Why we must be united in this fight against coronavirus

With another 532 cases recorded and seven more deaths on Monday, Daniel Andrews is in dire straits, with John Ferguson acknowledging his “genuine emotional pain” (“Andrews’ hardest day, until the next”, 27/7). Irrespective of mistakes made, it seems timely, if not imperative, for Melburnians to heed his call and stay home when they can and stop violating mandatory masks. Apportioning blame now seems irrelevant; sick people must not attend work, and those with symptoms must get tested. The realistic truth is that no one can say with certainty what’s best to do except maintain social distancing and take this resurgence seriously. There will be a time ahead when the Andrews government will be accountable; meanwhile, it is up to the people to adopt the safe and sanguine course of action, however difficult and problematic that might be.

Paulyne Pogorelske, East Melbourne, Vic

The difficulties being experienced by the Victorian government in controlling the current wave of COVID infections clearly illustrates the fallacy of the claims that if we had let the coronavirus run its course we may have noted only slightly worse than average flu deaths this year. As an immune-suppressed 79-year-old with, I would hope, still a little way to go in life, I find objectionable the way in which COVID deaths are reported, with emphasis on the age of the deceased as though we are expendable.

Dennis Jelavic, Castaways Beach, Qld

Many people will be incredulous at the selfishness of BLM activists for proposing to go ahead with an illegal protest that can only increase the risk of spreading COVID-19 in NSW among people of all races (“BLM protesters to defy court order”, 27/7). But more amazing is the apparent willingness of activists to damage their own cause in the eyes of the wider community. The sympathy they seek is likely to be replaced by resentment for a type of political activism that seems to imply that no lives matter.

Philip Temple, Larrakeyah, NT

Peter van Onselen’s opinion piece (“The buck on quarantine stops with the commonwealth”, 25-26/7) is misleading and contains inaccuracies. Powers given to the commonwealth parliament in section 51 of the Constitution are not exclusive of the states, as he argues. The states may generally also make laws on topics listed in that section, including quarantine and taxes. Under section 51, the Australian parliament has made laws with respect to quarantine, namely the Biosecurity Act 2015. Contrary to his assertion that the Biosecurity Act mandates commonwealth powers supersede state powers, the act states that “it does not exclude or limit the operation of a law of a State or Territory that is capable of operating concurrently with this Act”. Under the act, the commonwealth has agreed with states and territories arrangements for providing human biosecurity services at Australia’s borders. There is practical value in these arrangements as states and territories are responsible for public health services in their jurisdiction and have the health expertise needed. Either van Onselen has ignored this reality or is unaware of it, despite these details being set out in the publicly available commonwealth statement to the NSW Commission of Inquiry into the Ruby Princess. This omission is compounded with a swipe at the hardworking officers of the Australian Border Force. The ABF is not responsible for biosecurity, especially human biosecurity. Similarly, it is wrong to argue the commonwealth abdicated responsibility for hotel quarantine to the states and territories. The Constitution and the Bio­security Act allow for states and territories to make quarantine arrangements. All Australian governments agreed to mandatory hotel quarantine arrangements for returning travellers at the national cabinet meeting on March 27. States and territories agreed to determine quarantine facilities in their jurisdictions and to enforce these arrangements and to meet the costs of implementation. The commonwealth agreed to provide assistance from the ABF and the Australian Defence Force to support the states and territories where necessary. Still, clearly something has gone awry in Victoria that must not happen elsewhere in our country. The commonwealth remains committed to working with the Andrews government — as with all state and territory governments — to stem the tide of this insidious virus.

Peter Dutton, Home Affairs Minister; David Littleproud, Agriculture Minister