❓ Question regarding the impact of delaying the WA border reopening on the state's preparedness for the Omicron outbreak. The Premier defends the decision, citing increased vaccination rates and avoided disruptions seen in other states, criticising the Liberal and National parties' opposition.
AnsweredQoN 54Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS — INTERSTATE BORDER RESTRICTIONS
54. Ms S.E. WINTON to the Premier:
I refer to the state government's
response to the Omicron outbreak and the safe and responsible full reopening of
Western Australia's border. Can the Premier outline to the house what
the short delay in the border reopening has meant for the state's
preparedness in dealing with the increase in Omicron cases?
54. Ms S.E. WINTON to the Premier:
I refer to the state government's
response to the Omicron outbreak and the safe and responsible full reopening of
Western Australia's border. Can the Premier outline to the house what
the short delay in the border reopening has meant for the state's
preparedness in dealing with the increase in Omicron cases?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Wanneroo for
the question.
Obviously, delaying the full
reopening of the border by a month was a difficult decision. It caused some
disruption and inconvenience to some people
in our community, but it has also saved a great many lives of Western Australians.
Several members interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN : There you go
again! There are the Liberal and National Parties again undermining our efforts
to save Western Australian lives.
Several members interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Members!
Mr M. McGOWAN : It is no
wonder there are only three of you, because of the way you act. If you are
concerned about your status in Parliament
and your status in the community, you need to look in the mirror as to how you
act.
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Deputy
Leader of the Liberal Party!
Mr M. McGOWAN : What we
have tried to do through our measures and what is verifiably true is we have
saved a great deal of Western Australian
lives. It was the right call. It ensured that before we open the borders, we
are going to have very high levels of third-dose vaccination. As members will
see from the modelling, that was crucial to having a good outcome. What we have
also avoided, that the other states have been through, is months upon months
upon months, if not years, of shocking disruption. What people have seen in the
east is a huge increase in cases, deaths and hospitalisations. They have seen
the mass furloughing of staff; they have seen large number of businesses having
to shut. They have seen huge lines outside testing clinics and shortages of
tests. It would have been a huge unforced error had we opened on 5 February, in light of what was occurring with the
Omicron outbreak, particularly because of our relatively low third-dose
vaccination rate at that point in time. When we announced the delay on 20 January,
our third-dose rate was at about 25 per cent. Today, it is at 58.3 per cent and
climbing rapidly. On top of that, our dosage levels for five to 11-year-olds
have tripled from 13 per cent on 20 January to 46.9 per cent today, growing
rapidly as well. That means an additional 78 000 Western Australian children
have had the opportunity to receive some protection.
Today is the one-year anniversary of the vaccination program
that started last year with the phase 1a healthcare workforce. Our first-dose rate is now more than 98 per cent of Western Australians.
Our second-dose rate is 95.7 per cent and
our third-dose rate is 58.3 per cent. A number of people out there said that we
would not get to 90 per cent. Some underminers out there said that we
would not get to 90 per cent, in particular the Western Australian Liberal
Party. Now, we are approaching 100 per cent first dose and some of the highest
vaccination rates in the world because the government did what it had to do. We
took the steps and made the decisions that had to be made, against some
opposition, in particular from the Liberals and Nationals WA.
In relation to that, given the very
high rate of vaccination, we are able to relax our hard border settings on 3 March.
By that day, we expect that we will have a third-dose rate of 70 per cent and a
first-dose rate for children from five to 11 years of 65 per cent. This puts
our state in the strongest position and is virtually unique in the world,
before we have widespread coverage of COVID
in our community. We are able to open our border sensibly and responsibly ,
and we did not make a deliberate decision to seed the virus into Western Australia,
unlike South Australia and Tasmania that made a deliberate decision to seed the
virus with a large number of their population not third-dose vaccinated. Come 3
March, I can guarantee that our border will be fully reopened. This is the
right step forward for Western Australia. We can do it because Western Australians
have done the right thing by getting vaccinated; they have done the right thing,
despite the scare campaigns of the Liberals and Nationals. Our hospitals are
ready. Our workforce is ready. We have large
rates of vaccination in our state and I am sure that Western Australia is
ready.
the question.
Obviously, delaying the full
reopening of the border by a month was a difficult decision. It caused some
disruption and inconvenience to some people
in our community, but it has also saved a great many lives of Western Australians.
Several members interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN : There you go
again! There are the Liberal and National Parties again undermining our efforts
to save Western Australian lives.
Several members interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Members!
Mr M. McGOWAN : It is no
wonder there are only three of you, because of the way you act. If you are
concerned about your status in Parliament
and your status in the community, you need to look in the mirror as to how you
act.
Ms L. Mettam interjected.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : Deputy
Leader of the Liberal Party!
Mr M. McGOWAN : What we
have tried to do through our measures and what is verifiably true is we have
saved a great deal of Western Australian
lives. It was the right call. It ensured that before we open the borders, we
are going to have very high levels of third-dose vaccination. As members will
see from the modelling, that was crucial to having a good outcome. What we have
also avoided, that the other states have been through, is months upon months
upon months, if not years, of shocking disruption. What people have seen in the
east is a huge increase in cases, deaths and hospitalisations. They have seen
the mass furloughing of staff; they have seen large number of businesses having
to shut. They have seen huge lines outside testing clinics and shortages of
tests. It would have been a huge unforced error had we opened on 5 February, in light of what was occurring with the
Omicron outbreak, particularly because of our relatively low third-dose
vaccination rate at that point in time. When we announced the delay on 20 January,
our third-dose rate was at about 25 per cent. Today, it is at 58.3 per cent and
climbing rapidly. On top of that, our dosage levels for five to 11-year-olds
have tripled from 13 per cent on 20 January to 46.9 per cent today, growing
rapidly as well. That means an additional 78 000 Western Australian children
have had the opportunity to receive some protection.
Today is the one-year anniversary of the vaccination program
that started last year with the phase 1a healthcare workforce. Our first-dose rate is now more than 98 per cent of Western Australians.
Our second-dose rate is 95.7 per cent and
our third-dose rate is 58.3 per cent. A number of people out there said that we
would not get to 90 per cent. Some underminers out there said that we
would not get to 90 per cent, in particular the Western Australian Liberal
Party. Now, we are approaching 100 per cent first dose and some of the highest
vaccination rates in the world because the government did what it had to do. We
took the steps and made the decisions that had to be made, against some
opposition, in particular from the Liberals and Nationals WA.
In relation to that, given the very
high rate of vaccination, we are able to relax our hard border settings on 3 March.
By that day, we expect that we will have a third-dose rate of 70 per cent and a
first-dose rate for children from five to 11 years of 65 per cent. This puts
our state in the strongest position and is virtually unique in the world,
before we have widespread coverage of COVID
in our community. We are able to open our border sensibly and responsibly ,
and we did not make a deliberate decision to seed the virus into Western Australia,
unlike South Australia and Tasmania that made a deliberate decision to seed the
virus with a large number of their population not third-dose vaccinated. Come 3
March, I can guarantee that our border will be fully reopened. This is the
right step forward for Western Australia. We can do it because Western Australians
have done the right thing by getting vaccinated; they have done the right thing,
despite the scare campaigns of the Liberals and Nationals. Our hospitals are
ready. Our workforce is ready. We have large
rates of vaccination in our state and I am sure that Western Australia is
ready.
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.