Opposition Claims Pandemic Inquiry Should Examine State and Territory Decisions: Alleged ‘Protection Racket’
“The prime minister owes it to the Australian people to have a proper understanding of what happened at a state and federal level,” Dutton said.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has criticized the Albanese Labor government’s newly announced pandemic inquiry, pointing to exemptions for state premiers.
“If we don’t learn the lessons of what happened during the course of COVID—good and bad—by every level of government, how do we expect to go into the next pandemic not understanding what had happened in the previous one? It doesn’t make any sense.”
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Mr. Albanese announced the inquiry into the federal government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic on the morning of Sept. 21.
However, under the inquiry’s terms of reference, the panel will not probe individual state and territory decisions on lockdowns, mandates, and border closures, as well as other “unilateral” decisions made by premiers and chief ministers.
Pandemic measures were particularly stringent in the Labor states of Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia.
“We said before the election and I’ve said since, given the enormous dislocation, the stress, the loss of life, the economic impact of the pandemic—it is appropriate that when we reached a certain period, that we would have an inquiry,” Mr. Albanese said.
“We need to examine what could be done better with a focus on the future.”
Former Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Nick Coatsworth questioned this decision, calling it “concerning.”
“‘Actions taken unilaterally by state and territory governments,’ that’s pretty much everything they did,” he wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
‘Protection Racket,’ Dutton Says
Mr. Dutton said the inquiry should cover all jurisdictions.
“This protection racket for Daniel Andrews and Annastacia Palaszczuk demonstrates that Daniel Andrews and Premier Palaszczuk have a lot to keep from the Australian public,” he said.
“If there’s nothing to hide here, then why not let the sunshine in?
“The prime minister has made a decision which is not in our national interest, and it goes against what he promised to the Australian public.
“Australians are smart enough to smell a rat here.”
The panel’s final report is expected to be handed down by September 2024.
Mr. Albanese has also been criticized for opting for an inquiry rather than a royal commission into the pandemic, which he claims would “roll on” year after year.
“I think there will be literally thousands of families out there who lost loved ones during the course of COVID who listened to, and probably voted for, the prime minister based on his promise for a proper, thorough investigation inquiry involving the Commonwealth and the states around the decisions made over the course of COVID,” Mr. Dutton said.
In response, Mr. Albanese said that “no one promised a royal commission.”
Previously, in May 2022, Mr. Albanese said, “I support looking at it through a measure like a royal commission. We haven’t finalized what the structure would be.”
Victorian Premier Says He Will Cooperate With Inquiry
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has backed the federal government and denied the prime minister was doing him a favor, promising to cooperate with the inquiry.
Victoria’s former chief health officer, Brett Sutton, said he would be “disappointed” if the inquiry did not probe lockdowns, and said he expects to give evidence to the inquiry.
“There shouldn’t be shyness about asking the tough questions for those things that were most disruptive,” Mr. Sutton told the ABC on Sept. 21
“[The lockdowns] were really impactful in the way that they applied across society but this is a pandemic that has killed at least 20 million people globally so let’s ask all the questions that are relevant so that we can be really well informed about how best to handle it going forward.”
The pandemic response by the Victorian Labor government saw Melbourne citizens endure some of the toughest restrictions, including the world’s longest lockdown.
