Additional Comments by the Australian Greens

1.1When an extraordinary event of the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic occurs it would be foolish not to reflect on how society responded to it, to learn valuable lessons that can be applied in the future.

1.2In short, that is what this report says.

1.3We do know that core elements of the response were essential to saving lives. These included critical public health measures such as vaccines, masks, isolation measures and public messaging. Even the most rudimentary review of the data shows that Australians were spared some of the worst ravages of the pandemic by a combination of these measures.

1.4However, with every state and territory taking a different approach to each other and the Commonwealth, there are definitely lessons to be learned from this diversity of responses to inform future actions.

1.5Many people are rightly critical of the slow vaccine rollout, and the all-eggs-in-one-basket vaccine procurement decision, of the former Morrison government. There are still large unused stocks of ineffective PPE that were purchased under ad hoc arrangements that defy any form of common sense. While some Australians were left marooned overseas by border closures that made them question the worth of their Australian passport. These are issues that should be independently investigated.

1.6Across the country, policing responses were often seen as aggressive and inappropriately targeting multicultural communities and those with less resources or financial capacity to respond to measures like lockdowns. This was compounded by complex and novel public health orders that had far-reaching impacts which together made the task of policing incredibly difficult.

1.7I saw much of this directly in my former role as a NSW MP chairing that State’s COVID-19 oversight committee. I also saw firsthand how governments and Parliaments were responding to a public health crisis with imperfect information that was rapidly changing as we learned more about the virus and how our collective responses were working in practice. It’s important to remember that, in an environment like this, mistakes are far more likely to be genuine than conspiratorial.

1.8Yet somehow Australia, with its multiplicity of responses, muddled through with results that measure up well against those of other comparable nations. This speaks to an inherent strength in our Federal system, while also highlighting the challenges of responding coherently to a global pandemic.

1.9As the draft terms of reference make clear, many other issues are also deserving of close scrutiny. This includes the impacts on mental health, education, economic impacts and support offered, internal border closures and how the most vulnerable people were protected, or not, as the pandemic struck.

1.10Of course, the pandemic has not just ended. COVID-19 continues to strike in waves of varying severity, too many Australians have ongoing health impacts and the existing support structures are both inflexible and inadequate.

1.11A Royal Commission has the independence needed, including the power to compel answers from often unwilling governments, to give the public confidence that its final report and any recommendations will be credible and unbiased. With all the sacrifices we made Australians deserve at least this.

Senator David Shoebridge

Member