Hamish Macdonald:
The world’s top men's tennis player, Novak Djokovic, remains in Melbourne Airport this morning as he waits for permission to enter the country and take part in this year's Australian Open. The Serbian star was granted an exemption to play in the tournament, despite speaking out against COVID vaccinations and refusing to confirm if he's had a jab. Victoria’s Acting Sports Minister, Jaala Pulford, says whether he can leave the airport is now in the hands of the Federal Government.
[Excerpt]
Jaala Pulford:
The entry to the country is, in spite of the Federal Government’s best efforts to deny it, undeniably the responsibility for Federal Government.
[End of excerpt]
Hamish Macdonald:
Victoria's Acting Sports Minister speaking there. Richard Colbeck is the Federal Sports Minister and the Minister for Aged Care Services. Good morning to you Senator.
Richard Colbeck:
Morning, Hamish. Happy New Year.
Hamish Macdonald:
To you too. And I should stress, we invited you on to talk about aged care, and we will get to that, but obviously this story has unfolded overnight, and we do need to put some questions to you. What is going on with Novak Djokovic? Is he going to be allowed into the country?
Richard Colbeck:
Well, without making specific reference to any individual case, I think the Prime Minister and the Minister Andrews made it very clear yesterday. Anyone coming to Australia has to comply with a range of conditions and that's what's being ascertained at the moment. So, Border Force has a role to conduct, and that's what it's doing right now.
Hamish Macdonald:
And it- to be clear though, it is the- it is up to the Commonwealth what happens next, isn't it?
Richard Colbeck:
Well, there's a range of conditions that any individual wanting to come to Australia, any non-Australian citizen arriving at the border, has to comply with. They need to have the documentation to demonstrate that. That's the circumstance for anyone. I think the Prime Minister made that clear yesterday, as did Minister Andrews. So the Prime Minister said no special treatment. That's the perspective that we're applying here, as we should, and that's the circumstances that’s been- that's playing out now.
Hamish Macdonald:
How did it get to this though? It's all a bit of a spectacle, isn't it?
Richard Colbeck:
Well, as I said, and as the Prime Minister said last night, Minister Andrews said yesterday, anyone coming to Australia has to have the documentation to demonstrate their- that they can meet the eligibility criteria to come into Australia.
Hamish Macdonald:
The Victorian Government says it rejected a last-minute request from Border Force to approve his visa. Is that correct?
Richard Colbeck:
Well, we didn't ask information from the Victorian Government to support a visa. That's not their role. We asked…
Hamish Macdonald:
[Interrupts] What did you ask Victoria for?
Richard Colbeck:
[Talks over] We asked Victoria - Border Force, as I understand, asked them for information in relation to the exemption. So I think it's a bit of a red herring that's being thrown up by Victoria. We didn't ask for information to support a visa.
Hamish Macdonald:
Just not clear what Border Force would have been going to the Victorian Government about then?
Richard Colbeck:
Well, it's exactly as I just said a moment ago. They asked for information in relation to the exemption that they've granted.
Hamish Macdonald:
So there's some doubt about the veracity of the information that was provided?
Richard Colbeck:
Well, I'm not dealing with this case. This is a matter for Border Force, quite appropriately. But effectively, from my understanding, is that Minister Pulford answered a different question to the question that was asked by Border Force. We didn't ask for information to support a visa. That's not a matter for Victoria, as she quite rightly said.
Hamish Macdonald:
Do you expect Novak Djokovic will be playing at the Australian Open?
Richard Colbeck:
Look, I can't answer that question. There's a process underway at the moment that will play out.
Hamish Macdonald:
Do you expect he’ll be let into the country?
Richard Colbeck:
Well, as I've said, any individual coming into Australia needs to satisfy the eligibility requirements. That applies to everybody, no special deals. As the Prime Minister said yesterday, we will apply the entry requirements to anyone crossing the border. Anyone who wants to come into the country has to comply with those requirements.
Hamish Macdonald:
Obviously, the Australian Open is a pretty big deal. It's one of our proudest, most internationally recognised sporting events. Do you think this situation does us a bit of damage reputationally?
Richard Colbeck:
Well, I think the importance that we place on our border requirements is paramount in that sense. This is, as you say, quite rightly, is a very significant international sporting event, but by the same token, as I've indicated this morning, we- as has the Minister Andrews and the Prime Minister, we have rules for entry into the country, and anybody, whether they're a tourist or a tennis player, need to comply with those.
Hamish Macdonald:
All right. Let's turn to aged-care, also an area that you're responsible for. There was a National Cabinet meeting yesterday. We heard from Mike Baird, the CEO of Hammond Care, on this program ahead of that meeting. This is what he had to say.
[Excerpt]
Mike Baird:
We've got a huge number on leave. We've got a huge number who aren't available. And that perfect storm of Christmas and the virus is putting unprecedented pressure on it.
