Police, nurses, and disability groups say state and territory leaders should be subject to any inquiry into the country’s response to the pandemic.
“The decisions made by state and territory premiers, their cabinets, their chief health officers, and the Commonwealth government must be a focus,” the Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union (QNMU) said, in a submission to a Senate Committee.
The Committee is looking into the terms of reference for a Royal Commission into the government’s response, in contrast to the government’s recently announced inquiry.
“The Commonwealth government’s decision-making processes, particularly at the start of the pandemic and around the vaccine rollout, were not always clear, transparent, or communicated well. At times it felt that decisions were made on the run without processes in place to support the actions,” said the union.
“While this is not surprising, given the gravity of the situation, it is a key role of government at such times to make timely and decisive decisions to protect Australians and communicate these decisions effectively to provide clarity, direction, and reassurance to the population at large,” it added.
“During the long course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australians have observed the impact of political decision-making blunting or undermining an effective health system response in other countries which has likely resulted in many unnecessary deaths and significant suffering. Partisan and political decision-making must not be allowed to take place in future pandemic responses.”
The QNMU also called for an examination of the manufacturing capability of the country.
State-Federal Lines Blurred During Pandemic
Another union with concerns is the Police Federation of Australia (PFA), which represents over 65,000 sworn officers across the country.It identified the split in decision-making as an issue, noting that “while policing is predominantly the responsibility of state and territory governments, there were numerous issues and strategies throughout the pandemic period agreed through National Cabinet, that police were responsible for enforcing, that became problematic.
“Varying and inconsistent policies, laws and regulations that had been established as a result of the pandemic, that were not only confusing for police, but the general public as well. A number of these included the detention of returning travellers and the movement of members of the community both within their local areas and across state borders.
“It was those issues that had a significant impact on the standing of police both during and immediately post the pandemic.”
The situation in Victoria was particularly difficult for police, which the PFA attributed to “the decision to have one government agency bear a large proportion of the responsibility of carrying out the directives of another that was the ‘control’ agency.
“The outbreak in high-density housing was just one example. The Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) had time to better prepare a response to that outbreak. That lack of foresight placed those eventually planning and carrying out the police role in the response, on the back foot and created the need for ad hoc solutions to predictable issues.”
Like nurses, police felt they were inadequately resourced including a lack of PPE and priority testing of first responders.
Officers working at remote checkpoints sometimes lacked amenities such as toilets, showers, protection from weather, meals, and facilities for sleeping, the PFA said. Those working in towns and cities had trouble accessing public transport or car parking.
Lack of access to childcare was also cited as a problem for both nurses and police.
People With Disability Australia (PWDA), meanwhile, reported that its members experienced “anxiety over constantly changing messages, feeling confused and abandoned by governments, increased levels of violence and abuse, and feeling unsafe and forgotten” as control measures were reduced.
The organisation was critical of government decision-makers for failing to consult with people with disability and their representative organisations early in the pandemic, and the lack of clarity about whether disability support services were considered essential.
The Australian Industry Group, representing employers, echoed the concerns of other submitters, referring to the “complexities and inconsistencies” of responses across the country.
“Some responses were measured and necessary while others made a bad situation worse,” the Group said in its submission.
Amongst matters it wants a Royal Commission to consider are a more measured and unified, national approach to border closures—including the international border—that was less disruptive to trade and people movement.
Another matter was to review the federal government’s approach to support for visa holders and the critical role they can play during a pandemic and recovery.
