No date for Covid probe
A “DEEP” inquiry into Australia’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic will be launched during this term of government, the new Health Minister Mark Butler says.
But despite Labor leading the call for such an inquiry during its time in opposition, Mr Butler now says it is unlikely to happen until the pandemic has passed.
Mr Butler won’t commit to a time frame, and instead said the focus was on getting through what was set to be a
difficult winter as Covid-19 and the flu spread concurrently.
“I think ultimately we’re going to have to get through to the back end of this pandemic before we have the deepest possible view of what we did well and, frankly, what we need to do better in the future,” Mr Butler told ABC Radio.
“There will be a debate in due course about a royal commission or some other type of very deep inquiry here in Australia into our response to the pandemic.
“It would be unthinkable I think not to have some very deep process to learn the lessons – not just what we did well, but what we must do better into the future.”
A select senate committee handed down a recommendation earlier this year that a royal commission was needed into the pandemic, including the crisis in aged care, quarantine, vaccine rollout and the rapid antigen testing debacle.
In its final report in April, the Labor-chaired committee called for greater transparency considering the “significant failures” that had caused “catastrophic consequences”, including 6000 deaths from Covid-19.
Former prime minister Scott Morrison said last year that there would be “some time in the future” to discuss appropriate reviews.
Mr Butler said Australians faced a long winter of sickness, particularly given the low uptake of Covid-19 booster shots.
“There are still more than six million people who are eligible for a booster right now who haven’t yet got it,” Mr Butler said.
“We need to get the message out that you’re not fully protected against, particularly the Omicron variant, unless you have three doses.”
He was pressed further on the timing for an inquiry but could not lay out a time frame.
“We need to get through winter and ultimately at some point we will have a discussion about the sort of royal commission or inquiry that makes sure that we learn the lessons and we’re better prepared next time,” he said.
“I don’t have a time frame to put to you today … Once we start to reach a phase of the pandemic where it is appropriate to look back, rather than focus on the challenges of the day, then we’ll have that.”
Mr Butler is this week attending a G20 meeting, where global leaders are discussing ways to better prepare and respond to global pandemics.