[End of excerpt]
Hamish Macdonald:
He also pleaded, effectively, with the Federal Government for access to more PPE and to more testing. Why are we in this situation where aged care doesn't have what it needs to ride this out?
Richard Colbeck:
Well, in the context of PPE, I don't accept that we don't. There's plenty of PPE available for facilities that have an issue with an outbreak. There are processes in place to distribute that to providers. Very well practise based on the experience of the last couple of years. So plenty of PPE. We…
Hamish Macdonald:
[Interrupts] So you dispute what Mike Baird says on that?
Richard Colbeck:
Well, there is no shortage of the availability of PPE. There is plenty in the national stockpile. And so I'm very comfortable that there's not a shortage of PPE, there's plenty available. We've distributed so far to providers around the country in excess of 3 million rapid antigen tests, and we’ll continue to ramp that up. We’ve clearly focused on areas where there's been high levels of community transmission, particularly Victoria and New South Wales, as the numbers have grown around- in community transmission there. And we’ll continue to do that. All providers nationally will be provided with rapid antigen tests, and we've provided some guidance to them on how they should utilise those in support of screening their staff and regular visitors and residents where appropriate. So that process will continue to roll out as we get more supplies into the country. And there's been plenty of commentary with respect to the supply of rapid antigen tests over recent times. And there's significant supplies that will be coming into the country, and they will be rolled out and supplied to aged care providers. And I acknowledge that the comments that Mike's made in relation to workforce. The workforce is very tight at the moment. As he said, the holiday season hasn't helped. But we continue to work closely with the sector in relation to that. And there's been some interim advice provided out to the sector in relation to the requirements around furloughing, which are also supported by states and territories with their public health advice to ensure that people who don't need to be furloughed aren't furloughed, so that we can make sure that we've got as many people remaining at work as possible.
Hamish Macdonald:
The booster vaccine program that was being rolled out in aged care homes across the country, did that continue over the Christmas period, or was it- did they take a break?
Richard Colbeck:
Well, providers themselves may have conducted their own clinics, as quite a few of them have. The in-reach providers may have taken some time off over Christmas, but that program has continued. And I know that a lot of providers themselves have supported their own in-reach service for their residents. We're probably- we’re a bit ahead of where we thought we'd be when we started the program in early November, in excess of 1500 of the facilities have received their in-reach clinic so far, and we're looking to complete that process by the end of January.
Hamish Macdonald:
Australia had a roadmap for reopening. Why did it not include anything to do with rapid antigen testing, given that so many of the leading voices and advisers on this had said all along we were going to need a lot of them?
Richard Colbeck:
Well, we've been utilising rapid antigen tests in aged care for a considerable period of time. We started conversations in relation to that back in July ...
Hamish Macdonald:
But this is a question about the nation. Clearly, we don't have enough of them. We’re, you know, making decisions on the fly about access to them and the funding of them. Why didn't we plan for this?
Richard Colbeck:
Well, again, we've been hit with another twist in the way that the pandemic is playing out, which is the Omicron variant. None of us saw that coming with- none of us could have been expected to see that coming ...
Hamish Macdonald:
[Interrupts] No, none of us could have expected another variant.
Richard Colbeck:
Well, not- well, we did- we wouldn't necessarily have understood how the variant would play out. None of us know what the next variant will look like or how it will play out. And we're adapting to the pandemic appropriately, in my view, as we have done all the way through.
Hamish Macdonald:
But every relevant Minister at state and territory and federal level in the lead-up to reopening, were saying that we're going to get a lot more cases, that it's going to be bumpy. This all could have been foreseen. Why didn't we have more rapid antigen test in place? Why didn't we have supply flowing through? Why didn't we have a clear policy about how they’re going to be made available?
Richard Colbeck:
Well, it's very easy to say things should be foreseen in hindsight. And so let's put it in that context. We've been working our way through the management of the pandemic and appropriately managing it based on the health advice all the way through. We continue to do that. It’s...
Hamish Macdonald:
[Interrupts] I'm just not sure it's hindsight. I mean, way back in October the previous year, where the Jane Halton review of hotel quarantine said that we're going to need individuals to test themselves using rapid tests. I think people like Mary-Louise McLaws and Nancy Baxter, these leading epidemiologists, have been saying for months, Australia needs to use rapid antigen tests.
Richard Colbeck:
Well, that's correct, and the Commonwealth has played its role in pro- in building stocks and supporting residential aged care facilities, for example, and those areas where we have responsibilities. And likewise, the states are building their stocks to support testing at a community level, which is their responsibility and we're supporting them in doing that.
Hamish Macdonald:
Senator Richard Colbeck, thank you very much for your time this morning.
Richard Colbeck:
Thanks very much, Hamish.
Hamish Macdonald:
That's the Federal Minister for Sport and also the Minister for Aged Care Services.