CORONAVIRUS — PREMIER — QUARANTINE
69. Ms M.J. DAVIES to the Premier:
I
refer to the Premier's self-imposed quarantine break when he returns
from New South Wales after his court appearance.
(1) Why is the
Premier not following his own government's requirements for returning
travellers to Western Australia?
(2) Why does there seem to be one
rule for the Premier and another for everyone else?
Mr M.
McGOWAN replied:
(1)–(2) I
am required to go to Sydney because of a court case brought by Mr Clive Palmer,
a former member of the National Party, who
used to run Joh Bjelke-Petersen's campaigns in Queensland. I am
required to go to Sydney because he
has brought a legal action against me, which I will not comment on because,
obviously, it is a matter before the courts. The original trial date was
scheduled for later this month—I think it was 28 February or 1 March—and
I was therefore required to go into quarantine until such a point in time that the border restrictions end. However, I provided
advice last week that I would remain in quarantine for the full seven days on the basis that I did not want
anyone to allege that somehow the date was manipulated in order to assist me. That position still stands. I do
not want anyone to allege that. Obviously, there is a massive group of
people out there looking for anything to say to be critical and I do not want
to give them that opportunity to be able to say that, so I will quarantine for
a week. I will work whilst in quarantine. I will attend Parliament via Zoom, as we now can. If I cannot Zoom into the
national cabinet meeting, if required, I will come out for the national
cabinet meeting and wear the appropriate personal protective equipment and attend
via the audiovisual service in the government building that I normally do. I am
just trying to set the right example here, making sure that I am consistent
with what I have said before in what is a pretty extraordinary situation that
was not of my creation.