Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As we have so often said in this chamber, this Prime Minister has had two jobs this year: to get the vaccine rollout working and to build purpose-built quarantine stations. We've talked a lot about his failures on the vaccine. Let's have a talk about his failure on quarantine. This is a federal responsibility; it is in the Constitution, if you care to take a look at it. But, throughout this pandemic, this Prime Minister has not taken responsibility for quarantine. He has had 18 months to build one quarantine station, and how many has he built? Not one. Zero. Eighteen months in, yet again we see this Prime Minister being slow to act to protect Australians. The result of that has been 27 leaks from hotel quarantine, causing lockdowns and putting Australians at risk.

The Queensland government have been pleading with the Prime Minister to build a quarantine station since January this year. They have a proposed site at Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport, and they have a willing owner prepared to do it, as well. But all the Prime Minister will do is put up excuse after excuse about why it can't be done. Thankfully, today, the Palaszczuk government is taking responsibility and going it alone. They're doing your job while you do nothing, while you're slow to act and while you put the country in a lockdown—

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

Order, Senator Watt. It's 2 pm, time for questions.