Morrison ‘sorry’ for failures

SCOTT Morrison says he is “deeply sorry” for the failure to protect some aged-care residents during the coronavirus crisis, but warns “absolutely unacceptable” problems may still occur.

After a week of scathing criticism at the aged-care royal commission, the Prime Minister said he was “devastated” by the deadly outbreaks at Melbourne homes, and mistakes that were “not good enough”.

But Mr Morrison rejected counsel assisting Peter Rozen’s argument that the federal government did not have a plan to protect residents from COVID-19, saying it was “moving heaven and Earth”.

He said a “reality check” was needed for anyone giving “guarantees in a global pandemic”.

“I fear we will still see things that will occur that we will find absolutely unacceptable, and they are unacceptable. They don’t meet those standards. And they’re not tolerated by anybody,” Mr Morrison said.

“But the struggles we face and the complexity … means that those things have occurred, and we’re doing everything we can to prevent them from occurring wherever we can. On the days that the system falls short ... I’m deeply sorry about that.”

Mr Morrison said rampant community transmission in Melbourne could not be ignored because there was “not some special force field around aged-care facilities”.

Acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly also disputed Mr Rozen’s criticism, saying the federal government had “very detailed plans” for aged care and was “learning as we go through this process”.

Royal commissioner Tony Pagone said on Thursday the government should “carefully” consider the suggestion of a dedicated aged-care co-ordinating body.