Supply chain crisis: Scott Morrison’s plan for urgent isolation rule changes

A high-level meeting called by Prime Minister Scott Morrison has come to significant conclusions about what needs to change next.

Scott Morrison will make it a “top priority” for truckie isolation requirements to be relaxed, while moving to slash limits on how much international students can work.

The Prime Minister held high-level talks with senior ministers and top department officials on Wednesday to tackle the supply chain and workforce shortage crisis gripping Australia.

It was concluded that the country urgently needed to go further in relaxing isolation rules for certain workers, with the transport and logistics industries understood to be the “top priority”.

The meeting discussed feedback that between 20 and 50 per cent of truckies were out of action or in isolation because of Covid, and were also facing hurdles trying to cross state borders.

A new, expanded list of what is deemed an essential worker – so they can have reduced isolation requirements if they are exposed to Covid – is being finalised by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee ahead of Thursday’s national cabinet meeting.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison held high-level crisis talks on Wednesday. Picture: Adam Taylor

Other industries under consideration by the committee – made up of state chief health officers and the federal chief medical officer – include animal vets, therapy, clinics, education, early childhood, energy supply, water supply and waste recovery.

The Prime Minister is planning to push states and territories to remove red tape around truck drivers crossing borders, after hearing that providing proof of negative rapid antigen test (RAT) results was a challenge for drivers.

In another major change, it is understood the government will start allowing international students to temporarily increase their work to more than 40 hours a fortnight within affected sectors.

“The challenge of Covid with escalating cases is keeping things moving, that’s what riding this wave of Covid means,” the Prime Minister told the meeting.

There were a number of agreements from the meeting with senior ministers and department heads. Picture: Adam Taylor/PMO

Mr Morrison said this would continue until cases peaked.

“This will have an obvious impact right across our supply chains,” he said.

“Now that’s to be expected with a serious escalation in the cases that we’ve seen.

“And that of course has impacts and it is important we continue to problem solve right across all of these areas, be it in transport, health care, aged care as we’ve already been doing.”

Mr Morrison said with more people getting Covid, workforces were going to continue to be hit by shortages.

“So the goal is to get as many people safely at work in these critical sectors, that keep Australia moving, as possible while continuing the rollout of the boosters and the children vaccine program,” he said.

“Keeping that rolling and keeping the country rolling by ensuring we keep those supply chains in tact is the task.”

The talks occurred after a series of meetings with industry groups on Tuesday night.

On Monday, national cabinet agreed that grocery and supermarket workers in production, logistics and distribution facilities shouldn’t have to isolate if they were an asymptomatic close contact and returned negative RATs.

Acting Small Business Minister Anne Ruston said industry groups had called for nationally consistent rules around testing and isolation.

The Prime Minister will be pushing states to cut red tape for truckies at the border. Picture: Adam Taylor/PMO

She also told Sky News there were major concerns about RAT supply.

“Obviously making sure that we have got our rapid antigen tests being delivered to the places that they need to be and that they’ve got a consistent and accurate idea of where and when they can get supply,” she said.

Senator Ruston flagged one major strategy would be focused on getting people on unemployment benefits into work to fill gaps.

Mark McKenzie, CEO of the Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association, was among more than 20 industry leaders at the forum.

He said he told the government fuel needed to be included as an essential service.

“It’s not a problem at the moment but we are flagging a risk,” he said.

”It’s about being proactive rather than lurching from crisis to crisis.

“You sit there and say (on Monday) the critical supply chain is grocery and emergency services, well they all use fuel, we need people to be able to drive the fuel tankers.”