CORONAVIRUS — INTERSTATE HEALTHCARE WORKERS
492. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the minister representing the
Minister for Health:
I refer to the government's
health workforce recruitment strategy announced on 10 August, and note recent
reports that a midwife from South Australia with a contract to work at
Kalgoorlie Health Campus has consistently been denied entry to Western Australia while an influx of over 200 health
workers from high-risk jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and
Ireland, are set to arrive in WA.
(1) Will the
state government consider providing incentives, including supporting the cost
of quarantine requirements, for interstate healthcare workers wishing to
relocate to WA?
(2) Is the
minister's department aware of any other contracts being accepted by
interstate healthcare workers willing to relocate to WA but unable to obtain a G2G
PASS for entry?
(3) What is the minister and his
department doing to assist those healthcare workers identified in part (2)?
(4) Has the
minister raised concerns about G2G applications from key healthcare workers
directly with the Minister for Police?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following answer has been provided on behalf
of the Minister for Health.
I am advised that the Department of
Health is not able to provide the requested information in the time required
and I therefore ask the honourable member to place this question on notice.
Honourable
member, I have seen this question now for the first time. Some parts of it
could be answered next week, so I undertake, at the very least, to see
whether parts of it can be answered and provided to the member next week.