Scott Morrison comes under fire for RAT ‘Hunger Games’

Scott Morrison has copped a breakfast TV grilling over rapid antigen tests, as the worst RAT price gouging offenders were revealed. See who made the list.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has again defended his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was compared by a breakfast television host to “the Hunger Games”.

Mr Morrison revealed at his National Press Club address on Tuesday that with the benefit of hindsight, he would have put the vaccine rollout under a military operation sooner.

He said the major challenges had been the blocking of supplies, as well as the limitations placed on the AstraZeneca vaccine.

But, he “brought in” Lieutenant General John Frewen who “turned it around”.

Mr Morrison has since come under fire for failing to procure enough rapid antigen tests.

The TGA approved some kits for at-home use in November, shortly before the Omicron variant swept across the nation.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: Gary Ramage

In a fiery interview, Mr Morrison was asked by Sunrise hosts Natalie Barr and David Koch why he had not learned his lessons from the vaccine rollout when it came to acquiring enough rapid tests.

“It’s like the Hunger Games out here in the last couple of years,” Barr said.

“You had to get (vaccines) off other countries, so other countries had it. It’s like the RATs.

“The Doherty Institute said there are new variants coming, we’re going to need these RAT tests and other countries had lots of them. “It feels like we’re the last in line every time.”

Mr Morrison said other countries had experiences “different to us”, including the United Kingdom which had been using rapid antigen tests long before Australia did.

“They had cases (of Delta) running at 30 to 50,000 a day for a very long time. That was not our experience of Delta, and there was no health advice that came forward from any officials … that had foreseen the fact that we would have a variant for which the vaccine would not prevent transmission,” he said.

“That’s what changed … what happened in late November.

“Rapid antigen tests were approved by the TGA. They’re the ones responsible for ensuring that they make the best health decisions for Australia. “I’m not criticising them at all … Omicron changed (everything).”

Koch doubled down, asking the Prime Minister why Australia was not using testing kits made in the country, instead watching them be shipped to the United States.

“Our own factory producing 100,000 RATs a day is selling them all to America. The Americans beat us to our own factory,” Koch said.

Mr Morrison said the Brisbane-based company’s application for the tests’ approval was still before the TGA.

“I understand the frustration, I understand it very well, but Australia is not going to compromise on the health standards and the health advice that protects Australians and the same is true with the vaccine,” he said.

“The TGA keep Australians safe.”

REVEALED: WORST RAT PRICE GOUGING OFFENDERS

More than 3900 complaints have been filed to Australia’s consumer watchdog over rapid antigen test pricing and selling issues in just a month.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission established an investigation into RATs in early January, encouraging Australians who were concerned about excessive pricing to report their experiences.

As a result of the complaints filed so far, more than 50 suppliers of the tests, including major retailers and pharmacy chains, have been asked by the ACCC to explain their costs, pricing and stock availability.

The most reported industries were pharmacies with 1309 complaints, followed by petrol stations with 781 and then convenience stores, tobacconists and supermarkets with 764 between Christmas Day and Australia Day.

Those suppliers have been warned that they must be able to substantiate any claims made about the reasons for high prices.

ACCC chair Rod Sims said the watchdog was taking the issue seriously and would not hesitate to “name and shame” the offenders.

“Businesses now know we will be in touch very quickly if they choose to impose unjustifiably high mark-ups on rapid antigen tests or make misleading statements to consumers,” he said.

“In view of the public interest in this issue, we will continue to name business chains whose stores are reported to have engaged in this conduct, and (we) are working very closely with our fellow law enforcement agencies in this area, particularly in relation to individual stores.”

More than 3900 complaints about the price of rapid antigen tests have been received by the ACCC, more than 1300 of which relate to pharmacies. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

In addition, the ACCC has referred some retailers to both the Australian Federal Police and the Therapeutic Goods Administration over allegations of “illegal” reselling of rapid antigen tests, alleged package splitting, and sales of tests not approved for home use in Australia.

Mr Sims thanked those who had filed a report and urged others who had encountered high prices to speak up.

“Community concerns about sales practices for rapid antigen tests remain very high, for good reason,” he said.

“We thank the consumers who have taken the time to pass on to us crucial information about what is happening in this market.

“These reports, and the public scrutiny, are helping to keep prices at lower levels than otherwise.”

Mr Sims announced that the ACCC had also launched an investigation into whether governments diverted or “sought priority supply” of RATs after reports emerged that some retailers had been pushed down the list as state and federal governments sought to build up their stockpile of the tests.

Some suppliers made such claims in emails and on their websites.

Mr Sims said the federal government had given “clear and repeated advice” that it had not commandeered or asked for priority supply.

“ACCC investigators are speaking with the suppliers involved and will look to address any misrepresentations identified,” he said.

“The ACCC takes this opportunity to remind suppliers about the importance of honouring any contractual arrangements for supply and of being honest about why rapid antigen tests may currently be unavailable.

“Suppliers must be able to substantiate any claims they make about test availability, and we are asking them to do so.”

The ACCC has launched an investigation into whether state and federal governments diverted supply of rapid antigen tests. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

Of the more than 3900 reports filed between December 25 and January 26, almost 95 per cent were about the price of the tests.

Analysis suggests many consumers are still paying between $20-$30 per test, well above the wholesale prices of $3.82-$11.42.

“While $20 retail prices remain lower than the most extreme reports received by the ACCC, there is still an unusually high mark-up that in our view is very difficult to justify,” Mr Sims said.

“We are looking at reports of single tests being sold for $30 or more from certain stores. For example, we have received many reports of high prices at a number of individual IGA Supermarkets and BP-branded petrol stations (133 and 72 complaints respectively, to 26 January 2022). However, I want to emphasise these complaints are limited to a small number of individual stores in these chains and that the majority of stores in those chains have not been the subject of complaints to us. We have contacted those chains, and will be engaging with the stores named in complaints to ask them to explain their prices so we can work out what’s going on,” Mr Sims said.

More than two-thirds of the consumer reports were about traders in NSW, while 10 per cent of complaints related to traders in regional and remote Australia.

Originally published as Scott Morrison comes under fire for RAT ‘Hunger Games’