Coronavirus Australia: PM Scott Morrison’s messy interview over Australia’s response to pandemic

The discussion between the Prime Minister and David Speers on ABC’s Insiders program has gotten off to a messy start.

A crucial interview between Scott Morrison journalist David Speers on the ABC quickly turned messy tonight when the Prime Minister was pushed to clarify how Australians should be behaving.

The two men repeatedly spoke over each other and Mr Morrison was audibly frustrated for some of the discussion as Speers grilled the PM on Australia’s response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Mr Morrison was repeatedly asked for clarity regarding “who goes to work and not” this week as NSW, Victoria and the ACT roll out a “comprehensive shutdown” of non-essential services.

The answer was far from clear, as the below exchange shows:

SPEERS: Just on work, lawyers, accountants, administrators, should they be going to work this week?

PM: The states themselves will ultimately define what they consider essential.

SPEERS: Can you clarify it tonight?

PM: The legislation that they have already considered and have been putting in place for the other bands excluded workplaces, but as you said. There is also the arrangement that is workplaces should be seeking to put in place, like I’m putting in place in this very office, the of people who can be in this office at any one time is 15.

SPEERS: But it’s a little confusing with respect, right now … (who) should go to work?

PM: The four square metres per person in an enclosed space and workplaces should be seeking to try to manage that within their workplace, unless for whatever reason, there might be a manufacturing process and in those cases, those persons …

SPEERS: But above and beyond that?

PM: … would have suitable precautions in place.

Scott Morrison appears on the ABC to confront Australia's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Later in the interview, the key question of whether schools should shut or not has also seemed to rankle the PM.

Speers said Victoria’s state chief health officer had advised it should shut down schools early from Tuesday, and asked Mr Morrison for his advice.

“The universal positions of all states and territories, including Premier Andrews, as recently as late last week, was that all schools should remain open,” Mr Morrison said.

“That’s changed now, though, hasn’t it?” Speers said.

“As I flagged at the time, David – if the advice changes into the future, then obviously the measures states and territories will take will also change. But what hasn’t changed is that in a situation, if a state and territory was to move to make those decisions, it is vitally important that health workers and other essential workers are in a position to have their children to attend schools. Otherwise, you’re taking out 30 per cent of your health workers,” the PM said.

Mr Morrison said he knew provisions were in place in NSW but that he was unaware about the Victorian situation, prompting Mr Speers to ask: “Isn’t this meant to be done through a national process?”

“This will be done through the National Cabinet. The National Cabinet is the first time this has ever been put in place in our federal history,” Mr Morrison replied.

Speers asked if the PM was “annoyed” that some of the state’s had announced school closures ahead of the National Cabinet meeting, which Mr Morrison denied.

“No, I’m not. Because it’s not for any leader to be getting annoyed about anything. It’s about leaders being focused on the job they have ahead of them and respecting the job of other leaders,” the PM said.