WA Premier bites back at NSW counterpart over cost of hotel quarantine

The NSW Premier’s call for some jurisdictions to ‘cough up’ costs for their residents in her state is outside the national cabinet ‘spirit’, WA says.

Premier Mark McGowan has hit back at suggestions WA should repay NSW for the cost of quarantining its residents, saying the call is a diversion from “serious corruption” recently exposed in the eastern state.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian wants WA to “cough up” about $8 million, saying her state has been “doing the heavy lifting” with hotel quarantining, but Mr McGowan said WA accepted the most travellers per capita.

“We currently have two people arriving in the last 24 hours from NSW who are COVID-positive, who we’re looking after,” he told reporters on Thursday.

“Clearly, what the NSW government is doing is outside the national agreement that was reached at national cabinet.

“If I was unkind, I would say maybe we should send a bill to the NSW government for the Ruby Princess and all the trauma that caused other states.

“Or maybe we should send a bill to the NSW government for the billions upon billions of dollars we gave them in GST over the course of the last decade.

“Or maybe this is just a diversion by the NSW government from the serious corruption that’s been exposed at senior levels there.”

Mr McGowan was referring to the Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation into Ms Berejiklian’s former partner.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian wants WA to “cough up” about $8 million. Picture: Pool via NCA NewsWire/James Gourley

WA recorded eight new cases of COVID-19 overnight, all of whom were returned travellers from overseas, including two NSW residents.

It brings WA’s total number of people in hotel quarantine to 1981.

Mr McGowan also revealed one ill crew member from the Al Messilah livestock carrier had been transported from hotel quarantine to Royal Perth Hospital and the 35-year-old was in a negative pressure room.

A total of 37 crew have disembarked from the ship in Fremantle, with 25 of them diagnosed with coronavirus.

A further 10 crew from the Key Integrity ship will be taken to hotel quarantine, including two COVID-19 cases, to allow for a deep clean of the vessel.

The Premier said the total number of New Zealand travellers who had arrived in WA following the establishment of the trans-Tasman travel bubble had risen to 102.

The Al-Messilah livestock ship remains berthed in Fremantle. Picture: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Mr McGowan said he intended to raise the issue of ship arrivals at the next national cabinet meeting.

“This is now a daily occurrence ... if this keeps happening, this will be a big problem,” he said.

“The commonwealth needs to be more forceful in international forums and with foreign governments about ensuring the ships are clean.”

Mr McGowan said one measure could be turning the ships around, or not allowing them to take cargo.

“The downside of that is the ships may not then tell us they have sick people onboard,” he said.