❓ Ms. Mettam questions the Premier about the Quarantine Advisory Panel's establishment, membership, activities, and findings, while the Premier deflects, citing procedural norms and shifting responsibility to the Commonwealth for quarantine facilities.
AnsweredQoN 29Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
QUARANTINE ADVISORY PANEL
29. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I
refer to recommendation 1 of Professor Weeramanthri's interim advice
from 4 February, calling for the establishment of a Quarantine Advisory
Panel tasked with asking the difficult strategic questions and identifying
program gaps and risks. Given that the Premier received that advice more than
90 days ago, I ask him to outline to the house answers to the following
questions.
(1) Who is on the advisory panel?
(2) How many times have they met and
reported?
(3) What
difficult strategic issues and program gaps has the panel identified, and what
actions have been taken as a result?
29. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I
refer to recommendation 1 of Professor Weeramanthri's interim advice
from 4 February, calling for the establishment of a Quarantine Advisory
Panel tasked with asking the difficult strategic questions and identifying
program gaps and risks. Given that the Premier received that advice more than
90 days ago, I ask him to outline to the house answers to the following
questions.
(1) Who is on the advisory panel?
(2) How many times have they met and
reported?
(3) What
difficult strategic issues and program gaps has the panel identified, and what
actions have been taken as a result?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3) Just
for the information of new members, ordinarily when a question like this is
asked, a bit of notice is given so that the minister can provide details when
that sort of detail is asked for. That is the normal practice in this place.
For all the new members, that is what would normally occur.
Member for Vasse, the Quarantine
Advisory Panel was established. My understanding is that Professor Weeramanthri
is the chair. The panel is examining a range of issues, but in particular it is
looking at whether other locations or facilities can be used for quarantining
purposes. That is obviously an ongoing process. In terms of quarantine, as I have
said many times, we are reducing the number of available quarantine positions.
We want to reduce the risk within Western Australia. Up until now, we have been
taking the most per capita of any state in Australia. The Northern Territory
has been taking more, using a commonwealth-run facility, but we have been
taking the most per capita of any state in Australia. Clearly, in light of
recent events, we are going to reduce the numbers, which means that if the
commonwealth wants flights to come back from India, which is entirely
reasonable, it will need to stand up facilities exactly like it did last year
when flights came in from Wuhan and Japan. It stood up facilities straightaway to deal with that. They were actually
purpose-built quarantine facilities, not hotels repurposed for this
purpose. Our position is very clear: if the commonwealth wants to bring flights
back immediately, which is entirely reasonable, it will need to stand up
facilities to meet that demand.
for the information of new members, ordinarily when a question like this is
asked, a bit of notice is given so that the minister can provide details when
that sort of detail is asked for. That is the normal practice in this place.
For all the new members, that is what would normally occur.
Member for Vasse, the Quarantine
Advisory Panel was established. My understanding is that Professor Weeramanthri
is the chair. The panel is examining a range of issues, but in particular it is
looking at whether other locations or facilities can be used for quarantining
purposes. That is obviously an ongoing process. In terms of quarantine, as I have
said many times, we are reducing the number of available quarantine positions.
We want to reduce the risk within Western Australia. Up until now, we have been
taking the most per capita of any state in Australia. The Northern Territory
has been taking more, using a commonwealth-run facility, but we have been
taking the most per capita of any state in Australia. Clearly, in light of
recent events, we are going to reduce the numbers, which means that if the
commonwealth wants flights to come back from India, which is entirely
reasonable, it will need to stand up facilities exactly like it did last year
when flights came in from Wuhan and Japan. It stood up facilities straightaway to deal with that. They were actually
purpose-built quarantine facilities, not hotels repurposed for this
purpose. Our position is very clear: if the commonwealth wants to bring flights
back immediately, which is entirely reasonable, it will need to stand up
facilities to meet that demand.
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