CORONAVIRUS —
TESTING — WASTEWATER
889. Mr Z.R.F. KIRKUP to the Minister for Health:
I have a supplementary question.
Given that every other state and territory in the country has been doing sewage
testing for some time, will the Minister for
Health provide a date to the house when towns like Albany can experience
the benefits of having sewage testing for COVID-19? It is occurring in every
other place in the country but is yet to be done under this government.
Mr R.H.
COOK replied:
Member for Dawesville, get on board ''Team
WA''. For once, member for Dawesville, just be one of us—just be
a Western Australian for a change, rather than continuing to snipe, look
elsewhere and take your lead from other states.
The fact of the matter is that other states did early testing, but that does
not mean anything. We have continued to make sure —
Mr Z.R.F. Kirkup interjected.
The SPEAKER: Member for
Dawesville!
Mr R.H. COOK: I remind the
member for Dawesville and his colleague the Premier of New South Wales that we
do not have any disease in this state. That so-called rolled-gold jurisdiction
of New South Wales is the only one that is getting outbreaks of the disease. We
hope that it gets on top of the Moss Vale outbreak. We hope that they resolve
those mystery cases.
Mr Z.R.F. Kirkup: Don't
politicise it! That's exactly what you do.
The SPEAKER: Member for
Dawesville, I will politicise this. I call you to order for the first time.
Mr R.H. COOK: He is very
touchy! The fact of the matter is that Victoria, Queensland, the Northern
Territory, that great Liberal jurisdiction South Australia and, of course, the
Liberal jurisdiction of Tasmania have all got the disease under control. We
look forward to New South Wales joining the ranks of those like us who have
defeated community spread of the disease. I am sure by that stage that the
member for Dawesville will have cottoned on to the fact that Western Australia
arrived at this place many months ago.