Ms Davies questions the Premier on why the State of Emergency powers, rather than the Public Health Act, are necessary for pandemic management. The Premier defends the use of the Emergency Management Act, highlighting the role of the Police Commissioner in resource mobilisation.

AnsweredQoN 510Legislative Assembly
Asked
17 August 2022
Portfolio
Premier

QuestionView source ↗

CORONAVIRUS — STATE OF EMERGENCY
510. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question.
Can the Premier explain what element of the pandemic cannot be managed under
the Public Health Act 2016?

AnswerView source ↗

The person we rely upon to be the
emergency coordinator is the Commissioner of Police. Chris Dawson and now Commissioner Col Blanch have done an outstanding
job as the State Emergency Coordinator. That position provides for the
mobilisation of more resources across the public sector in my view. Our police
and health workforce, in fact our entire workforce, including the private
sector and, indeed, the whole of the general community, have done a wonderful job over the course of the last two and
a half years, producing the best outcomes of anywhere in the entire
world, which is really quite something. Under the existing laws, the
mobilisation of those resources has been the Emergency Management Act, which
has allowed for the appointment of the Commissioner of Police to undertake
those roles.

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