitan—Minister for Workplace Safety, Minister for Early Childhood) (12:06): I thank Mr Davis for his question. As I have already indicated, these matters are literally the subject of evidence being heard, as we speak, at a coronial inquest, and it would be completely inappropriate for me to comment on matters that not only are outside of my portfolio in terms of the responsibilities for aged care but are the subject of an important inquest currently underway. All I can do to assist Mr Davis is to reiterate what I said in my answer to Ms Crozier earlier today, which is that the workplace safety regulator, WorkSafe, take employers’ duties under the health and safety act extremely seriously. They have literally conducted thousands and thousands of workplace inspections throughout the period of the pandemic, including across the health and care sectors, but it is appropriate that they undertake their enforcement activity as they see fit at arm’s length from the government.
Mr DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan—Leader of the Opposition) (12:08): It is all very well for the minister to try to say, ‘Oh, they’re over there; they’re nothing to do with me’. She is the minister, and questions can be asked of her about the activities of her agency, and I therefore ask: isn’t this in fact a regulatory failure that should be investigated by WorkSafe given the terrible, tragic deaths that have occurred under the watch of this government?
Ms STITT (Western Metropolitan—Minister for Workplace Safety, Minister for Early Childhood) (12:08): Mr Davis, my understanding is that the regulatory responsibility for private aged care in this country rests with the federal government, with the commonwealth of Australia.