Senator POLLEY (Tasmania) (15:12): After six long years of a Liberal government, what have we got with the aged-care sector? It is broken. Why is the aged-care sector broken? It's because the Prime Minister, as Treasurer, cut, cut, cut the aged-care sector. After three failed ministers, we have seen a royal commission being called to look into the aged-care sector. This is a government that had to call a royal commission into its own failing. What did we see on display here in question time today? We had the fourth minister for aged care fail to even comprehend, let alone answer, the very simple question about whether or not there are 129,000 older Australians waiting for their aged-care packages. We've also had the figure of some 16,000 older Australians who have died while they've been waiting for their approved aged-care package. This is such an indictment on this government. We had a Prime Minister, after he was elected, telling the Australian people that aged care was a priority for his government. When are we going to see some action? It is not good enough to call a royal commission into the aged-care sector and wait till 2020 for their report to start doing something. We've had some 16 reports into the aged-care sector, and each and every one of those is sitting, now on Senator Colbeck's desk, gathering dust, because they have failed to act. We don't need a royal commission to understand what the challenges are in this sector. We all know them. Senator Duniam is looking at me very blankly, but he was on a committee where he heard the evidence. He heard the evidence of the crisis that's facing the aged-care sector. We have a workforce shortage. We don't have enough people wanting to work in this sector, because they are not paid enough and they are not getting respect. What does this government do? They throw their hands in the air and say, 'It's not our problem; it's the sector's problem.' It's about time the Liberal government, under Mr Morrison, started to show some leadership in this sector. Older Australians deserve it. They deserve our respect. Those that work in this sector deserve our respect. These are some of the most vulnerable people in our country, and what has this government done? Absolutely nothing. Senator Colbeck comes from my home state of Tasmania. We have the oldest and most rapidly ageing population in the country, with some of the worst health conditions, and what did we have demonstrated in this place today in question time? Disinterest. How could he not know how many people are waiting for their home care package? It's just beyond belief that a new minister wouldn't have the brief from his own department to understand what the major issues are with his responsibility. We on this side have had as a priority for more than a dozen years that we needed to work together. We have offered countless times to work with the government, because all they've been able to do is produce three failed ministers. They can't even have the Minister for Aged Care and Older Australians in their cabinet. In the last Labor government, we had a cabinet minister with that responsibility. That's how seriously we took this policy area. Older Australians deserve a lot more than a Prime Minister who tells the Australian people: 'I'm going to be a Prime Minister of love. What Australians need is more love.' Well, that love should start here with older Australians. Those opposite should be hanging their heads in shame, because it is clearly not good enough. And not one senator on that side can stand up and defend their record: three failed ministers. One new minister that comes from Tasmania and who should know intimately the issues facing older Tasmanians failed to answer the simplest of questions. Imagine if we started asking him some difficult questions. I mean, believe you me, I hope I get the opportunity to ask more questions, because the Australian people need to know that they have been absolutely conned by those people on that side. If the Prime Minister's actions and his new minister go anywhere to demonstrate the priority that they give to older Australians, they should hang their heads in shame. (Time expired)