Coronavirus: Greg Hunt lashes questioning of health experts
Frequent parliamentary questioning of top officials is getting in the way of the fight against COVID-19, the Health Minister has warned.
Health Minister Greg Hunt has warned that frequent parliamentary scrutiny of top officials is detracting from their ability to manage the vaccine rollout and broader health crisis.
In a letter on Tuesday to the chair of the Senate select committee on COVID-19, Labor’s Katy Gallagher, Mr Hunt said he was “concerned that recent demands on the Department of Health are detracting too much from their daily responsibilities”.
“In particular, two hearings with senior officials in less than two weeks is a significant commitment of time taken away from their focus on the vaccine rollout which is crucial to the health and prosperity of Australians,” he wrote. “Given that senators also had access to officials in March for Senate estimates and will again in May, I ask the committee to be more mindful of the impact of its demands at a crucial time for our country”.
Appearing before the committee on Tuesday were Health secretary Brendan Murphy, associate secretary Caroline Edwards, Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly, deputy secretary and Therapeutic Goods Administration chief John Skerritt and two other high-ranking officials.
The same group appeared before the committee a week earlier.
At the inquiry last week, it was revealed 6.5 per cent of disabled Australians had received their first vaccine dose, with officials conceding the rollout was going “much slower” than hoped.
Since that hearing, national cabinet has agreed to a recalibration of the vaccine rollout.
On Thursday, Scott Morrison announced vaccination of Australians aged between 50 and 69 with the AstraZeneca jab would be brought forward to May 3 at state-run and respiratory clinics and May 17 at general practices.
In the letter to Senator Gallagher, Mr Hunt said the Morrison government “understands the important scrutiny function that the Senate Select Committee on COVID-19 has performed throughout the pandemic”.
“Parliamentary oversight is an essential part of the successful response to a crisis in a liberal democracy,” he wrote.
“That’s why the government has ensured full co-operation with the committee from government departments and agencies, including by providing senior officials involved in the key decisions throughout the crisis to appear before the committee.
“Officials from the Department of Health have appeared 13 times before the committee. The government has also responded to a significant volume of questions on notice — almost 2000 have been answered already.
“This is in addition to the many briefings offered to the Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Ministers. While the government has gone to great lengths to facilitate this scrutiny function, it does consume a significant amount of time of officials that can then not be spent responding to the crisis.
“We must balance the need for scrutiny with the first duty of the government, protecting the health and wellbeing of Australians.”
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