Criticism of Albanese’s Covid-19 inquiry grows

The Greens and unions join the chorus of criticism of the PM’s Covid inquiry, which even Labor MPs have labelled ‘bizarre’.

Labor Senator Katy Gallagher on Friday defended the Covid inquiry. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

The Greens, unions and peak aged-care bodies have joined the chorus of criticism of Anthony Albanese’s Covid inquiry for excluding actions taken by states from being examined, while some Labor MPs have described the inquiry’s narrow scope as “bizarre”.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher on Friday defended the inquiry against growing blowback, declaring “a fair bit has changed” since a committee she chaired last year recommended the investigation of the pandemic be elevated to a royal commission.

“That report was handed down 18 months ago. There have been a huge number of inquiries and reviews that have gone on since that time which no doubt the independent team will be able to use as part of their work,“ she said. “The review announced yesterday is an excellent way to proceed.”

In announcing the inquiry’s terms of reference on Thursday, the Prime Minister confirmed its scope would not include “actions taken unilaterally by state and territory governments”, with the Coalition accusing Labor of running a “protection racket” for state premiers.

Aged Care Industry Association chief executive Peter Hoppo said excluding decisions made by states and territories would be “disrespectful” to the aged-care sector.

“The emergency responses implemented by the states and territories were most profoundly felt by residents of aged-care facilities, their families, and the staff caring for them,” he said.

“Excluding an examination of these measures from the inquiry not only represents a missed opportunity for future planning but also feels disrespectful to those who endured so much.”

While some Labor MPs said it wouldn’t “make sense” for a federal inquiry into the commonwealth response to Covid-19 to examine state governments that had conducted their own investigations of the pandemic, others admitted they “didn’t understand” the rationale for excluding state and territory actions.

One MP, who did not wish to speak publicly for fear of retribution from within the Labor Party, said they were “disappointed” by the decision not to proceed with a royal commission and for states to be excluded. “It’s absolutely bizarre,” the MP said.

Other MPs said they were not concerned about how the inquiry’s scope would be received by their constituents, because “people don’t really want to think about Covid anymore”.

Health Services Union secretary Gerard Hayes said he agreed the actions taken by all levels of government “should be looked at”.

“It’s not about associating blame, it’s about what can be done better next time at both the federal level and state level,” he said. “If we have another significant global event like this we need a more centralised policy and program.”

Greens health spokesman Jordon Steele-John said the decisions of state and federal governments needed to be examined carefully by the inquiry.

“We must ensure that our governments are better prepared to respond to future pandemics. The only way to do this is to have a frank and transparent look at the decisions that led us here,” he told The Weekend Australian.

“The decisions of state and federal governments should be in the scope of this inquiry, and all investigations and recommendations should be available to the community.”

The government has not committed to the inquiry holding public hearings – which it says is a decision for its independent panel members – but Health Minister Mark Butler said it would be “unusual not to” have debate aired in a public forum.

Despite states’ actions being specifically carved out of the inquiry’s terms of reference, Health Minister Mark Butler rebuffed the argument the Albanese government had allowed states to “escape any sort of scrutiny”.

“What you’ve seen from state premiers is a very, very different response … You’ve seen former premier Dominic Perrottet saying he will appear, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk from Queensland will participate, and there’s an indication along similar lines from Tasmania, South Australia and WA,” he told ABC.

“What you’ve seen from the response over the last 24 hours is everyone wants to participate freely in this inquiry. We are not going to have to summon people … because people want to build the best possible response into the future.”

Peak medical bodies on Thursday raised concern at the absence of state decisions being scrutinised, with Labor MP and former doctor Mike Freelander saying he “hoped clinicians will be given strong input” into the inquiry.