‘Crisis’: Government’s urgent rapid test order slammed

The federal government’s decision to quietly obtain millions of rapid antigen tests has sparked fury among Australians.

Anthony Albanese has slammed the Prime Minister for failing to learn from the pandemic after it was revealed the government quietly put out an urgent tender for rapid antigen tests.

Five tenders for RATs worth just under $62 million were published on the AusTender website by the Department of Health, with “extreme urgency or unforseen events” listed as the reason for the limited tender.

Speaking with Nine, the opposition leader criticised Scott Morrison for waiting until the issue hit a boiling point before acting.

Anthony Albanese says the government should have acted quicker on RATs. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

“We had rapid antigen tests approved last September. They came in to practice from 1st November. The Transport Workers’ Union, for example, wrote to the government in September last year saying, ‘We need RATs for our workforce, otherwise there will be supply chain issues’ so this shouldn’t have come as any surprise,” Mr Albanese said.

“But the national plan said that once you open up there would be increased numbers of infections and this government just ordered rapid antigen tests this week, $62m worth of them.

“How is it that they waited until there is a crisis before there is any action at all?”

The five tenders, worth just under $62m were quietly published online on Tued. Picture: Brendan Radke

On Wednesday, the health department told NCA Newswire the tender was part of the broader procurement of more than 70 million rapid tests.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has declared he “doesn’t know” if the government is set to fund RATs - but cautioned if it is, it won’t be free.

“We're bringing them in, I don’t know whether we’re going to be funding them. We will make sure we facilitate them,” he told Nine.

“But nothing is free. You're the taxpayer, you pay for it.

“What the government does is it gets something and then sends you the bill on your salaries and wages. You just pay for it later on.”

EARLIER

An urgent tender for millions of rapid antigen tests has been placed by the federal government.

In total, five tenders for rapid tests worth just under $62 million were quietly published on Tuesday by the Department of Health.

On the AusTender website, the department listed “extreme urgency or unforeseen events” as the reason for the limited tender.

The tender comes just a day after Prime Minister Scott Morrison faced backlash from pharmacists after they were told they needed to secure their own supply of additional tests to support the government’s plan for free RATs for concession card holders.

Rapid antigen tests have been in short supply as the number of cases across the nation rises. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

The Department of Health said the latest tender was not for additional RATs.

Instead, the department said the tender was part of the broader procurement of more than 70 million rapid tests.

“As per the COVID procurement rules these contracts were issued as ‘urgent and unavoidable’ following a limited tender process,” a spokesman told NCA NewsWire.

“Each proposal was independently assessed against consistent criteria before the departmental delegate made the decision to procure the tests.”

It is not yet clear where the tests will be deployed or when they will arrive for use.

Just last week, Mr Morrison said securing rapid antigen tests was a state responsibility.

“It's the same rules that apply for PCR tests. States secure the supplies for PCR tests, and for RAT tests that they’d be supplying for their own purposes in whatever state has always been a matter for the states,” he told reporters in Canberra.

Scott Morrison said last week securing rapid tests was a state responsibility. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

The opposition said the delayed order proved the government was unprepared for the demand.

“Despite knowing that rapid tests were a ‘critical part’ of opening up, as far back as September, the Morrison Government did nothing to secure supplies until there was a national Covid testing crisis and we had empty shelves in pharmacies,” Labor’s Katy Gallagher told NCA Newswire.

“The result of this PM’s failure to properly plan is that we now have hundreds of thousands of positive Covid cases, hundreds of thousands more people isolating and away from work, hospitals under pressure, businesses closing, supermarket shelves empty and supply chains broken.

“How Scott Morrison could have left it until this week to order the RAT tests needed beggars belief.”

The major order comes as the government faces backlash over its handling of the RAT roll out. Picture: Chris Kidd.

Australia’s adoption of rapid antigen tests has been slower than other countries, such as the US and UK, a strategy which TGA boss John Skerritt previously admitted was deliberate.

“We’re saying to companies, submit your data, show us, but we can’t formally make an approval decision until we get a signal from the government,” Professor Skerritt told NCA Newswire in September.

“It’s a decision for the government. Firstly, when they feel an appropriate time is to commit such tests. But then secondly, we’ve got to have the tests that are actually ready to go and designed so they can be used by non-professional people.”

That signal eventually came from the Health Minister the day after NCA Newswire revealed the reason for the delay.

Originally published as ‘Crisis’: Government’s urgent rapid test order slammed