❓ Ms. Davies questions the Premier's process for suggesting quarantine locations, given the existence of a Quarantine Advisory Panel. The Premier defends his suggestions, criticises the opposition's stance, and highlights potential benefits of the proposed locations.
AnsweredQoN 193Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
QUARANTINE ADVISORY PANEL — QUARANTINE
FACILITIES
193. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's suggestion yesterday that
Exmouth and Busselton would be good locations for COVID quarantine facilities.
(1) Has the Quarantine Advisory Panel met since its
formation last Thursday; and, if so, when and how many times?
(2) If not, why
does the Premier keep plucking towns and locations for quarantine sites out of
the air instead of letting his own panel do the work that it was convened for
in a methodical and sensible way?
FACILITIES
193. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's suggestion yesterday that
Exmouth and Busselton would be good locations for COVID quarantine facilities.
(1) Has the Quarantine Advisory Panel met since its
formation last Thursday; and, if so, when and how many times?
(2) If not, why
does the Premier keep plucking towns and locations for quarantine sites out of
the air instead of letting his own panel do the work that it was convened for
in a methodical and sensible way?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2)
Obviously, the issues surrounding COVID have been going on for the best part of
18 months. Every day I get questions on it at press conferences. Basically, I do
a press conference every day and I get questions on this issue, as I have for
the best part of 500 days now. Clearly, every single state has had some issues
with hotel quarantine; in fact, we had an issue this week, despite all our
efforts. That is because hotels are not
built for this purpose. One of the things that has been suggested many, many
times by people across the community and by the Liberal Party and
National Party in this state is that we need to look for alternatives. Then,
when I come out and suggest some quite reasonable alternatives, members
opposite come in here and attack me!
The Liberal Party's
position on this is that the state should pay for the commonwealth's
responsibility for hotel quarantine. This is
the Liberal Party's responsibility—your alliance partners! The
Liberal Party's view is that states should pay for the
commonwealth's responsibility and that we should look for alternatives.
The instant we suggest an alternative, the Liberal Party's view is that
is not right—not in my backyard! The
Liberal Party and National Party are nimbys. You are nimbys. You are
conservative nimbys, which is not an unusual thing, I might add.
Obviously,
when I think about it, when there are airports that can take large aircraft and
they are in regional areas outside the CBD of Perth, they are worth
considering. Everyone across the country, including the press, is always
saying, ''Come up with some new ideas!'' That is what we have
done; we are coming up with new ideas on how to deal with a difficult
situation. That is what has happened. We will continue to work on this.
Obviously, the best solution is for everyone to get vaccinated, but we will
continue to work on this. I saw a news report with people in Busselton saying
that this is a great idea. The only person who opposes it is the member for
Vasse.
Several members interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN : It might be a good idea, and we will work with
the commonwealth—because quarantine is its responsibility—on these sorts of ideas to
deal with the situation. It may well be that if, at some point in time, a facility is built that that facility may be able to be used beyond the pandemic
for purposes such as worker accommodation in Exmouth. They have a shortage of
worker accommodation across that region. A facility there might be able to be
used for those purposes. I do not know if members have ever been to Learmonth,
but it is a pretty isolated airport. It is a massive airport. It is actually an
Air Force strip that was built by the Americans, I think, in the 1960s. It has
gun emplacements there to protect them from whoever might attack Exmouth, but
it has the capacity for security and all those sorts of things. In the case of
the Busselton Margaret River Airport, it was recently upgraded and it has had a
lot of money spent on it. It is in a community that is reasonably close to the
hospitals in Perth, so it is worth considering. But all members opposite do is
carp and whinge. They demand solutions to this, but when ideas are proposed,
they say they are no good. That is the way members opposite act. The Liberals
and Nationals are nimbys!
Obviously, the issues surrounding COVID have been going on for the best part of
18 months. Every day I get questions on it at press conferences. Basically, I do
a press conference every day and I get questions on this issue, as I have for
the best part of 500 days now. Clearly, every single state has had some issues
with hotel quarantine; in fact, we had an issue this week, despite all our
efforts. That is because hotels are not
built for this purpose. One of the things that has been suggested many, many
times by people across the community and by the Liberal Party and
National Party in this state is that we need to look for alternatives. Then,
when I come out and suggest some quite reasonable alternatives, members
opposite come in here and attack me!
The Liberal Party's
position on this is that the state should pay for the commonwealth's
responsibility for hotel quarantine. This is
the Liberal Party's responsibility—your alliance partners! The
Liberal Party's view is that states should pay for the
commonwealth's responsibility and that we should look for alternatives.
The instant we suggest an alternative, the Liberal Party's view is that
is not right—not in my backyard! The
Liberal Party and National Party are nimbys. You are nimbys. You are
conservative nimbys, which is not an unusual thing, I might add.
Obviously,
when I think about it, when there are airports that can take large aircraft and
they are in regional areas outside the CBD of Perth, they are worth
considering. Everyone across the country, including the press, is always
saying, ''Come up with some new ideas!'' That is what we have
done; we are coming up with new ideas on how to deal with a difficult
situation. That is what has happened. We will continue to work on this.
Obviously, the best solution is for everyone to get vaccinated, but we will
continue to work on this. I saw a news report with people in Busselton saying
that this is a great idea. The only person who opposes it is the member for
Vasse.
Several members interjected.
Mr M. McGOWAN : It might be a good idea, and we will work with
the commonwealth—because quarantine is its responsibility—on these sorts of ideas to
deal with the situation. It may well be that if, at some point in time, a facility is built that that facility may be able to be used beyond the pandemic
for purposes such as worker accommodation in Exmouth. They have a shortage of
worker accommodation across that region. A facility there might be able to be
used for those purposes. I do not know if members have ever been to Learmonth,
but it is a pretty isolated airport. It is a massive airport. It is actually an
Air Force strip that was built by the Americans, I think, in the 1960s. It has
gun emplacements there to protect them from whoever might attack Exmouth, but
it has the capacity for security and all those sorts of things. In the case of
the Busselton Margaret River Airport, it was recently upgraded and it has had a
lot of money spent on it. It is in a community that is reasonably close to the
hospitals in Perth, so it is worth considering. But all members opposite do is
carp and whinge. They demand solutions to this, but when ideas are proposed,
they say they are no good. That is the way members opposite act. The Liberals
and Nationals are nimbys!
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