'People have tried to minimise the errors': Leaders call for royal commission into nation's COVID response

Former premiers from both sides of politics and experts in public policy are urging the federal and state governments to hold a royal commission into the nation's response to the coronavirus pandemic, from the massive cost of measures to lockdowns and state border closures.

Political leaders including Jeff Kennett and Peter Beattie believe there is a strong case for a formal independent investigation into the handling of the pandemic that will leave the federal government with more than $1 trillion in gross debt, interest rates at near-zero for years and the states dealing with quarantine and health issues.

The coronavirus pandemic has prompted the largest public expenditure since World War II. Former premiers and policy experts say a royal commission should be held into the federal and state response to the pandemic.Credit: Sam Moody

Mr Kennett, who led Victoria for seven years, said an "educative" royal commission was needed because there would be another crisis in the future.

"I still support very much the concept of a royal commission for education reasons, to learn and to look at the damage that's been done," the former Liberal premier said. "Look at what's happened to the farming communities, have a look at what's happened to tourism, have a look at what's happened to hospitality. Could we have avoided or could we have lessened that?"

Mr Beattie, a former Queensland Labor premier, said mistakes had been made and an inquiry was a way to ensure future generations did not make the same ones.

He said it should not be a "blame game inquiry" but one that focused on the best way to respond to future pandemics.

"In the years ahead, a future pandemic is likely, so we should learn from what happened in 2020 and be prepared for next time," he said.

"I would support a federal royal commission headed by a fiercely independent judge and supported by two fiercely independent expert commissioners with full powers to subpoena witnesses and all documents and material from the events of 2020."

Despite the avalanche of spending and the differing health outcomes between the states and between Australia and the rest of the world, there has been no independent overarching examination of the policies put in place.

There have been several inquiries into certain aspects of the country's response to the pandemic. They include NSW's investigation of the Ruby Princess cruise ship and Victoria's inquiry into the failures of its hotel quarantine system.

A separate inquiry into hotel quarantine was conducted by former senior public servant Jane Halton, while there have been internal reviews by Treasury of the JobKeeper program and by the Education Department of the government's free childcare policy.

Tony Harris, a former NSW auditor-general, said that with so many government resources thrown at the pandemic, from health to economic stimulus, an investigation was warranted.

"It's the biggest economic and social event since the Vietnam War, so it deserves to be examined," he said. "I think people have sought to minimise the errors that have been made. People have forgotten or have wanted to forget those mistakes, but we need to learn from them."

But another former Victorian premier, Steve Bracks, said the suggestion of a royal commission was "nonsensical".

He said state governments had already learnt much through the past 12 months, with states such as Victoria and NSW putting in place "world's best practice" actions to resolve difficult issues.

"You don't have a royal commission in the middle of a bushfire, you wait until it's over," he said. "When everything's over, when the vaccine has been rolled out and when we're able to move around and travel again, maybe that's the time to look at [it]."

Professor Percy Allan, a former NSW Treasury secretary, said it could be cheaper to establish a multi-disciplinary investigative commission with the powers to access confidential documents and interrogate relevant witnesses.

"It could be headed by a judge to ensure procedural fairness but include other commissioners skilled in economics, management, finance, psychology, organisational behaviour, technology, governance, etc, that would bring a wide range of expertise and experience to bear on a particular review of a policy outcome," he said.

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