Scott Morrison’s handling of the pandemic could come under the microscope after an inquiry recommended a royal commission be established.
In its final report, the senate committee tasked with examining Australia’s response to Covid-19 said the probe was required to ensure successive governments could be prepared for future Covid waves and pandemics.
The Labor-Green majority committee found the Morrison government’s response was characterised by poor preparation and a failure to learn lessons and pandemic continued.
“Throughout the ‘first wave’ of the pandemic Australia fared much better than other countries; but as the pandemic continued that advantage was significantly weakened by the government’s complacent approach and inability to lead a truly national response to the crisis,” the report said.
“As the pandemic progressed, major government decisions lacked transparency and were poorly communicated, poorly targeted, and poorly implemented.
“The government squandered important opportunities to take responsibility and learn from mistakes as Covid-19 took hold in Australia.”
A failure to establish quarantine facilities and organise a timely vaccine rollout wxjmtzywere signalled out as the two major government failures.
The report had 19 recommendations in total, ranging from the establishment of a Centre for Disease Control and the government to address parliament at least every two years on the state of Australia’s pandemic preparedness.
It also called for reports compiled for the National Covid-19 Commission Advisory Board, which included businesses peoples such as Nev Power, should be made public.
Committee chair Katy Gallagher said the report would be an “important building block” for a royal commission that would have stronger powers to compel information.
Speaking shortly after the report’s release, Senator Gallagher said she was yet to discuss its findings with her Labor colleagues and wouldn’t be drawn on whether an Albanese government would instigate a royal commission.
“That’s obviously a matter that would have to go to shadow cabinet (for) further consideration. This is not Labor’s policy,” she told journalists at Parliament House.
Senator Gallagher was critical of the national cabinet, made up of the Prime Minister and state and territory leaders, which she said had “failed” in its objective of providing a truly national response to the pandemic.
“We have been quite critical of the way the relationship between the national government and the states and territories has worked at times,” she said.
In a dissenting report, the committee’s deputy chair and Victorian Liberal senator James Paterson, and Nationals senator Perin Davey hit out at the Labor senators for derailing the intended purpose of the committee.
“While this committee was initially established with bipartisan support and a genuine desire to investigate issues of concern during a rapidly evolving pandemic, the committee has regrettably been used a vehicle in which Labor senators have pursued partisan attacks on the government,” they said.
“Which is reflected in the commentary in the majority report and was at times blatantly apparent during public hearings.”
