EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AMENDMENT (TEMPORARY COVID-19
PROVISIONS) BILL 2022
562. Dr D.J. HONEY to the Deputy Premier:
My question is to the Deputy Premier representing the
Premier. I refer to the Emergency Management Amendment (Temporary COVID-19
Provisions) Bill 2022 that is currently being debated, which will allow police
officers to exercise what the Premier has described as draconian powers,
including taking control of personal vehicles and buildings. Can the Premier
explain why his government is embedding such draconian powers for the ongoing
management of COVID-19?
Mr R.H. COOK replied:
I have had a bit of experience with COVID-19. We all remember
the journey we have been on since around March 2020. One of the constants
during that whole time —
Ms S.F. McGurk: The virus changed; they didn't.
Mr R.H. COOK: Thank you, Minister McGurk; I could not
have put it better myself!
One of the great constants has been the carping, undermining
and whingeing from those opposite. When the Western
Australian community was pulling together and trying to get through one of the
most challenging historical experiences
we will ever confront, one group of people was pulling the other way. At every
step of the way, the opposition took the opportunity to undermine the consensus
and efforts of everyone who wanted to do the right thing. Every time opposition
members would stand up and say they wanted something else, whether it was by
supporting Clive Palmer, supporting the Morrison government, which was
supporting Clive Palmer, or trying to second-guess the great scientists, police
officers and hotel quarantine workers who were all working together to try to
get us through this difficult time. The one thing that was constant was the
carping, whingeing and undermining by the opposition.
That continued through the
course of this year, when those opposite joined others in saying that we should
dismantle the Emergency Management Act rules that we are working under
and move on like all the other states are doing. They demanded that we bring
into this place legislation in a similar vein to legislation introduced by
other state governments to make sure that we could continue to have the
appropriate measures in place while moving beyond the Emergency Management Act.
It is perhaps one of the few suggestions from those opposite that we have
implemented. Here we are, on the cusp of the opposition actually having something
go right for it once during the entire global pandemic, and it cannot even take
this win! What we are doing is precisely what is happening in other states;
that is, we are putting in place appropriate measures so that we can continue
to address the dangers the COVID-19 pandemic represents. Not even you get that!