Anthony Albanese left exposed by Labor Covid-zero strategy zealots
Anthony Albanese has refused to criticise the WA Premier for pursuing a Covid-zero strategy, despite throwing Labor’s support behind the national strategy for living with the virus.
Anthony Albanese has refused to criticise West Australian Premier Mark McGowan for pursuing a Covid-zero strategy, despite throwing Labor’s support behind the national strategy for living with the virus.
The Opposition Leader said Mr McGowan had “kept Western Australia safe” and would not distance himself from Mr McGowan’s goal to have no Covid cases, which is at odds with the aims of the national plan that is informed by modelling from the Doherty Institute.
“I find it quite extraordinary that the Prime Minister has basically described Western Australians and Queenslanders as somehow being cave people wanting to stay in the cave,” Mr Albanese told the ABC.
“The reason why there are restrictions is because of the Prime Minister’s failure to secure enough vaccines, including for Western Australians and Queenslanders, and a failure to build purpose-built quarantine.”
After senior MPs Bill Shorten and Joel Fitzgibbon on Wednesday called for an end to lockdowns when vaccination rates reached 80 per cent, Mr Albanese said Labor backed the reopening plan formulated by national cabinet in July.
Mr Albanese said, under the four-stage plan to normality, there was scope for targeted lockdowns when vaccination rates reached 70 and 80 per cent of the population.
“It has proposals at 70 per cent and 80 per cent. It is, as it is written, there is scope there for lockdowns, but targeted if they’re absolutely necessary,” Mr Albanese said.
“Labor supports the national plan. No one wants to see lockdowns there for one day more than necessary.”
Finance Minister Simon Birmingham conceded targeted lockdowns “in some circumstances” could be used under the national plan when vaccination rates reached 70 to 80 per cent.
“Lockdowns become much less likely and if they do occur you are talking more about particular geographical centres,” Senator Birmingham told the ABC.
“Because right now, understandably, people living across Victoria, living across NSW and living across most parts of the country, (when they hear) lockdowns, they think that what we’re talking about, what we are facing is a potential of … a prolonged statewide lockdown.”
Senator Birmingham said there could be commonwealth funding available for victims of lockdowns in stages B and C in the plan, as long as state governments used the measure “in the spirit of the agreement”.
Doherty Institute director Sharon Lewin on Wednesday reiterated her advice that a Covid-zero goal was not sustainable.
“We will still make every effort to stop transmission, but we don’t need to get to that very difficult spot of zero,” Professor Lewin said.
On Tuesday, opposition health spokesman Mark Butler conceded Australians would be living with Covid but he also would not disavow the strategy of Mr McGowan.
“Covid at some point, if it hasn’t already, will become endemic in this nation as it’s likely to in pretty much every other nation on the planet,” Mr Butler said.
In caucus on Tuesday, Mr Albanese accused Mr Morrison of being misleading about the contents of the plan, but some Labor MPs believed Mr Albanese risked walking into a trap set by Mr Morrison and making the party look like it was opposed to reopening.
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