❓ Mr. Katsambanis questions the Premier about funding for additional PPE for the WA Police Force during the Coronavirus outbreak. The Premier assures that police are given necessary resources and condemns panic buying and abuse of retail staff.
AnsweredQoN 117Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS — FRONTLINE POLICE
117. Mr P.A. KATSAMBANIS to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question.
Obviously, additional PPE is required. Has the Premier made additional funding
available to the Western Australia Police Force to purchase this additional PPE
or is the agency expected to absorb the significant additional costs in its
already overstretched budget?
117. Mr P.A. KATSAMBANIS to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question.
Obviously, additional PPE is required. Has the Premier made additional funding
available to the Western Australia Police Force to purchase this additional PPE
or is the agency expected to absorb the significant additional costs in its
already overstretched budget?
AnswerView source ↗
I
urge the opposition not to politicise these matters and I urge it not to try to
score cheap political points in this way . Obviously, the police are
given every resource as required to obtain PPE in these circumstances. The PPE
situation is a national challenge—for every state, including Western Australia,
and the commonwealth. We are doing everything we can to source additional PPE
to protect in particular our frontline workers in hospitals, childcare centres,
the police force, fire and emergency services, ambulance services and the like.
We are doing everything we can to stockpile and ensure that it is available if
and when required.
In closing on this question, I want
to make one other point. I have seen some images, as we all have, of people in supermarkets panic buying. I think it is
absolutely unnecessary. What is even worse is some of the abuse that is going on towards retail staff. I have heard situations of people working in Coles,
Woolies, IGAs and the like being abused by customers because there are no baked
beans or toilet rolls and the like in the supermarket. That is not the fault of
the retail staff; that is the fault of the people panic buying. I urge anyone
out there abusing retail staff to have a good look at themselves, because it is
not right and it is not fair.
The SPEAKER : That is the end
of question time.
urge the opposition not to politicise these matters and I urge it not to try to
score cheap political points in this way . Obviously, the police are
given every resource as required to obtain PPE in these circumstances. The PPE
situation is a national challenge—for every state, including Western Australia,
and the commonwealth. We are doing everything we can to source additional PPE
to protect in particular our frontline workers in hospitals, childcare centres,
the police force, fire and emergency services, ambulance services and the like.
We are doing everything we can to stockpile and ensure that it is available if
and when required.
In closing on this question, I want
to make one other point. I have seen some images, as we all have, of people in supermarkets panic buying. I think it is
absolutely unnecessary. What is even worse is some of the abuse that is going on towards retail staff. I have heard situations of people working in Coles,
Woolies, IGAs and the like being abused by customers because there are no baked
beans or toilet rolls and the like in the supermarket. That is not the fault of
the retail staff; that is the fault of the people panic buying. I urge anyone
out there abusing retail staff to have a good look at themselves, because it is
not right and it is not fair.
The SPEAKER : That is the end
of question time.
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