Australian Senate Backs Royal Commission Investigation into COVID-19 Response

A protestor holds up a sign during rallies against government-mandated health restrictions and impending Pandemic legislation in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 2, 2021. Supplied

A Royal Commission into the government’s pandemic response has passed the Australian Senate after upper house MPs voted to establish its terms of reference.

The Senate passed the motion on Oct. 19, following a push by nationalist One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts, who called for transparency into the Australian government’s pandemic response.

The terms of reference define the scope of an inquiry and what information is to be sought from submissions and witnesses.

“To be clear, the inquiry this motion seeks would not pass judgement on the COVID response,” Senator Roberts told the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee on Oct. 17.

“Its scope is simply to hear submissions from stakeholders to ensure that a future royal commission has properly informed terms of reference so that stakeholders will have an opportunity to have a say at such a commission.”

The terms of reference will “allow all affected stakeholders to be heard.”

“We want to make sure these terms of reference capture all of the information which Australians need to see—the deliberations of National Cabinet, the advice from health bureaucrats which state and territory governments used to justify lockdowns and vaccine mandates, and the real data on COVID-19 deaths,” Sen. Roberts said.

On Sept. 21, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced an inquiry into the federal government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic but did not press ahead with the idea of a royal commission.

Under the inquiry, areas of review will include key health measures such as COVID-19 vaccinations and treatments; key medical supplies such as personal protective equipment and public health messaging; broader health supports for those impacted by COVID-19 and lockdowns; financial support for individuals; and support for industry and business.

However, the inquiry will not examine “actions taken unilaterally by state and territory governments,” despite the fact that mandates and lockdowns were implemented largely by these authorities, as well as “international programs and activities assisting foreign countries.”

Royal Commission’s Potential Terms of Reference

The terms of reference drafted by One Nation include the pandemic response by Australian states and territories—an item missing in Labor’s pandemic inquiry.

Additionally, the draft reference terms include an inquiry into data related to COVID-19 vaccinations; frameworks governing the Department of Health, Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), and Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI); non-government organisations involved in the vaccination approvals and rollout; the role of the media and its influence in relation to the pandemic response; and public trust in government following the pandemic response.

“Death, injury, and suffering have been caused not just from the virus but from our response to the virus,” Senator Roberts said.

“Government did not manage the virus. Government managed us. They controlled us, the people. An inquiry must go back and look at what we knew about the risk to human life at each stage of our response and compare that risk to the benefit achieved from the Commonwealth response to that risk.”

In reference to COVID-19 vaccinations, Senator Pauline Hanson told the Committee that she refused to be immunised under the mandates.

One Nation leader, Senator Pauline Hanson is seen during a press conference in Brisbane, Australia, on April 13, 2022. AAP Image/Darren England

“I was not going to be bullied or badgered into having [the vaccine]. I was told I couldn’t travel or go to pubs, clubs, restaurants or anywhere else unless I had the vaccine. This vaccine was imposed on the Australian people, and it wasn’t tested at all by these companies,” Ms. Hanson said on Oct. 17.

“Doctors were in fear of losing their licences or being unable to practise because, if they refused to give someone a shot, they had to advise them to go and see another doctor to get the vaccine.

“There was another thing. Why was ivermectin taken off the prescription list? Why wasn’t it allowed to be prescribed by doctors? It’s never caused one death in the world, yet we were told it could not be prescribed or given to people. Why? Ivermectin was used in India, and that’s what got them over the problems that they had.”

Senator Hanson said many questions need to be asked by the Royal Commission.

“Schools were shut down—and we’re still hearing to this day about the impact—including the psychological impact, that it’s had on our children, but no one does or says anything about it,” she said, adding that the shutting of borders also took a toll on many Australians.

Liberals Back the Motion, But Labor Reluctant

Liberal Senator Anne Ruston told the Committee that so many Australians “felt outraged” at the Albanese government’s pandemic inquiry.

“With the announcement of this quasi-inquiry, which specifically excludes state and territory decisions from its scope, the prime minister has clearly put political interest ahead of the national interest,” Senator Ruston said on Oct. 17.

“The prime minister is looking for a distraction from his failures by creating a witch-hunt against the former Coalition government, and he is bowing down to the pressure being put on him by [then-Premiers] Dan Andrews and Annastacia Palaszczuk.”

Independent MP Zali Steggall said the inquiry will not wield the same power as a royal commission.

“It can gain clarity on issues which have been inadequately investigated to date, like vaccine injuries, long COVID, mental health, domestic violence, and many others,” Ms. Steggall told the House of Representatives on Oct. 18.

“More than 22,000 Australians died from COVID-19, and many more lives were very badly affected. A royal commission is an absolute necessity to get the answers Australians are owed.”

Meanwhile, Labor Senator Carol Brown maintained that a royal commission was not what Australia needed at the moment, citing costs and lengthy delays.

“The Albanese government promised an independent inquiry into the COVID-19 response, and that’s exactly what we are delivering,” Sen. Brown told the Committee on Oct. 17.

The terms of reference to be developed by the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee are expected to be completed by March 31, 2024.