Anika Wells MP on ABC Weekend Breakfast
E&OE TRANSCRIPT
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
ABC WEEKEND BREAKFAST
SATURDAY, 2 OCTOBER, 2021
SUBJECTS: Gladys Berejiklian resignation, Federal ICAC, International border reopening, National plan, Support payments wound back, Bird of the Year
JOHANNA NICHOLSON, HOST: Let’s bring you now our pollie panel. Now we’re joined by Liberal MP Dr Katie Allen and also by Labor MP Anika Wells. Good morning to you both. Thanks for coming on. Katie Allen I wondered what this means on a federal level? Particularly the significance at this time with national cabinet meeting regularly and the prominence that Gladys Berejiklian has played in those national cabinet meetings. What’s the fallout from this resignation for national cabinet?
KATIE ALLEN, MEMBER FOR HIGGINS: Look I think at the end of the day a state leader has a team around them and that team is going to replace Gladys. And I’m sure she has a strong team of disciplined decision makers that will, one of those will now step forward and take her place. But Gladys has over and over again had to make incredibly tough decisions through bushfires and through Covid. And I’m sure this is a very tough decision to make when her state is facing a crisis. But she has made the right decision in order to clear her name. She’s put her state first by stepping aside so that the ongoing investigation isn’t a distraction into government.
FAUZIAH IBRAHIM, HOST: Anika Wells you know when Gladys Berejiklian resigned in her statement she had blamed ICAC for the timing of this investigation. But it also brought into discussion once again the need for a federal anti-corruption commission as well. Where does Labor stand in that discussion?
ANIKA WELLS, MEMBER FOR LILLEY: We want one Fauzia. We want one with teeth. And we know it’s been more than 1000 days now since the Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised Australians that we would have one. I guess the question we’re asking this morning is why hasn’t he done it? Katie said some very nice things about Premier Berejiklian just then and how she put her state first and how she’s acted with other people’s interests yesterday. It throws into sharp relief the Prime Minister’s actions who has spent most of the year telling Australians that his ministers do not need to stand aside because they’re facing allegations. His ministers do not need stand aside when they are under investigation. Why would he not hold himself to that same standard?
NICHOLSON: Katie Allen it has renewed calls for a federal ICAC as well. Not just to look at the the coalition side of politics but to all sides of politics.
ALLEN: Absolutely. I believe Australians deserve and need independent ability for corruption to be investigated at whatever level of government. And in fact in the budget last year $106 million has been put aside for the development of a Commonwealth Integrity Commission. And I look forward to that being delivered within this term.
NICHOLSON: So when is that likely to happen?
ALLEN: I’m looking forward to that being delivered within this term. And it’s something I’ve been calling for and I’m looking forward to it being delivered.
IBRAHIM: Another announcement was made yesterday of course and this was the Prime Minister’s announcement that you know he’s bringing forward the reopening of Australia’s borders. But really only states that have reached the 80 per cent vaccination rate will be able to welcome international travellers. You know Katie Allen this is something that you’ve been pushing for and to be brought forward much earlier than the December deadline that had originally been given. But given Victoria’s infection numbers are on the rise, given that hospitals in Victoria as well are under pressure. The Delta variant will still be around even with high immunisation rates. How confident are you that Australian State Governments and indeed the Federal Government will be able to handle you know more international travellers coming into the border?
ALLEN: Thanks Fauziah. So just to clarify I have always called for opening borders when it’s safe to do so based on the national plan and sticking to that national plan that was agreed to based on Doherty modelling. And I asked that we saw the results of the pilot program in South Australia which have now been completed for home quarantining protocols and have now being delivered to national cabinet for discussion. So I’m very encouraged by the fact that this is always a government that is evidence based, it’s careful, it understands modelling and it understands how to prepare for the future. And how to transition out of what has been an incredible marathon event for the whole of Australia. Now Australians are looking forward to restrictions being lifted now that they are getting vaccinated, getting double vaccinated in record rates. And your question about are the states ready for this is a very good question. And what I would say is that from the very get go the Federal Government has stood ready and prepared to provide funding when appropriate both for hospitals and for those incredible frontline workers who have been working day and night for these last almost two years. The important thing to understand is $6 billion of extra Covid funding has gone to hospitals. And importantly there’s a private public hospital agreement which will enable capacity for the surge that is expected as we go forward. And also Brendan Murphy is getting involved in making sure that he works together to make sure these surge capacities are allowed for. We also know that the Covid vaccine has helped reduce the fatality rate by over 90 per cent from Covid.
HOST: Anika Wells as we’ve seen across the entire pandemic really, each state and territory is sort of running its own race here. We’ve got different Covid situations in each state and territory, different case numbers, different vaccination rates. Do you think it’s a problem that the states are on different pages here?
WELLS: Like you say Fauziah the Prime Minister wants everybody to agree with the national plan which was agreed by the national cabinet. But the Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday was a re-announcement. He promised to get all Australians stranded overseas home by Christmas, last Christmas. So what he said yesterday was just a re-announcement of something he promised a year ago. Like Katie said we actually agree there is a lot of complexity around what’s needed to open up. All Premiers wrote to the Federal Health Minister months ago about needing additional funding through our public hospitals once the states open up and there is increased cases. That is not resolved yet. There are national quarantine facilities like the one in my electorate in Pinkenba that is still six months away from opening. National quarantine facilities are an issue not resolved yet. So until these questions are resolved I think, to be honest, I do a mobile office once a week, more Australians want politicians head down working together around the table than they do having people stand up and announce re-announcements in a garden somewhere.
