CORONAVIRUS
— INTERSTATE BORDER RESTRICTIONS
36. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Premier:
I
have a supplementary question. Can the Premier please confirm that he has not
followed the advice of the Chief Health Officer to complete a review
within four weeks of making the decision to defer our border reopening date?
Mr M.
McGOWAN replied:
No, I cannot confirm that. As we
said on the day, we will consider all these matters over the course of
February, which I think is a wise decision.
I have said to the Leader of the Opposition—she has now gone, but in
any event!—on many occasions,
being cautious and careful when it comes to COVID has always been a wise
position. That is why we have adopted
the approach we have adopted over the course of the last two years, which has
put Western Australia in an incredibly good position. What we have done
is not going to stop COVID arriving. It is not going to stop Omicron causing
difficulties in our community. It is not going to stop some people getting sick
or even worse, but it will ameliorate the impact. What we have done is
ameliorate the impact. Over the last two years, we have put in place measures that have meant that Western Australia
has weathered COVID, which has caused all sorts of adverse reactions all
over the world, better than virtually any place in the entire world. That is
why our cautious, careful and, dare I say, conservative approach to this matter
has continued because it has put us in good stead over the last two years. It
has saved many lives and saved many jobs.
The SPEAKER: I can see that the member for Kingsley is
seeking the call and I give the call to her.