Coronavirus Australia: The world must stick together, Scott Morrison says

PM calls on G20 leaders to guarantee global trading system ­beyond pandemic and will push for supply chains to remain open.

Scott Morrison announces the formation of a COVID-19 commission in Canberra on Wednesday. Picture: Gary Ramage

Scott Morrison is calling on G20 leaders to guarantee the survival of the global trading system ­beyond the COVID-19 pandemic and will push for international supply chains to remain open, ­allowing the “flow of vital medical supplies” to help neutralise the ­lethal disease.

With the Prime Minister using a virtual meeting with leaders of the top 20 economies on Thursday to support co-ordinated inter­national action to tackle the virus, ­bipartisan support for his government’s strategy to fight the coronavirus at home fractured when Labor escalated its criticism of his leadership.

Mr Morrison moved to ramp-up the government’s COVID-19 response on Wednesday, establishing a powerful national commission led by a group of corporate heavyweights to address the economic and social impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, a move swiftly challenged by Labor.

Federal, state and territory leaders — meeting as the national cabinet for a second consecutive night — also turned their focus on Wednesday to the rollout of learning-from-home measures at schools, surge capacities in critical health care, rental support and thresholds for

the next stage of lockdown restrictions.

It was also expected to extend the 30-day ban on cruise ships from foreign ports docking in Australia, discuss tripling the size of the country’s intensive care unit capacity and ensure there are enough critical care hospital beds and ventilators to cope with a coronavirus

surge.

Protecting frontline staff is another focus, with a dramatic expansion of testing for the virus.

All healthcare workers, along with those caring for the elderly, will now be tested if they show any symptoms. Anyone in an area where there has been a cluster of cases will also be tested if they fall ill.

The national cabinet also agreed to suspend all non-urgent elective surgeries.

Ahead of his meeting with world leaders on Thursday, Mr Morrison said he would urge them to “do whatever it takes to save lives, overcome the pandemic and cushion the economic blow”, and warned the world was in a “race against time to find a vaccine”.

He flagged a plan to implore other advanced economies to ­ensure any restrictions on trade and investment due to necessary health measures were temporary, targeted and consistent with WTO rules. “We must work to keep global supply chains open to ensure the flow of vital medical supplies,” he said.

In a comprehensive rejection of Mr Morrison’s strategy, Anthony Albanese and his senior Labor frontbenchers began to openly ­attack the federal government’s stimulus measures, handling of the crisis and the new national COVID-19 co-ordination commission led by former Fortescue boss Neville Power.

Declaring there was a strong argument for an immediate stage-three shutdown that would close schools, the Opposition Leader blamed the government’s messaging and “new announcements every single day” for panic-buying. “I absolutely support stricter shutdowns and clear messages about them and a timetable on when things occur,” Mr Albanese said.

“The government at the ­moment is making new ­announcements every day. That’s no good for business. That’s no good for certainty.”

Victorian Labor Premier Daniel Andrews was also accused of ignoring advice from Australia’s chief medical experts after pushing for school closures and more draconian lockdown measures.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly acknowledged there was a split between health authorities and some governments on the scale and speed with which isolation measures should be implemented.

Dr Kelly spoke of “two schools of thought” and that while states including Victoria wanted to “go hard and go fast”, he was a “scalable proportional responder”.

“We’ve heard a number of competing voices over the last 24 hours or so. I think that it needs to be very much clarified. All of the experts, and that includes the Victorian Chief Health Officer, on the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee agree on what has to be done to defeat this virus,” Dr Kelly said.

He said governments had “turned off the tap at the border”, increased hygiene messaging and minimised contact between people through social distancing and quarantine measures.

Senior Labor MPs were divided over the shift from bipartisan support to open criticism, with one MP saying it was the wrong strategy at the wrong time and a cynical move to remain part of the debate.

Mr Morrison said the new national COVID-19 commission would co-ordinate “actions to anticipate and mitigate the economic and social effects” of the coronavirus pandemic.

The commission also includes former Labor minister Greg Combet, public servant Jane Halton, former Toll Holdings chief executive Paul Little, EnergyAustralia managing director Catherine Tanna and former Telstra boss David Thodey.

Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Phil Gaetjens and Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo will also sit on the commission.