IBRAHIM: You know Katie Allen, WA and Queensland are reluctant to stick to this national plan. Anastasia Palaszczuk the Queensland Premier says that you know they will only open borders only when her health advisers deem it to be safe. Is it fair then for these states to be cautious when it comes to opening up their borders to international states, given the pressure on hospital systems. And yes you say that you know there has been funding that’s been earmarked to upgrade these hospital systems and to help them through Covid and beyond as well. But the money’s not here yet. The systems haven’t been upgraded yet. And yet next month we’re supposed to be opening up our borders.
ALLEN: Well let’s be clear. From the very get go last year there was a dedicated agreement between States and the Federal Government to work to increase the healthcare system. Now that included some very pragmatic and quite transformative aspects to our healthcare system including standing up telehealth, which has been transformative to healthcare system in helping keep, helping GPs keep people out of hospitals. We also have the vaccination rollout. Which at the start of the year, we hoped to get to by the end of the year and it looks like that is what is happening. And that is helping keeping fatality rates down. We’ve also seen this ability for the private and public hospitals to work together for surge capacity. Now as we work through this, we do know that there’s now instead of 2000 intensive care beds as they were last year, 7500. And there’s also different ways that doctors are treating Covid. So they’re treating it more effectively which is helping keep people well. So there’s a lot of changes that have been happening and I really welcome the fact that Brendan Murphy is working as the Health Department Secretary right across the system. There is another aspect of this that’s complicated and that is rostering for healthcare workers. We know when contact tracing happens, thousands of workers sometimes need to leave a workplace because one case of Covid has happened. Recently the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Those protocols are being changed so that instead of someone having to isolate for two weeks, if they are double vaxxed and they’ve got a negative test, that isolation at home is being reduced quite remarkably. Which means that the pressure on the workforce is going to diminish. Now our workforce, our healthcare workforce, has been absolutely incredible and the Federal Government is standing by the State Governments to make sure that they are ready for what is a transition. It will be a surge transition. But I believe the healthcare system is ready and I think our health care workers are absolutely amazing.
NICHOLSON: Anika Wells this week the Federal Government mapped out the path towards ending the financial support for Covid-affected businesses once States reached that 80 per cent vaccination target. There isn’t an endless pot of money and this is public money. Is this the right time to do this?
WELLS: It is for some industries, it isn’t for others. Which is why we’ve always argued for a targeted approach both when JobKeeper came in, in design, and now as JobKeeper has been taken away, brought back, taken away, brought back,, edged out. Industries like tourism or like aviation in Queensland. We know that opening up, seeing planes in the sky again, means that airport workers are back at work after being stood down for 18 months. But we also know that there are other industries that have done comparatively well in Covid. And we also know there’s $13 billion in JobKeeper money that has gone to companies that in the end didn’t need it. Now we haven’t asked for that money back. We are encouraging companies to give that money back. But when you talk about spend of public money, the horse has really bolted on that one. And the treasurer needs to account for what was waste and what was well targeted.
HOST: Katie Allen this roadmap out of Covid does allow for future lockdowns even with high immunisation rates so it does mean that businesses will still be affected by lockdowns and will still need financial assistance. Is it fair to taper off this assistance at a time when lockdowns are still imminent?
ALLEN: Look Fauziah you can trust the Federal Government to take care of the economy and Josh Freidenberg the Treasurer has worked day and night for the last 18 months to make sure that the right support programs are available for all Australians and for businesses through the disaster that we have been dealing with, which is this global pandemic. But moving out through the transition, the Treasurer is targeting the economic support programs for those industries that need it. And supporting those to get out of this incredible lockdown situation that we find ourselves in. Now the agreement with the national plan is as we get to 70 per cent and then 80 per cent that we’re going to see lockdowns a thing of the past. And I think businesses will really appreciate that that’s the target we need to get to. They want to get back to work. Businesses want to get off their knees. People want to get back to their jobs. There will be this transition out. The system is put in place to make sure that those supports are there as we transition out. But they’re not permanent supports, they’re temporary supports to help get Australia and its economy back off its knees.
NICHOLSON: Right we’re going to shift gears slightly and put you on the spot because we had, yes we were talking about the bird of the year earlier. And we haven’t given you a heads up on this but we wondered what your favourite birds were. Anika we actually, I think we’re hearing birds in the background of your shot. Do you have a favourite bird?
WELLS: Oh Fauziah, Jo, I’m so chuffed we get to talk about this. My campaign is for the Far Eastern Curlew. My girl the curlew immigrates in from Russia and China each year to holiday at Nudgee Beach and Sandgate, which are iconic beach spots in my electorate. What a queen! Vote one eastern curlew.
NICHOLSON: OK that’s Anika Wells’ vote there. Katie Allen?
ALLEN: Mine’s the tawny frogmouth owl. One sits outside my window. Beautiful sounds in the middle of the night. Unbelievably wise little bird. And number two would be some of those amazing waders that Birds Australia are great supporters of. They’re incredible. They’re our little bodies of energy that go up and and they get up to into Russia and they’re quite extraordinary. So there’s great birds all across Australia but the tawny frogmouth owl is mine.
NICHOLSON: Very nice. Thank you both for contributing there. Make sure you get your votes in. I think you’ve got to vote every day. Anika Wells and Katie Allen, great to have you on. Thank you.
ALLEN: Thanks so much.
WELLS: It’s a pleasure. Thank you.
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