Mark McGowan accuses Scott Morrison of ‘partisan attacks’ on borders

WA Premier Mark McGowan has condemned the Morrison government for attacks on Labor states and their border policies.

WA Premier Mark McGowan said it was ‘ludicrous that people would somehow suggest it’s better to have outbreaks than to have a state that’s COVID-free’. Picture: Richard Wainwright

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has condemned the Morrison government for “partisan attacks” on Labor states and their border policies, warning the criticism was undermining the work of national cabinet.

He said he had not criticised the commonwealth for closing international borders or raised issues when Australians were isolated overseas, and requested the federal government “show the same respect towards the states of Australia, and especially the Labor states”.

He also attacked Scott Morrison over the handling of 26-year-old Sarah Caisip’s case on Thursday, saying “these matters, rather than they be raised on radio programs with shock jocks, it’d be far better if conversations are had and matters are resolved as best they can behind closed doors”.

The Prime Minister appealed to Annastacia Palaszczuk on the phone to let Ms Caisip attend her father’s funeral, as did Labor ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr, and went on 4BC radio to publicly plead with the Queensland Premier.

Mr McGowan would not condemn Ms Palaszczuk or her Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young for refusing to let Ms Caisip go to the funeral while AFL executives had access to a resort and pool bar, noting in WA and in Queensland it was not politicians who made decisions on border exemptions.

“Tasmania and South Australia have borders, I don’t see them being attacked,” Mr McGowan said. “I just urge everyone at a national level to pull back on partisan attacks. You can’t just ­attack Labor states and ignore the Liberal states.”

After recording more than 150 days with no community transmission in WA, which has a hard border to the rest of the country, Mr McGowan said a model to stop the coronavirus spreading where outbreaks were allowed was “ludicrous”.

Mr Morrison and Department of Health secretary Brendan Murphy have referred to NSW as the “gold standard” for contact tracing and COVID-19 management.

“I’ve seen commentary around the country that somehow the model that has outbreaks, that you then contact trace and you isolate people and you shut down parts of the economy, is better than the model WA has,” Mr McGowan said. “I find it ludicrous that people would somehow suggest it’s better to have outbreaks than to have a state that’s COVID-free.”