The Minister for Aged Care and Sports Richard Colbeck has defended his choice to turn down the invitation for the COVID-19 parliamentary committee meeting and go to the cricket. “The test match in Hobart was a significant event for Tasmania,” Colbeck stated at the parliamentary committee meeting held by the Senate Select Committee on Feb. 2. “Obviously, as Minister for Sport as well as the Minister for Aged Care Services and Senior Australians, I had to be conscious of that as an issue, and I was very cognizant of the circumstances that the sector was in.” Colbeck had declined a request to appear before the Senate Select Committee on COVID-19 and Health Department staff on Jan. 14 for a public hearing, the first day of the three-day Ashes Test in Hobart. “I am concerned about the impact of the timing of this hearing. The COVID-19 pandemic is at a critical …