CORONAVIRUS —
QUARANTINE ARRANGEMENTS
35. Mr R.S. LOVE to the Premier:
I
refer to the Premier's calls, restated today, for RAAF Base Curtin,
near Derby, to be used for COVID-19 quarantine. Can the Premier confirm
that any outbreak in the Kimberley would have a devastating impact on remote
Aboriginal communities that are more susceptible to COVID and have limited
medical facilities, often remote from where they live?
Mr M. McGOWAN
replied:
Obviously there is a trend amongst
members of the current opposition to undermine all our efforts on COVID. That is what is occurring. We have gone through 14
or 15 months as one of the most successful jurisdictions in the world in
dealing with this. The whole way along, we were undermined and attacked by the
Liberals and Nationals. We had an election that produced a result that showed
that our actions and measures when it comes to COVID were endorsed by the
public. The current opposition of six members continues to undermine all our
efforts.
It is important that commonwealth
facilities be used now. We have the situation that has emerged overseas, in
particular in India. As I advised during my press conference today, there is
some talk of emergency flights coming home.
There are only certain options available to us. There is an airstrip and a quarantine
facility nearby. There are not many. Technically, there are about two or three
in Western Australia. One of them happens to be Curtin. In other states,
they are out there as well. We put in place measures to protect Indigenous
communities in Western Australia over the last 14 or 15 months that have been
remarkably successful in protecting Aboriginal communities, and that will continue. Those measures would stay in place.
Obviously, we would do everything we can to protect Aboriginal communities.
There are only certain answers out there. We can say that no Australians or
other people return to the country, and that is one measure. We can say they
can return and then we have to provide facilities for them to stay. Hotels were
never built for this purpose. The state agreed to take it on for the reasons
the health minister outlined early last year. We will only do what we can
safely manage. That is why we are reducing the numbers. There are only certain
other options. If the Deputy Leader of the Opposition can come up with other
options, please put them forward.
There are facilities—that
is what the opposition is not getting! There are secure facilities that are
there. They are currently sitting there. Honestly, all we get from the
opposition—it is starting again; it did four years of this—is
silly and ridiculous questions. It has not changed.