Transcript: Interview with Andy Park, ABC Radio National Drive - 29 October 2024

TRANSCRIPT

Interview with Andy Park, ABC RN Drive

29 October 2024

Topics: The Albanese Government’s Covid Inquiry Report

E&OE……………………………………

Andy Park: Joining me now, Senator Ruston. Welcome to you.

Anne Ruston: Why thank you.

Andy Park: What did you make of this review? Did it miss a trick in not including the states and territories, rather than just focusing on the Federal Government?

Anne Ruston: Well, we said right from the get-go that this needed to include the states and territories, because so many of the decisions that your previous guest referred to were decisions that were taken by states and territories, particularly as they related to those restrictive practices and the nature of those practices. So, I think it really did miss an opportunity to be able to look at the states and territories, because I think they had as significant, if not more significant impact on Australians, particularly those in states like Victoria and New South Wales, where lockdowns were prolonged.

Andy Park: Prime Minister Morrison at the time became somewhat famous for saying the response to the pandemic, particularly the securing of vaccines, was not a race. But the review, as you heard, found the Government's delays in sourcing vaccines cost lives and delivered a $31 million hit to the economy. That's not a stellar review, is it?

Anne Ruston: Well, I think if you look at the whole review - and obviously there's 800 pages and I haven't been through the whole lot of it as yet - I think overall, the review is actually indicating that Australia's response was relatively very good. Of course, there were things that could have been done better in hindsight. I mean, this was a once in a lifetime pandemic that nobody had ever expected or was foreseen. But I do think that the opportunity to learn from what has happened and use this review as an opportunity for the basis for further preparedness is there. But it's really disappointing to see the Government, the Federal Government's response today has been focussed very much on the politics of this response or this review, as opposed to actually digging in and using the good things out of it to actually develop our pandemic preparedness for the future.

Andy Park: Interesting to see how much of this report focuses on a lack of putting consideration on human rights and perhaps people's feelings of a mistrust towards the Government. I suppose you might expect that in quote unquote ‘unprecedented times’. But we should really learn something here in terms of how the Australian community feels, alongside how their welfare is in a health sense.

Anne Ruston: Well, absolutely. And I think the word trust has been used a lot today and it's been used a lot in the report and about how, you know, Australians really do need to rebuild trust, particularly in their state and territory governments, about how they responded. And obviously, in a state like Victoria, it was significantly worse than in many other states around the country. But, you know, we do need to make sure that we learn these lessons, but we need to be constructive in how we respond to this report. Politicising it and saying some of the silly things that we've heard today from Minister Butler and [Treasurer] Chalmers is certainly not helpful. I think we need to sit down constructively, look through the report and work on how we actually are going to develop the preparedness plan, to make sure that the mistakes that were made during this unknown and once in a lifetime pandemic are not made, if we are unfortunate enough to have another pandemic.

Andy Park: In the minute I have left - Do you support the creation of a Centre for Disease Control in Australia as Shadow Health Minister?

Anne Ruston: Well, one of the things I'm really disappointed about is that the Government, this government, has been calling for a CDC since 2020. We still do not have one, and somehow this is going to be the miracle response to what we've seen today. It's really, really disappointing. I don't think the Government has made the case for a CDC. That's not to say that a case can't be made, but it's tremendously disappointing that, you know, four years on they've done absolutely nothing. And now, apparently today, this is going to be the saviour of future pandemics. I think it is pretty disingenuous by the Government.

Andy Park: Senator Anne Ruston is the Shadow Health Minister. I appreciate your time this afternoon, Senator.

Anne Ruston: Thank you.

ENDS

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