Add Category
The finance minister has defended the scope of the newly announced inquiry into the response to COVID-19, despite chairing an inquiry herself that previously recommended a royal commission.
- The federal government has announced an inquiry into the national COVID-19 response
- The scope of the inquiry will not include unilateral decisions made by state and territory governments including lockdowns and border closures
- The finance minister has defended the scope of the inquiry, despite chairing a Senate committee that recommended a royal commission into the COVID-19 response
Yesterday, the federal government announced an inquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, led by an epidemiologist, economist and public administration expert.
The scope has been criticised by the opposition, with the terms of reference excluding unilateral decisions made by the state and territory governments.
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley described the inquiry as a "COVID cop-out" and called for the government to "turn this limp inquiry into a decent royal commission so that people can get the answers to the questions that they deserve post-COVID-19".
The inquiry will not have the same powers as a royal commission but will be able to call witnesses and examine the response of governments during the pandemic.
Today, Senator Katy Gallagher said the government was taking the inquiry "very seriously" as reflected by who they had appointed to head up the inquiry.
The commission will be led by economist Angela Jackson, epidemiologist Catherine Bennett and public administration expert Robyn Kruk.
The Canberra senator was chair of the Senate inquiry into the national response to COVID-19, where a number of recommendations were made including that of a royal commission into the government conduct during the pandemic.
She said things had changed since that recommendation was handed down.
"A fair bit has changed, that report was handed down 18 months ago and 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," the senator said.
She added that the focus was on a "forward-looking process" and not a "blame game".
The report by the Senate committee also called for scrutiny of how the government's response impacted First Nations communities and how it impacted children.
The scope of the inquiry will cover COVID-19 responses since the pandemic began in January 2020, including governance and key health response measures, as well as advice for dealing with future pandemics.
However, decisions made solely by state and territory governments during the pandemic response, such as lockdowns and border closers, will be omitted, a move that Senator Gallagher has defended.
"I mean I don't think it is an adversarial situation — I think everybody wants to learn the lessons of the pandemic," the Labor senator said.
"I don't think you just have to say because there's no cohesive powers therefore no one will cooperate."
The inquiry will consider the findings of previous relevant state and territory COVID-19 inquiries and reviews and has been given 12 months to complete a report for the government.