Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Health, Senator Colbeck. In Senate estimates, the CMO confirmed the source of the Victorian outbreak was from a breach in hotel quarantine in Adelaide. New South Wales Liberal Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said:

In the future you can't have a hotel built for tourism as a quarantine facility.

Does the Morrison government agree with Premier Berejiklian?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would urge those on the other side to use the entire quote in context, rather than the way that they do in this place, because it provides a very different perspective.

What's occurring in Australia right now in the context of the provision of quarantine for people coming into Australia is that we are operating a quarantine system based on a national cabinet agreement that's been reaffirmed by national cabinet a number of times. The hotel quarantine system is being operated at a national level in consultation and collaboration between the states and the Commonwealth based on a national cabinet decision. That's the process and the fundamentals under which the quarantine system for people returning to Australia is being conducted right now.

As the Prime Minister has said and as a number of my colleagues have said, we're very happy to receive submissions from states and territories with respect to further quarantine proposals. There's a conversation occurring right now; in fact, there's an agreement between the Commonwealth and Victoria with respect to a proposed additional facility in Victoria. The arrangements for that are being finalised right now; those negotiations with Victoria continue.

We will continue to work in accordance with the national cabinet decision for the operation of quarantine for people coming back into Australia with COVID. We will continue to work with the states and territories on the development of additional capacity in the states and territories based on proposals provided by those states and territories. We've accepted the proposal from Victoria. We continue to operate that. And I might add, those proposals were about providing additional capacity to the system so that we can bring more people home. We will continue to work in the collaborative way we have through national cabinet.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator O'Neill, a supplementary question?

Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Premier Berejiklian also said, completely unambiguously:

If the feds want to increase capacity in NSW they're going to have to build and operate a facility themselves.

Will the Morrison government listen to Premier Berejiklian and build and operate a federal quarantine facility in New South Wales?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator O'Neill for the question. As I've just indicated—and had Senator O'Neill wanted to listen to the answer, she would have noted—the Commonwealth government is quite happy to receive submissions from any state or territory for a hotel quarantine proposal. If the Premier of New South Wales wants to put up a submission for additional hotel quarantine or an additional quarantine system in New South Wales, we will happily receive it. We will happily receive it, just as we have from Victoria, just as we're having conversations with other states and territories. So, if they want to put up a proposal, we welcome that. We are working collaboratively with the states and territories through national cabinet to bring people home. I congratulate New South Wales for operating a gold-standard system but also for handling the bulk of the burden in bringing Australians home. (Time expired)

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator O'Neill, a final supplementary question?

Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We've had 22 breaches of hotel quarantine to date. How many more hotel quarantine breaches will need to occur before the Morrison government finally accept their constitutional responsibility and act on establishing a national federal health quarantine?

Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Commonwealth does acknowledge and accept its responsibilities at a national level for quarantine, but we're working in a global pandemic circumstance, and we're working collaboratively with the states through national cabinet to safely bring Australians home. That's what we're doing. We're not sitting at the sidelines just chipping away and making criticisms. We are working cooperatively and collaboratively with the states to operate a national system of bringing Australians home through a process that was agreed by national cabinet. That's what we will continue to do, responsibly and collaboratively. I think that's a really important thing that we continue to do to give Australians confidence that we have a system that is over 99 per cent effective in bringing Australians home.

As Senator O'Neill from New South Wales will know, New South Wales have done the bulk of the heavy lifting in bringing over 50 per cent of the people back to Australia through their hotel quarantine system and should be congratulated for their efforts.