❓ Ms. Mettam questions the Minister for Health about withholding detailed data behind Omicron modelling, citing far-reaching consequences for the public. The Minister responds by asserting the modelling has been released and criticises Ms. Mettam for not reading it.
AnsweredQoN 129Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS — HEALTH MODELLING — OMICRON
VARIANT
129. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the McGowan government's
decision to withhold detailed data behind the Omicron modelling.
(1) Given that
the government's decisions, based on the modelling, have had
far-reaching consequences for the WA public, why does the minister believe that
it is unhelpful to release it in full?
(2) What is the minister trying to
hide?
VARIANT
129. Ms L. METTAM to the Minister for Health:
I refer to the McGowan government's
decision to withhold detailed data behind the Omicron modelling.
(1) Given that
the government's decisions, based on the modelling, have had
far-reaching consequences for the WA public, why does the minister believe that
it is unhelpful to release it in full?
(2) What is the minister trying to
hide?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I
am very happy to answer this question. I pose a question back to the member for
Vasse: has she read the modelling that we have released? That is the question I
would ask her. She just delivers a line that is written for her.
Ms R. Saffioti interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister!
Ms A. SANDERSON : Let me just
run through —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Sorry; order,
please! I would just like to hear from the minister, thank you.
Ms A. SANDERSON : Because it
is clear that the member for Vasse has not read the modelling that was released
by the Chief Health Officer, I will enlighten her about what is in the
modelling, which is publicly available as is all the advice from the Chief
Health Officer. The modelling runs through a range of scenarios. It talks about
base production, rate, escape capability and reduced severity of Omicron. There
is a whole range of parameters in there as well. It is very useful information
for planning, particularly around the health system: the number of days we expect hospitalisation after symptom onset;
general ward bed stays; intensive care unit bed stays; non-ventilated ICU ;
general ward admissions and the length of time of those stays; modelling
results; case numbers; hospitalisations; the number of beds that are used; how
many case numbers we expect to get a day during the peak, which is around 10 000;
and how long that peak is expected to last across March. That is the modelling
that has been released.
What we need to provide to
government, business and the community is what to expect during the Omicron
surge. In this modelling, which the member for Vasse clearly has not read, is
exactly what to expect during the Omicron surge. That is exactly what to
expect. In fact, it even goes into quite a lot of detail around symptomatic
cases: the cumulative days, over 200 or 300, bed use; cumulative bed use;
cumulative ICU use; and booster rates and uptakes. A whole range of information
is in here. Therefore, it is not the case that the Omicron modelling has been
somehow hidden, as is spuriously claimed by
the opposition; it has been released and it is on the website. That is the
modelling . I suggest that the member for Vasse actually reads the
modelling and she may well find herself better informed.
am very happy to answer this question. I pose a question back to the member for
Vasse: has she read the modelling that we have released? That is the question I
would ask her. She just delivers a line that is written for her.
Ms R. Saffioti interjected.
The SPEAKER : Minister!
Ms A. SANDERSON : Let me just
run through —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Sorry; order,
please! I would just like to hear from the minister, thank you.
Ms A. SANDERSON : Because it
is clear that the member for Vasse has not read the modelling that was released
by the Chief Health Officer, I will enlighten her about what is in the
modelling, which is publicly available as is all the advice from the Chief
Health Officer. The modelling runs through a range of scenarios. It talks about
base production, rate, escape capability and reduced severity of Omicron. There
is a whole range of parameters in there as well. It is very useful information
for planning, particularly around the health system: the number of days we expect hospitalisation after symptom onset;
general ward bed stays; intensive care unit bed stays; non-ventilated ICU ;
general ward admissions and the length of time of those stays; modelling
results; case numbers; hospitalisations; the number of beds that are used; how
many case numbers we expect to get a day during the peak, which is around 10 000;
and how long that peak is expected to last across March. That is the modelling
that has been released.
What we need to provide to
government, business and the community is what to expect during the Omicron
surge. In this modelling, which the member for Vasse clearly has not read, is
exactly what to expect during the Omicron surge. That is exactly what to
expect. In fact, it even goes into quite a lot of detail around symptomatic
cases: the cumulative days, over 200 or 300, bed use; cumulative bed use;
cumulative ICU use; and booster rates and uptakes. A whole range of information
is in here. Therefore, it is not the case that the Omicron modelling has been
somehow hidden, as is spuriously claimed by
the opposition; it has been released and it is on the website. That is the
modelling . I suggest that the member for Vasse actually reads the
modelling and she may well find herself better informed.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.