Australian Medical Association accuses premiers of ‘actively undermining’ health officials’ response to Covid pandemic
The Australian Medical Association has accused some premiers of “actively undermining” public health officials at points during the pandemic and said governments were now seeking to avoid criticism of their actions throughout the Covid period.
In a submission to the federal Covid inquiry, the health lobby group also urged the Labor government to speed up its rollout of a national centre for disease control to combat future pandemics, while lashing former political leaders for “a painful lack of collaboration” during the vaccine rollout.
The federal Covid inquiry, announced in September, will investigate Australia’s response to the pandemic, including national cabinet, vaccination, health supports, border closures and financial payments.
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The experienced public servant Robyn Kruk, who is leading the inquiry, told Guardian Australia the probe will be “incredibly broad”, with a focus on how state and commonwealth governments interacted.
The AMA’s submission, obtained by Guardian Australia, contends that Australia’s pandemic response was “most effective when the federal government and the national cabinet coordinated and cooperated” but argues this was not always the case.
“[There] were many examples of inconsistencies in policies between jurisdictions which hindered the public health response,” the doctors group said. “When different advice and policies were in place, such as mask mandates and venue capacity limits, the public messaging was undermined.”
The AMA praised instances during the pandemic that saw political leaders “putting politics aside for science”, particularly citing the public prominence given to chief health and medical officers.
“However, as the pandemic progressed, we saw the response take on a political nature, where state leaders actively undermined their chief health officers in public,” the AMA president, Prof Steve Robson, said. “Not only did this undermine the public’s trust in policies but it also undermined the medical profession’s faith in their politicians to make the right decisions.”
Robson praised Australia’s overall Covid response as “quite effective” but said the inquiry must be an opportunity to “learn from past missteps”.
“Depoliticising our response, listening to experts and consistency across jurisdictions are vital for successful public health responses,” the AMA said. The AMA’s submission did not specifically criticise any leaders by name.
The AMA criticised what it described as “a funding squabble” over Covid payments from the commonwealth and “a painful lack of collaboration among jurisdictions during the initial stages of the vaccine rollout, with disputes over funding and the allocation of vaccines”.
All states moved largely in unison during the pandemic’s early stages. But subsequent infection waves saw rules re-established and jurisdictions moving at different speeds, while arguments broke out between state and federal governments over the level of financial and health support being provided.
Various politicians regularly called for higher vaccination shipments for certain states or accused the commonwealth of giving favourable treatment to other states.
The AMA claimed various disagreements “undermined public confidence and particularly impacted on health workers”.
The inquiry’s terms of reference specifically state that “actions taken unilaterally by state and territory governments” were not in its scope but Kruk has said she is happy with how the states have engaged with the investigation.. She noted public hearings featuring key decision-makers were unlikely.
Last week’s resignation of Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk leaves ACT chief minister Andrew Barr as the only pandemic-era leader still in office. Pandemic-era leaders Scott Morrison, NSW’s Gladys Berejiklian and Dominic Perrottet, Victoria’s Daniel Andrews, South Australia’s Steven Marshall, Western Australia’s Mark McGowan and the Northern Territory’s Michael Gunner have all since resigned or lost office.
The AMA said the inquiry must investigate how decisions at those early stages could have been improved.
“We are concerned that governments are all too willing to put the past behind us and not seek to properly evaluate and learn from Australia’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic – likely because this might invite criticism of their actions,” its submission said.
“It is imperative upon the taskforce to ensure that the this does not occur. There are important lessons still to learn and there are still improvements to be made.”
The AMA also repeated its support for an Australian CDC, which it said could help in “depoliticising” health responses and ensuring consistency across jurisdictions. It said such a body must be “adequately funded and resourced over the long term”.
Labor announced support for an Australian CDC in 2020 to “lead the national response to future pandemics”.
An interim CDC will be set up inside the Department of Health from 1 January 2024 but the government is still designing the standalone centre and undertaking preparatory work on how its systems would work.